Throughout my years at TCU, I have kept mental notes of how opposing fans act. I have been to every single home game and a few away games, and the reactions have been very similar. Fans of the non-BCS schools tended to be more respectful and more pleasant to be around.

However, I needed to find out if this was true when the game was truly important.

I got my chance in San Diego at the Poinsettia Bowl against the Boise State University Broncos. Even though it was a big game for both teams, I was fairly surprised at the actions and remarks made by fans of the two sides.

Of course there was some cursing and screaming of stupid yet hilarious opinions about the opposition, but what really caught my eye was how each fan respected their new rival and praised them for a good win or a tough defeat.

Up to this point, I assumed other teams’ fans were worse than my beloved Horned Frog fans. Don’t get me wrong, I love to trash talk and stick it to the challenger as much as the next guy, but I have also learned to respect my competitor.

Even in our conference, TCU gives respect to other teams, and the feeling becomes mutual because the next time the opposition plays us, we are given the respect we deserve as well. One prime example would be head coach Gary Patterson’s decision to keep his team on the field before and after the military games.

He requires all players and coaches to stand and listen to the opposing team’s alma mater. Now if that is not class, I don’t know what is.

This is what college football fan bases were originally built on. Nobody wants to go to schools like Texas Tech University and University of Southern California where the fans are rude and let you know how much they think your team sucks. If your team sucks, we will let you know on the field.