I am not a fan at all of fans storming onto our sporting fields of play in jubilation. Not really at all. The only time that I can even accept it is when a TRUE underdog pulls out a huge win. If Baylor beats Texas in hoops....go out there and enjoy it! If UNC-Asheville beats Duke in the mountain town....go for it. But other than those type of circumstances...stop it!
It is stupid and lewd and unsafe. Worst of all - it is becoming tacky.
The same way that I cringe whenever a football coach gets the ol' Gatorade shower....I know cringe during the "storming the court/field" shots.
I mean....isn't something "cool" when not everybody is doing it?? I guarantee you that everytime Duke loses on the road, the opposing school's fans storm the court. Again, if you are St. Augustine's School for the Blind...that's fine. But not when you are North Carolina.
Yep, I've seen my beloved UNC Tar Heel fans rush the court. I, honestly, am embarrassed of this. The #2 all time winningest program shouldn't have their fans storming the court after beating anyone! They do it to us. Many programs [if mot 90% of them] should feel the same. Storming the court means you did something of a miracle....not something expected. You should be able to expect your team to win.
It is mainly NCAA football and basketball...where tradition and years of being bullied leads to this. How many people would be shot if fans stormed an NFL field? An NBA court? A baseball diamond? An NHL rink? Sure, an idiot gets on there every once in a while....but never the entire stadium.
That's the ESPN in us. We see those games where teams do it....and we gotta do it too. And why? Sure, our school won....but why do I have to run out on the court to celebrate it? Why do I need to tear down a goal post?
The SEC is the only conference that I know of that is doing something about it. Yesterday, the SEC fined Arkansas for their fans storming the court after their win over Florida this past weekend. Earlier this season, the conference fined Tennessee for having the same thing happened after a win over Florida. The SEC has set a rule that says "at no time before, during or after a contest shall spectators be permitted to enter the competition area". And they are following the rule on this one.
There has also been some other measures taken to ensure things don't get too out of hand. At events at the Georgia Dome....fans are videoed and have their pictures taken by event staff. This has a two-fold purpose. One, it keeps the fans aware that there is security around and that they are noticing you [sometimes, these staffers take your picture of you and give you the Polaroid. Sometimes there isn't even film in the camera]. And, two, if something does pop off....they have some visual evidence. Ohio State has the ability to mess with student's financial standing with the institution via fines that the student would have to clear up before registering for classes in the next semester. Of course, some curb the alcohol sales. This works....but many of the smaller programs need those alcohol sales to help fund their athletic programs.
Of course, the institutions see the only problem as legal ones [but clever writing and an announcement during the game covers that]. Essentially, if you get injured in a storming the court celebration....well....it's your own fault since you weren't supposed to be on the court anyways.
Have some sense. Mouth off to the opponent's fans. Flip some cars over in the street. Pour your beers all over a friend. Just stop storming the court.
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POSTSCRIPT: About 18 hours after I wrote this....Fox Sports.com made mention of nearly the exact same thing. At FOXSports.com - COLLEGE BASKETBALL- Kansas' Self deserving of top honors, writer Frank Burlison writes "This whole "Hey, kids, let's rush the floor when our team wins!" thing is getting a bit out of hand, don't you think? For one thing, it's potentially dangerous as heck. Someone is going to get severely injured in one of these bad dashes for the floor and a whole bunch of attorneys are going to be busy on both sides of the litigation table. It's all too much a cliché these days. It's even reached the point in which students spilled onto the floor Monday night in the Carrier Dome after Syracuse edged West Virginia, 60-58. Granted, it was a critical win for the Orange's NCAA Tournament's at-large bid resume. But it's not like Jim Boeheim's team had knocked off the top-ranked team in the country. The Mountaineers took an 18-7 record into the game and had lost three of their previous four games. This is one of the top 10 programs in the country, one that won a national title three years ago. A new rule for Rushing the Floor: Unless the win comes against a top-ranked team or as the result of a frantic comeback and/or last-second shot, the students at a school that has won a national title within the past decade aren't eligible to race onto the floor after a game."
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