To boo or not to boo, that is the question A champion of Australian sport was in action in Adelaide on Saturday evening and was booed by opposing fans trying to put him off his game. A champion of global sport was fighting for one of the biggest titles in the world in Melbourne on Sunday evening, and he too found himself the target of his audience's boo boys, despite the fact that he genuinely had an injury that was restricting his movement and ability to compete. Rafael Nadal. Two very different people: Harry Kewell and Rafa Nadal. Two very different sports: football and tennis. Two very different circumstances: one where some heckling and booing, however distasteful it might seem to some, is part of the theatre and the show, the other where jeering and catcalling was out of order as the player was injured and still giving of his best. Harry Kewell. Kewell was subjected to the sort of sledging treatment he gets all over the country - and it is part of football's culture. As long as it doesn't get too offensive or personal the banter is fine: it can often be humourous, and so intense is the concentration required to play at top level, the sledging is often not even heard by the player the crowd is trying to put off. Tennis is a different ball game, complete with its codes of conduct and traditions - not all of which I agree with. I'm not one, for example, who is in favour of the sepulchral silence that is demanded by golf and tennis aficionados when a point or shot is in play. I think fans are entitled to scream, holler and shout. Players are paid vast sums of money, and fans contributing to the atmosphere and cranking up the pressure to assist their favourites is fine by me. Is there any greater pressure than on a footballer looking to win the World Cup for his country in a penalty final shoot-out? I don't think so: yet the latter has to cope with a cacophony of sound and a wall of emotion, while the golfer or tennis player can demand silence. All of which, in a roundabout way, is me saying there is a time in sport to boo and hiss and jeer the pantomime villain, and a time to show respect for the individual concerned. While Kewell has worn the slings and arrows of his (mainly good) fortune through a lengthy career, no one would have been cheering if he had been injured and carried off on a stretcher during Melbourne Heart's 2-2 draw with Adelaide on Saturday evening. Football crowds, who dish it out more than most, generally know where to draw the line in situations like this. Tennis supporters made themselves look foolish by berating one of the greats of the game at a time when he was clearly struggling. Perhaps, though, it is indicative of the changing mindset of the fan, especially in these days when the stars earn such stratospheric salaries and the supporters are asked to pay enormous sums for the privilege of watching them. The gulf between the actor and the audience is so great, the cost to see the show so high, that those paying the piper feel they can call the tune and vent whenever they want. It is the sort of mentality that says I'm paying through the nose for you, I own you for the time that you're performing for me. And I can say what I want to you. In certain circumstances - the heat of battle, the cut and thrust of the game - such barracking is fine. In others its not. Which is why the contrast in the treatment meted out to Kewell and Nadal was so stark, why one was part of the game, the other definitely not. Total votes: 18164.