Why I Choose Not to Engage in "Smack Talk"

The term "smack talk" has been officially and unofficially defined as follows:
 

Merriam-Webster: trash talk
Oxford Dictionary: insulting speech, especially when intended to irritate or annoy someone
Online Slang Dictionary: to speak badly of
Wikipedia: refers to inflammatory comments made by a person or team in order to insult, anger, or annoy opponents
Collins Dictionary: disparaging or abusive remarks intended to put off or intimidate someone, esp an opponent prior to or during a sports match (informal, mainly US)

 

I provided several different sources in an effort to prove the point that none of these interpretations have any positive adjectives included in their descriptions. In fact, the terminology used is quite the opposite: "inflammatory," "insult," "anger," "speak badly," "irritate," "disparaging," "abusive..." One of the sources goes so far as to note that it is mainly perpetrated by Americans. Yay USA?

In my mind, there is a very big difference between cheering, promoting, supporting, encouraging, rooting for, etc. your team and "smack talking" on its behalf. All of the words I used that have to do with being a fan are words that have positive connotations. They don't tear anyone else down in an effort to make one or one's team appear "better" in someone else's eyes.

And as far as I have been able to tell, the players of most teams don't ask for that or even want that from their fan base. In fact, I have seen the opposite where some have said that they think the fans take things too seriously and  go too far in demonstrating disrespect for other teams and athletes.

I am not talking about a little good-natured "ribbing" now and then. "Oh, you went to UNC? I'm so sorry!" One of the most fun I had with a client contact was telling her that we had a new high-level Manager, but I had to be honest that I wasn't sure I would be able to work with him...She was waiting for me to disclose some juicy, scandalous secret when I said, "Well, you see... He went to Clemson." She laughed harder than I have ever heard her laugh and said, "Oh Marty - you're too much!" And he loved that story when I told him too - gave him a great, lighthearted introduction to her when they had the chance to meet for the first time. But when he and his wife found out they were going to have another baby, I went out to the mall and bought him a Clemson onesie, despite how much it pained me to do it :)

Perhaps some of why a person might or might not smack talk about his/her favorite team(s) has to do with the influences at sporting events as youngster. I started going to South Carolina football games in 1980 when I was 5 years old with my parents who were faculty at the time. When the opposing team ran onto the field, my mother and/or father would always say, "We never 'boo' the other team. That's just not a very nice thing to do." Later, when we were older, they would explain that doing that lacked class. 

(Please note that I find it perfectly acceptable to boo the refs when they deserve it!)

Another factor that I have considered about the phenomenon and evolution of "smack talk" is that it might be specific to that team being supported. Is it one that has "always" dominated as long as that person has followed it? Won a certain number of conference, national, or world championships? Perhaps those folks view it as demonstrating confidence in their teams that they will persevere and maintain that level of excellence they have experienced during their "fanhood." That would certainly be another reason why I have historically and continue to keep my mouth shut: my teams lost much more often than not when I was a kid and even into adulthood. For more details about just how much that impacted me as a Gamecock fan, you can reference this post from just before the start of this season: It's a Gamecock Life

I can remember sitting in the stands for the ENTIRE GAME when we lost 59-0 (thank you FSU as I will never get the Seminole chant out of my nightmares), 49-0... hell, 63-17 that happened soon after I graduated from UofSC - the now "famous" game that some Clemson fans enjoy referring to on a regular basis :) And please don't use the "they smack talk about MY beloved team" logic as to why you smack talk about theirs. Rise above, my friend. Rise above.





One of the things that makes me really proud of my team/school/fans/institution is when someone who visited and attended a game cheering for the opponent tells me that everyone they met was really nice to them and welcoming. I absolutely hate to hear that they had a negative experience because fans were rude. It genuinely disappoints me, and then I apologize on their behalf because I do not want anyone who visits my favorite place to walk away disliking it because they encountered some jerk who I know does not represent the majority of the people there. If I catch anyone wearing my team's colors behaving inappropriately, I say something to them (politely) about it. Who does it help if you are rude to other people on "behalf" of your team? Not your team who you claim to love.
Not you because if you say something to the wrong person, you may end up in a very bad situation. And not the person you are treating badly - at a minimum, he or she walks away with a bad impression of your beloved institution.






I have traveled to many, many games at many, many institutions. My impression of those places is not colored as much by whether we won or not, but how we (my family, my friends, me) were treated while we were there. In each and every occasion, I (and the people I was with) were completely respectful. Mostly, we just liked to walk around the campuses and enjoy them - we rarely ever drank before the games because we were more interested in seeing the features of the school, the setting, etc. For the simple reason that my group was wearing our team's logos/colors, I have experienced people yelling rude and obscene things; vehicles getting keyed; objects thrown at one or more members of the group; and once even a physical confrontation. I try to keep the same thing in mind: that these people are not representative of the larger group, but when it happens more than once or even twice while we are there, it becomes more challenging to believe that.



In my mind, the only people who legitimately can smack talk are the ones who actually influence the outcome: the players themselves. If I were to say, "My defensive player is going to tear your quarterback apart this weekend," I personally would have no ability to make that happen. So what is the point in saying it, knowing that it will only either encourage others to jump aboard my irrational guarantee bandwagon and/or incite fans of the other team to retaliate with their own equally uncharitable "predictions."   

     
The choice to "smack talk" is each individual person's - we are fortunate to live in a country where freedom of speech is valued and often encouraged. But I personally do not see any upside. I pride myself in always being candid, but I am very careful to do my best to not hurt someone else's feelings. And I want my daughter to treat people the same way. Every person. Even those we disagree with, including those who root for our most heated rival team.

= Parenting fail, in my opinion.

I am a proud University of South Carolina fan, and I always have been. I will always root for my team in any and every situation, but I have and will always do my best to demonstrate respect for those who play against them and even those who don't like them. Am I perfect? No. Have I said, shared, or laughed at something someone joked about at another's expense? Of course; I am human. But I genuinely do respect each person's choice to respectfully support his or her team, organization, political party, institution, beliefs, what have you. I even respect your right to smack talk; I just don't choose to engage.

Live and let live; Que Sera Sera; To each his (or her!) own; Party on; <insert cliche here> (you get what I'm saying)...