Columnist Steve Guiremand: UNLV, UNR fans need to relax a little

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Oct. 6, 2000 | 11:58 a.m.

Steve Guiremand covers college football for the Sun. His Around Campus column appears Friday during the football season.

In the words of one Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"

In-state rivals UNLV and Nevada-Reno renew their Battle for the Fremont Cannon on Saturday night at Sam Boyd Stadium. And like all rivalry games, tensions are probably going to be a lot higher than your average college football game for the 25,000 or so fans who show up.

Hopefully, those 25,000 or so fans will be able to display something that was sadly lacking at last year's matchup at Mackay Stadium ... class.

Rivalry games are supposed to be intense, but they should also be fun. That doesn't mean pouring beer or throwing pizza on players and coaches as they walk to the locker room. It doesn't mean Mother-bleeping the visiting team and and flipping them "the bird."

Unfortunately, many of the folks we saw at the end of last year's game seemed better suited for the Jerry Springer Show than a college football game.

That's sad.

What's remarkable is that in about 30 years of attending some rivalry games of national signficance -- USC-Notre Dame, USC-UCLA -- I can't ever recall fans ever getting into a fight in the stands during a game. Yet at just about every Rebel home game I've covered in the last 2 1/2 years, there's usually a few drunks that start duking it out and have to be escorted from the stadium.

Hopefully that won't be the case Saturday night. Or at Reno next year. Or wherever the game is played in years to come.

If you go to Saturday night's game, cheer on your favorite team. If you know someone who is from the other side, bet them a dinner or a cold beverage on the outcome. Don't taunt or swear. Have fun.

And remember, it's only a football game.

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