Young fan’s reaction to Sioux nickname decision hits YouTube

Matt Fore read the news on his computer and turned to his 4-year-old son.

“It looks like the Fighting Sioux won’t be called the Fighting Sioux anymore,” he told Jace, who was playing nearby.

“He was not happy.”

As Jace began what would be a half-hour meltdown, his father picked up his camera phone and documented about 60 seconds of one young Sioux fan’s reaction to the apparent demise of the 80-year-old UND athletics nickname.

And now it’s on YouTube.

“I have to take all my Sioux stuff down!” Jace cried, sobbing as he ran around the room.

“No, you don’t have to take it down,” his dad said, trailing after the boy. “We can still cheer for them.”

Scrambling about the room, as if inventorying the large Fighting Sioux mural an aunt painted, the banners and player pictures, the Fighting Sioux lampshade and the Fighting Sioux piggy bank and everything Sioux, Jace would not be comforted.

“I have to take all this down if the Sioux aren’t playing anymore!”

Is there another name Jace might like?

The boy paused atop a couch and pondered that for a moment, then said “Warriors.”

“Do you like ‘Warriors’?” Dad asked, still recording, and Jace literally ran from the substitute.

“I really like ‘the Sioux’ better,” he said, anguish in his voice. “I think the Sioux are the best team in all history!”

He turned again to the mural.

“Now I have to erase my wall!” he wailed.

Jace has been a fan of Fighting Sioux hockey since he saw his first game at the age of 2, said his father, who played hockey at East Grand Forks Senior High and coaches youth hockey now.

“His uncles have been trying to convert him,” he said. “They’re Gopher fans. But he was born on the Sunday the Sioux played Manitoba (in an exhibition opener) in 2005.”

The brief video is more a glimpse of his son at age 4 than a statement about the long struggle over the nickname, Fore said.

“He’s not afraid to tell you how it is. He’s a big fan, and he’s intense.

“When I told him about the name, he went behind the TV, crying. I had my phone with me and recorded the first minute, but the whole thing lasted about a half-hour. He was in his room crying the whole time and didn’t want to come out.”

Jace’s Sioux collection includes photographs of Ryan Duncan, his favorite player two years ago, and Evan Trupp, his current favorite.

Why Evan Trupp?

“He’s got the bestest slap shop,” Jace said.

But Jace and the rest of the family — aside from those Gopher uncles — will stick with UND hockey, come what may with nicknames and logos.

“I think I’m probably with a majority who are holding out some hope that they stay the Sioux,” Fore said. “But the university has such a proud tradition of athletics, no matter what they become we’ll still follow them.”

Reach Haga at (701) 780-1102; (800) 477-6572, ext. 102; or send e-mail to chaga@gfherald.com.

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