We sometimes witness a situation that leaves us shaking our heads. Such was the case for me last Wednesday.

I was at Fox Chapel High School for a WPIAL baseball playoff game between Steel Valley and Freeport. I had jotted down both lineups and taken a spot at the top of the bleachers on the third-base side, the designated Steel Valley side of the field. I was ready to go.

Shortly before the first pitch of the game, a group of five or six Freeport teens arrived and sat down at the top of the same set of bleachers as me. I thought nothing of it.

In the bottom of the first inning, things were going Freeport's way and the students began to display their allegiance. The Yellowjackets got a base hit and the fans cheered. They scored a run and their cheers became louder. By the end of the inning, Freeport was ahead 3-0 and the students were feeling good about their team and its chances that day.

Then a Steel Valley fan at the bottom of the bleachers turned around and told the Freeport students that they had no right to cheer for their team on that side of the field, said their actions were instigating and obnoxious. One of the students explained that the Freeport bleachers were full.

I looked across the field and aside from a few open seats here and there, the Freeport fans had filled up their side. The students appeared to all be friends and wanted to stick together, so they came over to the Steel Valley side of the field, which was only half-full.

The Yellowjackets were now in the field and after recording an out, the Freeport teens began cheering and clapping, which set off a few more tempers. A Steel Valley player later reached base on a hit and a different fan of the Ironmen stood up, turned around and extended her arms to within two feet of the face of one of the Freeport fans and started clapping.

Now that's instigating! Yet the young man did not retaliate, just sat there and let this grown woman embarrass herself.

Soon after, one of the Steel Valley fans got a man with authority, maybe the game manager, to have the students removed from that side of the field. A few Steel Valley fans spoke up on the teens' behalf, saying they were simply cheering for their team and doing nothing wrong. But majority rules, and in this case, its verdict was unjustified.

The teens left and stood near Freeport's bleachers for the duration of the game. Maybe it was assumed that since it was an adult complaining about a group of teenagers, the complaint must have been valid. But the whole episode played out right in front of me and I can vouch that the students were not being unruly in any way.

Then again, maybe it is protocol for game managers and athletic directors to defuse a situation as quickly as possible without having to completely eject someone from the site.

But it was clear to me that the cause of this verbal altercation was the very thin skin of the Steel Valley fans. They couldn't handle opposing fans in close proximity to them showing support for their team.

The rogue Steel Valley faithful got their wish in more ways than one. Not only did they force Freeport's students to leave, but the Ironmen also came back to win the game.

We normally believe that adults should set an example for teenagers. In this case, however, the teens were the ones teaching a lesson.

If only the “students” had been listening.

Derek Pyda is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle