Taking Out The Garbage: A Public Announcement

A necessary and gentle address to Frogdom to stay classy

Frogs everywhere and anywhere, 

Most of us no doubt remember the glory season of 2010 when TCU went to the Rose Bowl and won.  It was one of the great underdog stories of our time, and I distinctly recall, with pride, sitting in a hotel lobby and overhearing a woman saying what a "badass" team we had with such a respectable fanbase.  

It is my hope that in the coming weeks, as the football team continues to accrue success, people from all over the country may recognize us Frogs as exemplifying dignity, magnanimity, decency, and class. 

I've no doubt that the majority of Frogdom may wear their heads with pride as pillars of those very virtues.  Unfortunately, as widely discussed in the last few days, that majority is not strong enough.  

To one altercation, I personally was witness.  A young man, maybe 20, assisted his middle-aged father through the aisle, saying one of our fans had "touched" him.  Meanwhile, the man's other son was still in the bleachers bickering with a couple of men in their 30s.  Upon the angry young man's final exit, one of the gentlemen, our fan, raised his middle finger, eliciting from the father enough rage that the son who helped him through the aisle had to restrain him. 

As my best friend Ratigan says, quoting Sydney Pollack:  "That's not good, Michael." 

Now, it is perfectly possible a middle-aged man and his two sons, surrounded by dozens of TCU fans, did or said something that merited such a response.  But I doubt it.  And far be it from me to deny absolutely the value in the gesture.  I've used it dozens of times.  But on my word of honor, it is a matter of honor (and yes, I'm looking at you, KillerFrogs Fan Forum Literary Review Board), and as such, should be used judiciously.  Would I raise my middle finger to a father and his sons, surrounded by fellow Horned Frog fans, trying to make a peaceful exit from the stadium?  Not on my life.  

We all make mistakes.  The best way to rectify them is to stop doing them.  If the gentleman who flipped the finger reads this:  let's try to do better.  If the Kansas State fans do, please accept our apology.  

Similarly, shortly thereafter, I was mortified to read the following message from a fellow teammate:  "Okay, our students have to stop throwing fully loaded beers."  During the course of our correspondence, Lytle, on the field, said there were at "least two separate occasions" in which "full beers almost knocked the referee and me straight in the head.  Definitely from the student section."  

Obviously, anyone reading this can see the problem and the immediate need for its redress.  For one thing, a full beer can to the head can kill someone or cause long-term damage.  But that aside, no one should ever throw anything out on the field.  Ever.  

All of this is obvious.  And I find it sad, frustrating, and demoralizing that this letter has been necessitated by a group of TCU fans who either can't hold their liquor, excitement, disappointment, or a combination thereof.  

I will be the first to rant against Oklahoma State when they engage in collective cheers during injury timeouts.  I will be the first to rail against Tech students when they engage in silly or dangerous shenanigans.  And certainly with Baylor when they are similarly disposed.  But if that is true, how much more am I going to be committed to ensuring Horned Frog fans hold themselves accountable, so we can look at this season, which is proving to be one of our greatest, with pride ten years on, the same pride I felt when I overheard the impressed lady in the hotel bar in Pasadena say what a classy team and fanbase we had.  

Shame is such a bore.  

I am fully committed to the proposition that, with very few exceptions, there are no garbage people. Only garbage acts. Let's take out the garbage. 

And expect the best of ourselves and each other.  

With warm wishes and, as Lincoln said, malice toward none, charity toward all, 

TB

P.S., Let us also remember that in the case of our two most loathed teams, we will be on the road.  We should receive any team's guests with the same decorum with which we expect them to receive us.  

Be well, and go Frogs!  

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