Oregon O symbol now a violation

The modus operandi for people running football in 2011 has been to unnecessarily micro-manage it from the minutia up, so it should come as little-to-no surprise that a new guy brought in to be the officiating consultant of the Pac-12 is the stuffed-shirt dean from any number of teen sex comedies and wants to make sure nobody has a good time at the football games. NCAA rule violations? Let’s just sweep that sort of important thing under the rug under the “board of trustees” (or whatever) leaves. But hand gestures? Hand gestures?

From Sorry Bro Sports:

New Pac-12 coordinator of officiating Mike Pereira says the Ducks signature ‘O’ shape the players occasionally make with their hands after a touchdown, “borderlines on unsportsmanlike conduct.”

Seriously, look at this guy. I don’t want to boil down the “what does and doesn’t constitute sportsmanlike conduct” debate to “lol what a nerd”, but come on, has this guy ever had a day of fun in his whole life? He could be on our currency. He’s the kind of guy who looks at professional sports and decides that “the O hand gesture looks more like a triangle than an O” is the first thing you should fix.

“Slippery slope” is an even worse talking point, but if we take away school spirit hand gestures and the ability to choose the color of your shoes, what’s next? Taking the logos off the helmets, because supporting your team is “bragging”? Should we limit the school fight songs to one long monotonous note, held for 8-10 seconds before the start of the game, but before any of the fans (or “persons”) have arrived?

Come on, Mike, don’t be such a square. Let them make circles.