Monday, The Daily Iowan printed a letter from a State College resident.
She reported an Iowa fan made repeated inappropriate comments to nearby Nittany Lion fans.
No doubt he was not the only one.
Although noting she had heard that Iowa has some of the nicest fans in the Big Ten, she wrote “Your fans are rude, classless individuals,” and “I have also told all of my friends and family members to spread the word and avoid Iowa.”
Most Iowa fans go out of their way to welcome visiting fans to Iowa City and see that they enjoy their visit to Kinnick Stadium, earning the reputation she described.
The vast majority are embarrassed by and condemn such boorish behavior.
Is it somehow more fair to condemn a whole group — Iowans — for the classless heckling of one jerk, than for a jerk to heckle another group — Nittany Lion fans for the abhorrent behavior of one individual?
I hope that this person will realize the irony of her reaction, and explain to her friends and family that, on reflection, it would be wrong to hold a whole group responsible for the behavior of an unrepresentative few.
Unless, she also urges everyone she knows to avoid Penn State games because, once or twice, visiting fans from other schools have been heckled in Happy Valley.
Joe Barrash
Iowa City, Iowa
