All in all, it was a great night. The atmosphere in the stadium, for a game between two nationally ranked teams, was absolutely electric! And the Utes' football team staged an impressive, dominating performance to drill the Ducks 38-7 and wrap up the Pac-12 Southern Division title. The only negative in all of this was the obnoxious, foul-mouthed Utah fan who was sitting a couple of rows behind us. My 10-year-old grandson and his Dad who accompanied me to the game are Oregon fans, as they lived near Eugene for several years and developed fandom for the Ducks' program. Thus, they wore their Oregon gear to the game, and most of the Utah fans who were sitting around us were real good sports about it, gave them some good-natured ribbing and actually expressed interest in how they became Oregon fans. But one particular fan behind us found it necessary to show a total lack of class by continually making loud, belligerent, sarcastic comments about the Ducks' team and their fans, including the use of numerous f-bombs and other profanity. I'm pretty sure alcohol was involved, because this guy was out of control. It created a bit of an awkward, uncomfortable situation for me and my family, and I suspect some other fans that were sitting close by felt much the same way. I was tempted to turn around and say something like "Hey, man, show some class and stop acting like an ass!" But I figured we'd just have a brawl break out in the stands, and nobody needs that. And even though one of his friends asked him to tone it down, he defiantly refused and continued to spew loud, offensive remarks throughout much of the first half and into the third quarter -- despite the fact that the Utes were steamrolling the Ducks at that point. My young grandson is not accustomed to hearing that kind of language, and it's sad that some people seem to have no filter whatsoever and feel the need to publicly express themselves in that manner. Trust me, I've certainly used plenty of that colorful language in my lifetime, but not when young kids or ladies are present or within ear-shot. Sure, I'm all for freedom of speech, but not when it serves to spoil a special experience for a 10-year-old kid.
