There are lots of wonderful aspects to sports in general like competition, teamwork and perseverance.
These things can teach us a lot about life and be applied to practically any age or endeavor. One of the best things sports brings out of the average individual is passion. The incredible feeling of euphoria after a game-winning touchdown is nearly indescribable. The overwhelming sense of emotion after a gut-wrenching loss is just as strong. It all comes back to passion and investing so much in the teams we all love.
Of course, it’s often easy to let our emotions get the best of us and act out of character in such intense moments. Some people simply take things too far. Misguided passion led a lunatic Alabama fan to poison two oak trees at Toomer’s Corner. Fights have been started, couches have been burned and mayhem has ensued all in the name of being “a passionate fan.” The label of “fan” is short for fanatic for a reason.
I have personally experienced the highest of the highs and the lowest of lows as an Auburn fan over the years because I have a passion for Auburn athletics. I invest a lot of time, money and energy and I get a tremendous amount of enjoyment out of it.
There is a unique phenomenon related to football and basketball known as “storming the court or field” when fans rush the playing surface after a big win or upset. This has been going on as far as I can remember.
The Cal v. Stanford game in 1982, where the Bears ran the kickoff back for a touchdown with all the laterals and ran over the trombone player, is one of the most famous plays in college football history. I never actually did it myself because it always seemed foolish to me, but I was there in 2013 in Jordan-Hare Stadium when Tiger fans stormed the field after the “Kick Six.”
The late Rod Bramlett was even famous for saying “You’re not gonna be able to keep them off the field tonight.” In fairness, the way those games unfolded was unprecedented to the point of unbelief.
However, court and field storming have become an all-too-common occurrence over the years. That many highly emotional human beings in that close proximity is bound to create problems. There have always been incidents between players and fans or between fans and fans, but nothing too major as far as I know. It’s probably miraculous no one has been stampeded. Of course, this isn’t counting soccer fans in South America and Europe. There have been many deaths over the years due to all sorts of insanity, but they would consider American’s passion for sports tame in comparison to theirs and they would be right.
Truth be told, it’s only a matter of time before something tragic happens in the US on a college campus in a “celebration.”
Over the weekend, Wake Forest defeated No. 9 Duke on the hardcourt and the fans rushed the court, injuring Blue Devil player Kyle Filipowski. It turned out not to be a serious injury, but it could have been. Again, it’s only a matter of time.
Schools are fined every time a court or field is stormed, but most universities are happy to pay the money because it was a huge win for the program. Some have suggested that it’s simply a lack of security. If 80,000 people decide to do something, 100 part-time security guards aren’t going to stop them.
I hate to say it because I love the passion that comes with college sports in particular, but this practice needs to end. The NCAA could end it tomorrow if it truly desired to do so. Simply put a rule in place that if fans storm the court or field, their team forfeits the game.
I suppose they would have to clearly define what “storming” means, but it would end overnight. I also suppose some rival fans could storm the field in their opponents’ colors to try and get them disqualified, but I seriously doubt they would have the numbers to be effective.
Whatever the solution, this is an issue that needs to be dealt with now before a player or fan gets seriously injured or worse.
Andy Graham is a co-host of Auburn Blitz and his column appears here weekly.
