Boo to a booing ban

The organization that oversees scholastic sports in the state of Washington is considering banning booing at high school games. I can understand disciplining someone for offensive chants or language, but simply booing?

"They're student-athletes," they'll say. "They don't deserve to hear that."

Maybe. But maybe sometimes they need to hear it.

This is another step in the sissification of our society. Kids can't know adversity, it seems. We have to eliminate it for them. They can't know disappointment. We have to eliminate all roadblocks. Let's not keep score. Let's not allow fans to voice their displeasure.

What happens to that athlete after he graduates? There is booing in the real world. The restaurant doesn't get your order right? Boo. Someone cuts you off in traffic? Boo. You don't get the first job you apply for? Boo.

But what happens to those that have known no disappointment? Are they a loser because the world doesn't revolve around them? No. But what are we teaching them if we've already eliminated every challenge they might face?

If you do everything for them, they come to expect that. Then, when they're 18 and don't get accepted to their first college choice, or 22 and don't get the first job they want, they won't understand what that's like. And what value does success have if it's all they've ever known?

So we need to hear the boos, because only then will we understand how good the cheers sound.