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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

As I was coming up with an idea for my column this week, I kept going back to the scenes I witnessed up close and personal at Isabella High School last Friday night. It was something that I have not seen yet during my time in Chilton County covering football, but it lasted only a few minutes and resolved quickly. I just hope lessons were learned, and I hope the story about the incident that was floating around town can be used as a teaching point to all fans when it comes to how to behave at these games.

There was a strife, you could say, between some fans and the Mustangs’ coaching staff. The game between Maplesville and Isabella High Schools was not going the Mustangs’ way, and everyone was getting restless. That is not uncommon. Fans are passionate, and the coaches on the sidelines who are responsible for the product on the field are even more passionate. So, when the going is tough, it only takes a few things to set off sparks.

Some fans were making comments about the play selection out loud, which was loud enough for fans sitting around them to hear, and for the coaches and personnel on the sidelines to hear as well. After a few minutes and many comments, the coaches decided to stand up for themselves and their players, and rightfully so. There was a small give and take between some of the Isabella coaches and the fans, but nothing remotely close to violent or over the top disrespectful was said or occurred. Officers stepped in to expedite the situation and it was resolved without further involvement from either party.

The notion that there was some big conflict is not true, and it all comes down to the passion that football brings out in people both good and bad. The biggest thing to learn from this for fans is to simply be respectful and positive. There is no way coaches are intentionally calling plays to sabotage a game, and they do not need fans over their shoulder commenting on everything they do in a negative way regardless of what the scoreboard says.

This is high school football, and these players are anywhere from 14-18 years old. There is no need to ridicule. I pride myself in each sports story that I do across all sports is to only be positive. If there is a fumble, then I say the team fumbled, and I will not mention the player’s name specifically. If a team got beat badly, I ask questions to highlight positive portions in the game the losing team had. There is no need to tear down high school players or coaches. If this was college, there is a bit more grace when it comes to coaches because of their salaries. In my opinion, they deserve to be held more accountable. Professional players and coaches can be ridiculed as much as they need to be because it is their profession, just like our daily jobs. However, to ridicule young players and high school coaches is ridiculous, and I commend the Isabella coaches for the way they handled the situation last Friday.

Going forward, I hope fans around Chilton County can take this as a learning experience and a chance to take to heart what not to do at a football game. These players and coaches are giving their all for their school, and they need those watching them on Friday nights to be cheering in a positive way, not negative.