Editorial: Representing Whitehall the right way

I’ve only lived in the area for a short amount of time, but I proudly call myself a Whitehall Trojan. I really enjoying following the Whitehall High School teams and this takes me a lot of different places throughout the state.

While I am certainly there to do a job, that does not stop me from cheering and taking pride in both the team and the community they represent.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend the Southern B Divisional Basketball Tournament in Billings. I was once again proud of our community for coming out to represent the team, even though it was nearly three hours away. The Whitehall fans were loud, passionate, and respectful. That is all you can ask.

This cannot be said for other fans I witnessed at the MetraPark Arena.

The first night of the tournament Whitehall did not play until 8 p.m. When I went to go find a seat to watch the game that started at 6:30 p.m., I found that there were large sections of the arena where people did not throw away trash. It wasn’t just a few things either. There were cups, boxes, and wrappers everywhere. Someone also decided it was a great idea to spill a soda all over a seat and not do anything about it. It was disgusting.

I decided to watch the Whitehall game from courtside from media row. I was directly across the floor from the contingent of Trojan fans who were being respectful. I could not believe some of the things that were being said in the opposing teams fan section. It was a disgraceful. I understand that not every fan base is perfect and there are probably some not so great things coming from the mouths of Whitehall fans, but I had never heard it like this. I wanted to turn around and say something, but that would have only made it worse.

I think what was forgotten is that much like the team represents the community, so do the fans. What I saw from fans at the tournament made me wonder what type of pride people have in their community. Is that how you want to represent your town?

I love a passionate group, and that is what we have. It doesn’t need to cross the line with nasty stuff being said to players or officials.

There are also these great things called trash cans that can be used to put garbage in. What a concept!

Way to go Whitehall fans, some of the other fans (not all of course) I witnessed, get with the program and represent your community well.

Go Trojans.