Oakland really impressed me tonight. They kept their composure when they were down by 10 and came back. The better team of tonight won the ball game.
I hardly ever say anything about sportsmanship or put down other fans or whatever. I like to have a good time and watch the game and chant and maybe throw in some trash talk for fun and games and all that stuff. I admit that the Siegel Nation has done some things that would typically offend anybody. The car incidents in the parking lots and all that stuff are things that happen. The bottom line is that it wasn't the Nation as a whole. Every school has their small share of kids who just look for trouble. But what I saw tonight almost looked like a planned out attack. I know that that's not literally what happened, but it was obvious that the Oakland fans did not storm the court only to celebrate, but to cause trouble. Again, I understand that every fan section, especially in rivalry games, have their small share of mischievous folks. And a lot of people want to say that our players started it, but what would you do if your teammate was being mobbed and smothered by a massive crowd that opposes him. There come times when you have to defend yourself for safety matters. Like I said, I know the Nation has done some things a bit low, but one thing we stress is obeying the law and not initiating acts that can potentially cause damage to school property or worse yet, the people that are around. I never thought Oakland was a trashy school with bad fans. I only thought they were hard core rivals who wanted to beat Siegel badly. Unfortunately, my opinion has changed drastically. It didn't really make me mad, but instead it made me sad. I talked to Cutter after the game and he had a black eye. I know the kid and I like him a lot and I know he wouldn't do anything to hurt anybody, but he felt like he had no other choice but to defend himself. And that's what makes me sad... innocent people who only came to watch a good game ended up getting hurt. The entire incident was a disgrace, and I blame hardly any of it on Siegel.