Alcohol and Fans Rushing Fields a Toxic, Disastrous Combination: All Things CW
The All Things CW notes column by Christopher Walsh will appear in five parts this week, one each day as the Alabama Crimson Tide prepares to visit Ole Miss.
This is ...
Take 1
The first time I was on a field that was rushed by fans was almost 25 years ago, and shockingly it wasn't a college football game. It was an NFL game.
This was 1998. It was a pretty amazing year in sports, and I was in Phoenix working for the Tucson Citizen. It was the the first season of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and also the year of the Mark McGuire-Sammy Sosa home-run chase.
When the Arizona Cardinals, who were still playing home games at Sun Devil Stadium and had both Jake Plummer and Pat Tillman on the roster, clinched a playoff spot on a time-expiring field goal, fans stormed the field.
It was the franchise's first winning record since 1984, and first playoff appearance since 1982 (1975 in a non-strike season).
This was before cell phones, so instead of taking photos and videos to try and capture the chaotic scene, I soaked it all in and then followed the example of the players: I ran.
During postgame interviews, All-Pro cornerback Aeneas Williams and linebacker Ronald McKinnon both called it crazy and extremely dangerous. All it took was one fan doing something stupid for it to result in a career-ending injury for a player, or worse.
At least no one cared about the opposing team, the San Diego Chargers. They were perfectly safe.
Ten months later, in the same stadium, the fans rushed again albeit this time was more about youthful exuberance. It was after Arizona at Arizona State, when the Sun Devils pulled off the upset at home. For those who don't know, there's a strong rivalry between the schools that taps into the whole big city-smaller city dynamic. Tucson has a strong aversion to Phoenix, and Phoenix, like every other Western city, hates L.A.
I was standing near the tunnel to get to the locker room at Sun Devil Stadium where I had an excellent view of four guys getting on the goalpost, only to see two fall right off. The first landed on two other people, hurting them both, and the other landed straight in his head. For about five seconds I thought he was dead.
Because Alabama has enjoyed the most successful dynasty in college football history, rushing the field has become more than a thing whenever it loses on the road. It's happening every game.
I've seen people get trampled, squished and panicked.
Ole Miss fans are kind of scary to begin with because they throw stuff. Texas A&M fans were so eager to get out on the field some jumped blindly into the tunnel area. I got run over by a euphoric Auburn fan after the Kick-Six, which is tough to do because I'm 6-4, but the kid was looking the other way while in a full sprint.
Now we've had two more experiences in three games, both of which should cause everyone to seriously reconsider things.
The first, of course, was wide receiver Jermaine Burton smacking a woman at Tennessee. It never should have happened. She shouldn't have been there. He had just been on the losing end of a crushing loss. It wasn't the first time a frustrated athlete something dumb in that situation, just the first to get caught on video like that.
But then there's LSU.
My friend, and our media colleague Michael Casagrande at AL.com shot video of a clearly drunk, belligerent fan going after Assistant Director of Player Development Evan Van Nostrand after the game. There are other videos out there of Tigers fans confronting and harassing others on the Crimson Tide, and trying to steal equipment.
Norstrand is one of the most likable and interesting people that Alabama football employs. He also has an amazing story, having been a veteran who was awarded two purple hearts.
What do you think would have happened had that drunk moron, or one of the other drunk morons on the field, had taken a swing?
Right in front of the Alabama locker room.
What's different now is like with the NFL game, alcohol is now sold at college venues, and there's no reasonable way for security and police to handle and contain that kind of situation. There's also the added emotions of not just coaches switching schools and being on the other sideline (Nick Saban in this case), but players (Eli Ricks).
I'm all for keeping the atmosphere and for fans to enjoy what could be once-in-a-lifetime celebrations. Want to rip down the goalposts and parade them around? Have at it, but only after the opposing players and coaches have a chance to get somewhere safe.
Otherwise, this is a powder keg waiting to go off.
Last week, the SEC announced the creation of the Event Security Working Group to look into the issue of fans storming football fields and basketball courts and provide recommendations by the 2023 SEC Spring Meetings.
I'll make the first one for them: Do whatever it takes for this to stop, or at least figure out a way to delay the storming for at least 30 seconds. It can be through million-dollar fines (instead of the maximum $250,000 now) and some of the same penalties being used to try and curb NCAA infractions.
Better yet, threaten to take their booze away. That'll get their attention.
See Also:
Rushing the Field from a Media Perspective: Three-And-Out
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