The 1993 film “A Bronx Tale” is one of my favorite movies, and it features one of the best scenes ever.

Young “C” sees a boy named Louie who owes him $20, and he starts to chase after him. After Louie runs away while making excuses, one of the mob characters said that “C” should hit the boy with a bat.

Thankfully, Sonny, the mob boss, stepped in with some sound logic.

Sonny: “What’s the matter?”

C: “This guy Louie Dumps over here. You know he owes me 20 dollars. It’s been two weeks now, and every time he sees me, he keeps dodging me. He’s becoming a real pain in the ass. Should I crack him one, or what?”

Sonny: “What’s the matter with you? What have I been telling you? Sometimes hurting somebody ain’t the answer. First of all, is he a good friend of yours?

C: “No, I don’t even like him.”

Sonny: “You don’t even like him. There’s your answer right there. Look at it this way: It costs you 20 dollars to get rid of him. Right? He’s never going to bother you again. He’s never going to ask you for money again. He’s out of your life for 20 dollars. You got off cheap. Forget it.”

I think about that scene every time I see people fighting with the two wannabe journalists running the fan-boy Montana AA Prep Football page on Facebook.

Every season for about the last five or six years, these two guys get high school football fans around the state fighting.

Of course, you remember Mac Daddy, the man who went viral with his angry rant right after his beloved Missoula Sentinel Spartans won their second straight Class AA football title in November of 2021.

Instead of celebrating the incredible accomplishment, Mac Daddy boiled over on a live Facebook video like a South Pole Alex Jones. Instead of being a proud fan, Mac Daddy stole the spotlight from a team deserving of recognition.

His wife tried to stop him, but Mac Daddy chose to pick fights with people. He even offered to meet some Butte fans in Rocker for some fisticuffs.

(It should be noted that when John Thatcher stepped up to say “I’m your huckleberry,” Mac Daddy dropped his fighting stance really quickly.)

High school sports should not include this much animosity. It is supposed to be spirited competitions between young athletes who are dedicating so much of their time to be the best.

We should cheer on our teams with everything we have, but we should also be respectful of the players and coaches wearing the other colors. 

It is horrible enough when we forget such a thing when it comes to college football. It is disgusting when people wear “FTC” or “FTG” hats, displaying their hatred for the players for the Montana Grizzlies or Montana State Bobcats.

Former Butte High Bulldog Tommy Mellott, the current quarterback for the Bobcats, tried to get fans to stop this nonsense last year after his team beat the Grizzlies in Bozeman.

“Quit trying to dehumanize those guys over there, trying to get in their bus,” Tommy said in a live television interview after the game. “Don’t be messing with them.

“I know what it feels like. We felt it last year. Those guys work harder than 90 percent of the people just to put themselves in position to play this game. Please just respect them and take care of those guys.”

As bad as it is when college fans act like that, it is a million times worse when they do it for high school sports.

Adults should not be adding hot takes and vitriol to the games of high school boys, and that is exactly what Mac Daddy and his side kick do on the Montana AA Prep Football page on Facebook. They spew hate and ignorance. They get fans to fight with other fans.

When he is not going full-on Mac Daddy, Mac Daddy actually seems like a pretty good guy who just loses his compass when it comes to high school sports. We actually see that all the time when parents watch their children play sports.

I know. It is really easy to lose perspective.

Most people, though, regain that perspective after they leave the stadium. Most feel bad when they yell at the officials, coaches or opposing players.

Mac Daddy, though, steps into a Slim Jim and doubles down.

Yes, he has passion. When that passion steps over to poison the waters, though, it is not a good thing.

On the Montana AA Prep Football page on Facebook, Mac Daddy and his side kick have sprinkled ricin all over Montana’s football aquifer. 

They are, after all, the guys who, back in 2019, pushed the insane claim that Butte High fans routinely throw batteries at the opposing players at Naranche Stadium.

Nearly four years later, they still have not backed down from that over-the-top ridiculous accusation.

After the first week of the 2023 season, Mac Daddy was at it again. On the first Friday night, he took to his live Facebook videos to trash Kyle Mihelish, the head coach of the defending Class AA State champion Helena Capital Bruins.

Coach Mihelish, who truly is one of the good guys in the game, apparently said he didn’t want to talk to the guys running the Montana AA Prep Football page on Facebook. He didn’t want his players to talk to them either.

Mihelish, who recently served as head coach of the West Side for the second time in the Montana East-West Shrine Game, was doing what the other 15 Class AA coaches should do.

The coaches shouldn’t want their players talking to a couple of misguided fans masquerading as legitimate media members.

They shouldn’t want their players talking to a couple of guys who will likely be bashing their team in an effort to get a few more clicks down the road.

“I’m sure he’s butt hurt or something because I placed them at 10 or something in the preseason poll,” Mac Daddy said of Mihelish, who has won state and national championships in his 24 years as a coach in Montana.

Man, sometimes irony can be so ironic.

I agree that someone was “butt hurt,” but it certainly wasn’t Coach Mihelish. I can promise you the great coach did not lose a wink of sleep over Mac Daddy and his side kick.

Of course, this video led to people fighting with Mac Daddy and his side kick on Facebook and Twitter.

Those fights don’t usually last long, though. If you disagree with either of them on their Montana AA Prep Football page on Facebook, they will block you.

I was blocked years ago, and I consider myself one of the lucky ones. If you were blocked, you should feel the same way.

If you don’t believe me, just think of the words of Sonny on “A Bronx Tale.”

You don’t even like those guys. You don’t like that page and what it stands for.

There is your answer right there. They are never going to bother you again. They are out of your life. You got off cheap.

And it didn’t even cost you 20 dollars.

— Bill Foley, who learned most of his life lessons by watching mob movies, can be reached at foles74@gmail.com. Follow him at twitter.com/Foles74 before that billionaire weirdo ruins it. Listen to the ButteCast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.