So I've realized what really irks me when it comes to college sports. Why is it when there is even the slightest bit of an upset, fans feel the need to rush the damn court/field? I really came to terms to this while watching this year's college basketball season. Most notably, the Clemson/Duke game last week and the Missouri/Kansas game this week.
In my first example Duke and Clemson were then ranked #3 and #10 in the country, respectively. Clemson and Duke were tied 13-13 with about twelve minutes to go in the first half, and then Clemson just took over. For the rest of the game Clemson never lost the lead, and lead by as many as 22 points in the second half. With the final score being 74-47, Clemson held the Blue Devils so season lows in field goal percentage and points in a game. How come the fans still felt the need to rush the court after a game was essentially over after eight minutes into the game? Especially in a game where your team is ranked top 10 in the whole freaking country! I'm sorry, but if you are at home and you are one of the top teams in the country, you should expect to beat any team that comes into your house. I don't care how good they are (by the way, Duke isn't that good this year). Also, when your team is up by that much and players are just standing around on the court waiting for the game to be over, it looks stupid as hell when the dumbass fans rush the court. Besides, what do you do as a fan after the "rushing" is over with? I could see this running through my mind:
(As the game ends) "Holy crap, we won! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" (Rushes court)
(2 minutes into rushing) "Damn, I can't see shit! Too many people are down here..."
(5 minutes in) "Welp, I'm done jumping up and down. What do I do now?"
(5 1/2 minutes in) "WHERE THE FUCK IS MY PHONE? FUCK I THINK I LOST IT JUMPING UP AND DOWN. FUCK"
With my luck, I could see myself losing something to that effect while rushing the court or field. So I will not do it.
On to my next game that I witnessed idiocy at its finest. Just this week there was the Kansas/Missouri matchup. As I understand that this is a great matchup, I still don't see it being worthy of a crashing the court event. Yes, Mizzou did make a great comback, however I cannot comprehend why the fans insisted on rushing the court. Case and point is that it took long enough for the game to end, the players to come off of the bench in celebration AND the players to make their way to the student sections to join them in celebration (which I am fine with, by the way). Only after that, the student body decides to make the court the home of celebration. This one isn't as bad as the former, but what pissed me off was when the players made their way to the student sections, and the students still decided to make their way out of their seats and onto the court. No to mention, look how stupid the fans look as they are trying to make their way off of the court. Looks like a herd of cattle, huh? I thought so.
I attended the University of Illinois, home of one of the best basketball teams in recent Big Ten history (2005 National Runners-Up) as well as home of one of the worst football teams in recent Big Ten histroy, and I have never seen an Illinois crowd rush any court or field after the end of any game, no matter the circumstances. Case and point: In 2004, I was about to witness my first football Big Ten win (halfway through my sophomore year, mind you). Approaching the end of the game, the security thought that the fans were going to rush the field in celebration of a win, nevermind the game importance or how the team won. Instead the fans cheered loudly and went their respective ways (me to the World's Greatest Beer Garden). Another instance, and this one concerns the KU/Mizzou game: Wisconsin's football team (then ranked #5 in the country) came into Memorial Stadium with a 14 game winning streak. The football Illini pulled off the upset to break the Badgers' winning streak as well as go 3-0 in the Big Ten for the first time in 17 years. Did the fans rush the field after the game? No. Could they have? Sure. However, instead of the fans blindly running down onto the field, the players made an effort to come to the fans and celebrate in the stands with them. Take note, Tiger fans (the ones in black and gold).
Point number 3: this one contradicts the actions of Tiger fans (the Clemson ones) after their game against Duke. In 2005, the Illini were set to host Wake Forest for the ACC/Big Ten challenge. As the Big Ten always seems to get their asses beat in this "challenge," this proved to be the game of the year (at that time) for the Illini. WF came into Assembly Hall as the #1 team in the country, Illinois being the #3 team. As the game went on, it was easy to see who was going to be the victor in this game. As the Illini proved victorious, there was no rushing of the court. There was much rushing out of the door and rushing to the nearest bar to celebrate said victory, as I did. This game was decided early, and the fans knew it. There is no reason to rush a court when a victory is cemented early on in the game.
As I do not like fans rushing the court, I do see when there are times that it should happen. It should not happen very often, though. In fact, there is only one instance that I have seen live where rushing the court was warrented. This was a February 12th, 2003 game between Louisville and St. Louis University. Louisville was then ranked #2 in the country with SLU being near the bottom of the C-USA Conference. With about three minutes to go, my friends and I were about to leave the game because it looked as though Louisville was going to win by about ten (if I remember correctly). Three old ladies behind us said to us, and I'll never forget this line, "Now boys, it's not over 'till it's over." Hearing this from these old ladies convinced us to stay and watch a stunning upset, one of the best upsets I have ever seen with my own two eyes. Rightfully so, the fans stormed the court and celebrated with the players over the victory.
With all this being said, I know that rushing the court/field will continue to happen. The only thing I can do is bitch about it and write about it. Best part is, no one will hear me or read this, so I just wasted my time...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Oh yee of little rememberance. Let me set the stage for you...February ?, 2006. It was a crisp night with the Illini playing Penn St. The game was over at halftime, or so everyone thought with a 15pt lead over the Nittany Lions. That lead dissappeared in the final 20 minutes, only to be taken back by a Richard McBride 3 pointer...Krush floods the court. Three minutes later, the officials rule that the shot doesn't count as it was after time had expired. The correct call. I'm sure you remember this now, I just had to make it sound dramatic.
ReplyDelete