WAYNE'S WORDS
December 29, 2004
Topic: Triathlon is the Best Spectator Sport.

I was driving home one Saturday, after watching the Missouri Tigers lose to the Kansas Jayhawks, 31 to 14, and was thinking about sports and fans.
During the game the fans at Memorial Stadium in Columbia keep getting more and more verbal, hateful, upset, and acting, in my opinion, downright ignorant as the game progressed.
Granted, Missouri should have won.
Kansas has a worse team this year and we were playing at home.
By the 4th quarter, after a bad holding call against the Tigers, these "fans" started to yell at the players the refs and the coaches.
To put it very simply, they weren't very happy.
I personally can't understand why they were so upset.
It's a game played by a bunch of 19-21 year olds.
Where's the school spirit, the true fans, the positive support for your team, no matter what the score?
And, what makes these morons think they can play/coach/ref. better than the guys on the field?
I just figure these people have a shitty life and they take out their feelings of hopelessness, desperation and frustration on the team, coaches, and refs.
Granted, you do pay $20-$55 a ticket, so maybe they expect more for their money, but it's no excuse to be a jerk to the players and coaches and a pain in the ass to the people sitting by you.
OK, OK what's this have to do with triathlons?
Very simply, when you watch a triathlon, no matter who wins, everyone is happy.
I think it has to do with the fact that when you are watching a triathlon, you have an emotional investment in someone racing.
The fact that your triathlete is participating is celebration enough.
The fact that your triathlete finishes, puts you into a frenzy.
If they place and get some hardware then life can't get any better.
No one is pissed off after a triathlon, no matter who won.
No fan yells anything negative at the racers, the course marshals, the volunteers or the race director.
A triathlon is an event you can take your kids or your grandma to and not be worried some idiot will be yelling profanities into their ear for 3 1/2 hours.
All this brings me back to what I'm starting to find is a common theme in my articles.
Triathletes are some of the genuinely greatest people in the world and triathlons are the best athletic events to participate in, and to spectate.
Being part of a triathlon isn't about the money or who wins or loses, it's an exercise in endurance, speed, mental toughness, and commitment. It's also about being a faithful and dedicated fan to a racer, because no matter how much their triathlete has trained and devoted themselves to the sport, the fans have also made a lot of sacrifices to get their triathlete to that starting line, and for they themselves to be there as a true fan of the sport.

Until next time,
Train smart, live right,
Wayne

whuckshold@yahoo.com