I only half payed attention to the game and the commentary during and after, but I am surprised that the local guys, including the mayor, would have trouble with pronouncing “Kiwanuka”. Break it out into syllables, guys, there are only four. It didn’t seem too difficult for the game announcers.

Boise is home to a large Basque community, some of whose members have much more challenging names, but I suspect Mr. Bieter doesn’t have any trouble with those.

Making fun of people is a behavior most parents try to discourage by age five or so. Weren’t there any Moms in the crowd? Just thought I’d ask.

Perhaps the greatest irony in all this is the ESPN commentator has consistently mispronounced Zabransky as Zambransky in every game he has announced, including the bowl game. I wasn’t present, but if Hawkins recognized it as inappropriate, as he has stated in interviews, then surely others did as well. Beiter should have known better, and the CEO most assuredly should have known better.

Hold on people– I know bashing the mayor is the thing to do around here, but Bieter did NOT make any comments about Kiwanuka’s name. The sole jibe was made by MPC Computers chief Mike Adkins. All Bieter said that could possibly be construed as “inappropriate boosterism” was that he hoped BSU could “eke out” a win. Not exactly a fist waving, crotch grabbing taunt. And when did football players and fans get so damn sensitive? It’s OK to hit the stands, paint your face up like an idiot, scream and yell like a drunken fiend and perform all manner of histrionic seizures in support of your team, but when we’re all together in a room we must hold hands and sigh in happy harmony, with no whiff whatsoever of the rivalry between us? Please. People need to chill out about this non-issue. I, for one, am sick of east coasters rolling out the criticism of our state and town like we’re boorish primitives when the truth is that we’re one of the nicest and most civilized cities in the nation. You want rude a–holes? My wife just came back from a city where she said practically everybody she met was insufferably rude– except, that is, for the men who felt entitled to make suggestive and inappropriate comments to her. What was this paradise of decorum and fine feelings? Boston, MA.

The kids played great. I think some folks had a chip on their shoulder
because BC should have gotten a better bowl venue. This incident was used to
“smack” their frustration.

Unfortunately, these games are more about money than student athletes (few
of which will sign a big contract). Money for the conferences, schools,
promoters, advertisers, broadcasters; and we can’t forget room taxes and
parking citations.

On the other hand, those in our community concerned about growth might find
comfort with the negative pub. A few downeasters may be dissuaded from
moving here. Cheers!

For Bieter the initial news account was a bum rap. An Idaho Statesman correction was obtuse and shoe horned into the bottom left corner of the sports section on Friday. Nonetheless, like Ray Lewis he was at the scene and initally implicated with the mispronouncing the DE for Boston College and the “Go Broncos” cheering, neither of which is his style. Doubly ironic as one brother is a recent Ph.D. graduate of Boston College.

I’m bummed this happened and Mr, Guardian illustrates a valuable lesson of how quickly word can spread and tarnish our image. Something of an antidote for the handfull of interested readers, an excerpt from a Washington Post column in March 2001:

* * *

But the best story of this week, here or in any other region, was Idaho’s love affair with Hampton. It might be the warmest, fuzziest, feel-good relationship I’ve seen develop in 20 years of covering the NCAA tournament.

Thursday night, a house full of people at The Pavilion (11,250) fell in love with Hampton’s underdog of a basketball team, its foot-stompin’, head-boppin’ band, and its cheerleaders who say to hell with stunts, let’s dance. Hampton is a historically black university; Boise is 98 percent white. Their two worlds — trust me on this — have never ever intersected. Until here and now. The basketball team brought Boise and Hampton together, and because the house was full to the rim, the band played on. The people of Boise, who bought all the tickets for this event months ago, stayed and partied.

They were so taken with the Hampton people, they invited the band to play between periods of Friday night’s Idaho Steelheads West Coast Hockey League game at Bank of America Center. Carpet was rolled out so the cheerleaders could dance . . . on the ice. Another full house, 5,800, greeted Hampton’s band — called The Force — and made them stay and play on, and on. Folks quite literally danced in the aisles. When the arena cleared, band director Al Davis took his band members across to The Grove Hotel, where they started another set.

It seemed as if all of Boise was there, boppin’, swinging. Hampton turned Boise into Bourbon Street on Friday night. People came in off the street to hear the band play.

So Saturday afternoon, in the middle of the Maryland-Georgia State game, the damndest thing happened. This mighty roar went up as the Hampton band members, sans instruments, walked to their seats in the stands. When the Hampton team was introduced to the crowd at Boise State Pavilion, it was as if the old Celtics had walked into Boston Garden. The Hampton
cheerleaders held up signs that spelled out, “We Love Boise!”

Asked to talk about this instantly formed relationship between this Northwest city and Hampton University, guard Marseilles Brown said emotionally: “No words, man. . . . Sorry.”

Merfeld, clearly stunned by everything that had happened here this weekend, from the upset of second-seeded Iowa State on Friday night to the reception his team got before, during, and after the game against Georgetown, had some words.

“The recognition people gave us has been very, very special,” he said. “It’s very obvious to us why the tournament is in Boise, Idaho. We didn’t know that when we were assigned this region, but we do now. Thank you.”

* * *

In regards to Mr.”MAH-THIGH-US-KEY-WA-NOOKA” and his hyper sensitive feelings,it’s just a case of phonetic or is it phonic correctness gone terribly wrong???

He got more pub’ for his hurt feelings than he did for his sub par, lack-luster play during the MPC Bowl!

“HAY-MAH-THIGH-US,GIT-OH-VER-IT!”

However one feels about our mayor, whom I like personally, the fact is that public speaking has never been his forte. A gaffe by him, if it had happened, would’ve been forgiveable, in my book. Obviously the MPC boss should’ve known better, being a CEO of a major corporation who has responsibility to SELL himself and his company to the world. Those who say that this is about BC’s oversensitivity are missing the point. Any speech in which somebody from Idaho has the temerity to compare themselves favorably to Boston or Massachusetts is going to be highly offensive to the brahmin bluebloods who finance, and cheer for, Boston College teams. This has nothing to do with players being thin-skinned. It’s all about those, in the media, and around the nation, who see Boise as far, far beneath BC. If we’d have just put the ball in the endzone on that one play, none of this would’ve been mentioned, of course.

Thank you guardian for addressing an issue that has been ” hidden” for years.Real sportsmanship ,as shown by the Boston College Eagles has nothing to do with being macho, or would be local super-men ( and psuedo super-coach?) It ‘s all about respecting your opponent and fair play,on and off the field, which apparently BSU has yet to learn. My kudo’s go to the All American spirit of sports, on all levels at all times. The eagles showed that simply because it is a part of their life style. BSU can learn and grow from their example.