Dear Paige Pierce,
In your letter to the editor "'Fowl Shot’ promotion endorses poor sportsmanship,” you stated that you were “appalled by the portrayal of unsportsmanlike conduct,” referring to the "Fowl Shot" promotion that had taken place that game. You also said that you had gone to the game “to support the Gamecocks, not to tear down the Missouri Tigers.” However, most sports fans attend the games in hope that the opposing team gets defeated — not only defeated, but the fans go with the hope that their home team will destroy the opposing team.
This isn’t considered unsportsmanlike conduct, but rather a friendly form of competition. Competition, after all, is what makes a sport that much more interesting to attend and engage in, otherwise not many people would be willing to attend. "Fowl Shot" was a way to get the audience to participate more in the sport. This not only helps the home team get motivated to get the audience the promotion that is being offered, but it motivated the other team to make those two consecutive shots so the audience goes home with a loss and they leave with a win, another form of simple competition.