Cheering, standing ovations, and required team actions during matches and awards

[Kevin Sevcik]

Since things seem to be getting taken to the extreme in one direction, I present the anecdote of team SuperSpirit. This is a really incredibly spirited team. They fill up several rows all the way across a section of seats right in the middle. They're always standing and cheering during matches and awards no matter who's up there. In fact, they're so enthused that they just can't sit down. They figure standing is a sign of respect, so they can't bear to sit down if Woodie, Dean, or a sponsor is giving a speech, so they basically end up standing during the entire awards ceremony and cheering when appropriate. Surely sponsors, mentors, and teams sitting around and especially behind this team would be completely awed by this show of respect.

Yes, yes, it is an extreme example. I just wanted to use it to illustrate what I feel is the fundamental thing here. For the vast majority here, the above example is rude, and so is the opposite example of a team never standing. The former because it's apparently completely inconsiderate of those around them, and the latter because it's not respectful of the teams, etc. So obviously a balance should be struck between your level of enthusiasm and consideration for people around. This goes both ways, of course. Teams wishing to stand a lot should try to put themselves in a position to not inconvenience a lot of people or should check with everyone around them to see if it's okay. People that don't want to stand should check with teams near where they're planning to sit and see if they're planning on standing a lot. People that don't want to take the time checking with people around them should hedge their bets and be willing to moderate their standing/not-standing activities. Granted, this is a perfect world solution, but thinking a bit about how you'll be affecting the people around you can only help. And finding out how they feel about it instead of assuming you know can help even more.