I must be getting old. Or losing my sense of humor. Or wit.
Because I didn’t find anything clever about the St. John’s fans in the student section that were chanting “U of Gay” as a mocking retort to Arizona fans’ chant of “U of A” at the Garden yesterday for the 2K Sports Classic.
I’m looking at these young, energetic, supposed future leaders crammed into the “Redzone” section behind the basket and I think, “What if one of their friends who is gay is sitting in that section, listening to this homophobic venting?”
Maybe that young man or woman is wondering: “Is the university I attend, which is located in the most socially diverse city in the world, the right place for me?”
And then, a really alarming thought: “If New York isn’t the right place for me — a safe place — then maybe there’s no place in the world a gay or lesbian college student can be embraced.”
Maybe New York can be as hostile as Laramie, Wyoming. … No, there must have been something witty I missed.
But then some fans in the “Redzone” came up with this clever refrain: “Suck my Johnnies!” In the next section over, I see a few kids with their parents who are listening to this. Not good.
Once again, those St. John’s students have left me wondering what kind of education they’re getting at home or at school. Why is there so much ignorance and hate running through their heads?
They have a basketball program that’s on the rise, and are the only collegiate fans who can call The World’s Most Famous Arena home. Yet instead of coming up with something clever, something TV would show over and over, something that would reaffirm to the world fans in New York are smarter, edgier, more creative than anywhere else, the St. John’s students behind the basket open their mouths and you cringe.
I know these students are capable of original, witty material. When rugged forward God’sgift Achiuwa makes a good play, he’s rewarded with chants of “God’s On Our Side!”
Yet more often, they think hostility, profanity and insensitivity are better. It’s not. It’s just easier.
“It was brought to our attention,’’ St. John’s athletic director Chris Monasch told The Post. “There are mechanisms in place to address fan behavior at games through different leaderships groups on campus.’’
So address it, St. John’s. Address it hard.
The next time a similar cheer emanates from the student section, toss them all. Give them the bum’s rush to the door. Confiscate their student IDs and force them to attend a sensitivity workshop.
“After the chanting that occurred at Carnesecca earlier this week, my team coordinated with Athletics to get the email addresses of the student season ticket-holders so that the Redzone Rights and Responsibilities statement could be reissued,’’ Kathryn T. Hutchinson, St. John’s vice president for student affairs, said in a statement.
Hutchinson said the university would create and distribute a flier reminding those in the “Redzone” what is proper behavior. An announcement will be made before games and a video will be shown on the scoreboard. It’s a start.
The “Redzone” sections at Carnesecca are now elevated and behind the baskets. There are some cool customers for sure. The ones who hold up the “Lavinwood” signs, an homage to coach Steve “West Coast” Lavin, come to mind.
So here’s the challenge for those fans that have lost their way: Your team is loaded with talented, respectful players that should only get better as they mature. Follow their lead.