GQ magazine recently ranked Maryland Terrapins basketball fans as the 5th worst fans in America. As a Maryland basketball fan, I was beaming with pride when the article was first brought to my attention. Do I want to have a reputation as soft fan that is welcoming to our rival guests? Of course not!
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to make the game day experience a bad one for families and children coming to the game. There is no place for profane chants in the Comcast center and using the “F” word makes us look very bad. It is nothing to be proud of.
There is no shame, however, in being considered a hostile crowd. We can take pride in the fact that other college basketball fans consider us to be intimidating and antagonistic. Jeff Allen of Virginia Tech has said that he hates playing at Comcast. This is the type of reputation we want to have. We want opposing players to dread coming to College Park. Celebrating a big win doesn’t always have to be a riot. However, there is no harm in large public gatherings of jubilation. It is just a matter of not escalating the situation. Terp fans are extremely passionate about their basketball. We don’t take well to outsiders intruding on our turf.
The GQ story brought our fandom to national attention, and I couldn’t be happier. I would like to move up in the rankings, but I think that would take more winning. Love it or hate it, this is part of our fan culture. We are proud to be feared. Hopefully under new coach Mark Turgeon, our passion will continue to burst from the stands. Maryland fans are great because of their passion.
Here's hoping the passion doesn't leave with Gary. Attendance was already starting to drop this year but hopefully Turgeon will inject some new life into Terp fans.
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