The loss to Pittsburgh was a lot of things to Hoya fans – disappointing, frustrating, embarrassing, you name it. But apart from the poor execution on offense and the failure to secure defensive rebounds, there was something even more upsetting at Verizon Center on Saturday afternoon – the behavior of a lot of the fans in the GU student section. Fans are supposed to give the opponents a hard time – that can be a big factor in a home-court advantage. Booing, screaming, ridiculing, and distracting are all part of what good fans can try to do to disrupt the other team. But there were a bunch of students near the tunnel leading to the Pitt locker room that were waving the middle finger and cursing at Jamie Dixon and the Panther players. That is not acceptable.

“We are Georgetown” is not just a cool slogan; it represents Coach Thompson’s philosophy when he took over the program five years ago. JTIII has always been very complimentary about the support from the huge student section at Verizon Center, but he doesn’t want them acting like jerks. Think of Coach and the players. Coach Thompson is one of the classiest coaches in the country, humble in victory and gracious in defeat. He does things the right way, and that’s one of the reasons he has helped the Hoyas be so successful. Win or lose, Coach Thompson and his players behave the right way, and the fans should act the same way. “Practice Good Sportsmanship” is a little too professorial, so I’d just like to say, “Do the Right Thing” – I know that’s what Jessie Sapp does.

The student section at Verizon is wonderful, and they have grown and supported the team as well as any other student section in the conference. The players and coach have all spoken publicly about the positive impact the fans have had on their play. So keep up the good work, be noisy, be boisterous, be abusive if needed, but keep it clean. That’s what John Thompson III would want, and that is what he expects of you.