http://www.insidevandy.com/drupal/node/3147
I came across this article from the studetn newspaper at Vanderbilt the day before we played them in basketball a few weeks ago. (Yes, they beat us, but we will ignore that for now because honestly its still Vanderbilt) The article discusses the ramifications for students that rush the court or field after games. As of now in the SEC, there are minor fines such as $5,000 for the first offense, $25,000 for the second offense etc. In my belief this is absolutely not strong enough. The universities and their athletic departments enjoy getting the clip on Sportscenter of their "great" fans showing their "enthusiasm". They are more than willing to pay the bills to make this happen.
The consequences for storming the court should be absolutely harsh. Im talking about something that would make the fans never consider doing it again. How many people have gotten injured when this happens? How many players have had to use self defense from opposing fans? How many police officers have not been somewhere else because they had to stand around the entire court or field at the end of each game?
How bout this suggestion UAA people. Any student attends a game where fans rush the court may not attend the following game. There are obviously faults to something like this such as studetns can possibly get tickets and that you would be punishing many students that didnt do anything. But...The students would police themselves and create a culture where nobody wanted to get anywhere near the court! :)
Here at THE University of Florida, we expect to win every single game so there is no need to act like fools and get on the court when we do. I just wish some other schools would stop acting like they've never been there before.
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2 comments:
"Rushing the field or court is nothing more than a sad pathetic reminder that you're not an elite team" (Register, 2001). I said that after Auburn fans rushed the field when they beat us in the fall of 2001 and, for the time being, derailed our national title hopes. Yes, I know it sounds familiar, but there were a couple key differences between that year and this past one:
1)We ended up losing to Tennessee (AT HOME) later in that year when a win would have sent us to the national title game. That completely ended our title hopes and the opportunity to give miami an ohio state-like beatdown. That's right, pick.
2)Their fans didn't rush the field this time, I guess they expected to win
3)That team was better than this one.
This actually reminds me of another story. After Indiana's basketball team beat a highly-ranked Wisconsin team this year, their fans rushed the court. When asked how he felt about it, Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan smiled and said he "couldn't help but appreciate the irony of the situation" (Ryan, 2007).
With all that said, rushing the field or court looks like a ton of fun, and if we ever did it, you better believe I'd be out there.
Grant
I definitely agree with the dangers of rushing a basketball court, football field, or any field of play for that manner. We have all taken Sports Law, and know the legal repercussions that can result with such a lax in security and safety. I think when this happens nationwide, especially at basketball arenas, ADs are sitting back watching the melee with their fingers crossed, because in my opinion, it is just a matter of time before someone gets seriously hurt. It would not take much at all for someone to trip before even making it to the playing surface and being trampled to death by the crush of fans coming behind them. ESPN recently did an "Outside the Lines" on the dangers of rushing basketball courts and the possible dangers associated with such behavior. I think that most schools view it as a rite of passage, and figure nothing is wrong until someone gets seriously hurt or they hear of someone getting hurt. I think it's only a matter of time. Schools across the country have already stopped allowing fans from tearing down goalposts after football games since the deaths of several students. I guess it is going to take something of this nature to happen before the NCAA starts enforcing such rules......I must admit, however, I have myself wished I could rush the court or storm the field after a big win, because it "looks fun", but on the same token I believe the rules that are enforced here are for my safety, so I'm not bitter.
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