It's time to stop the fad that is rushing the field after college football games, only to tear down goalposts and tear up grass turf. Why? Because the novelty of surging out of the stands wore off long ago, and the revelry has become dangerous.
"It's going to take somebody getting killed to wake people up," Northeastern's director of the Center for the Sport in Society said.
Just as the stupidity and laziness of the NHL led to the death of a young girl at a game last year, so too does the NCAA ignore the ever-growing need to regulate fans' postgame celebrations. Only after a girl was killed after being hit in the temple by a hockey puck did the league opt to put up a net protecting the fans.
Was the game hindered in any way whatsoever? No. Were the fans safe from flying pucks and the players safe from the guilt of accidentally injuring a spectator? Yes.
Each time students rush the field, reports of bruises, broken bones and sometimes more substantial injuries are reported. In fact, in 1983 a Harvard freshman was hit with a toppling goal- post, severely damaging her skull, brain stem and cerebellum. When the medics got to her, she had no heartbeat. She did survive, however, and no case has been so severe since. But the case is proof that football fans are hardly immune to peril.
It is completely nonsensical then that the NCAA has failed to take action in preventing dangerous situations after games. In fact, attitudes such as those at the University of Illinois have led to the apathetic, outdated notion that "boys will be boys" that will lead to more and more unruly, risky behavior.
"If the crowd overruns the field, we just let them go," Illinois' chief of police Oliver Clark said. "Too many people would get hurt if we fought them. If they want to hang off the goalposts, we let them. They'll wear themselves out and it's safer that way."
Besides, rushing the field is no longer special. If you were watching SportsCenter two weekends ago, you would agree with me--four different student bodies rushed their respective fields after victories. That's pretty redundant. But at the same time, maybe students wouldn't be so inclined to run on the field if they weren't glorified on the front pages of newspapers and in the highlights of ESPN.
I suppose the only person who had any idea of how to prevent such action is the one and only Woody Hayes, the former Ohio State football coach. To prevent fans from rushing the field after an inevitable big victory, Hayes invited volunteers from the Columbus Police Department as his guests with a guaranteed front-row seat, as well as free hot dogs and drinks.
When the Buckeyes won and the fans felt the urge to rush onto the field, the police officers stood with billy clubs in hand, effectively creating a ring of police around the stadium. Needless to say, not a fan made it to the field that day. They had to remain in the stands where they belonged, clapping for their football gods from the comfort of their seats.
"They didn't deserve to be on the field," Hayes said after the game. "They didn't make the team."
Mike Corey is a Trinity sophomore and associate sports editor.
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