SEC AD: Home Teams Must "Forfeit" Win if Fans Storm Field, Court

I knew it was Bama's AD when I read the title.

 

What if there are non students doing the storming? I like the ticket ban though, but for alumni too.

 

It’s always the nerds who never played sports that come up with dumbass propositions like this

 

I remember the HBC discouraging that kind of thing by telling people to act like they had been there before when things do go our way. I still admire that man and his wisdom greatly.

 

The issue is not taking the fun out of football and basketball, or being punitive. The issue is safety for fans, coaches, officials and players. A bit of (relatively) recent history:

"In 1983, Margaret Cimino was injured by a falling goal post while rushing the field after Yale University beat Harvard University. The goal post snapped under the weight of climbing fans. She suffered massive head injuries including a fractured skull and brain damage. Five years later, after Washington State University played the University of Washington, several fans were injured by toppled goal posts after they rushed the field. In 1993, after the University of Wisconsin beat the University of Michigan, over 70 fans were injured after rushing the field. In 2005, a University of Minnesota-Morris student died from head trauma when a goal post fell on him while rushing the field.

In 2004, after the University of Georgia played the University of Florida in basketball, a UGA fan rushed onto the court and took a swing at a Florida player. In 2024 a brawl broke out at the Utah Valley State versus New Mexico State game when Utah students rushed the court and started throwing punches at a New Mexico State player.

Athletes, coaches, and officials are all at risk of getting stuck in between fights, getting hit by potential falling goal posts, or getting trampled. The field can be damaged. Goals posts are often uprooted or snap under the weight of the fans that climb them.

Which brings us back to people getting hurt: the weight of one goal post alone is estimated at around 600 pounds. Goal posts that have been damaged carry a cost of about $18,000-$25,000 to replace."

So for those who consider rushing the field or the court a time-honored and harmless tradition of the game, a question: How many fans, or players, or officials or coaches need to be injured (or worse) before something serious, like forfeitures, should be considered? How would we Gators feel if DJ Lagway or Walter Clayton Jr. was injured by opposing fans storming the field, or the court? Would that be OK, because it's "tradition"?

 

When we beat then #1 FSU at the end of the 1997 season, Spurrier tried to wave fans onto the field after the game to storm it in celebration. He even grabbed a goal post and gave it a couple of shakes, trying to get something started. But with the field lined with police and state troopers, nobody joined him and he eventually gave up.

 

Can't penalize them team for post-game sheanigans. Storm the court/field, share in paying the fine and students a date with the Judicial Board. Bump the fine up until it hurts.

 

Bull. If the fans are told before the event that if they do it the team they support will forfeit the win I gare-an-dam-tee the schools that wink-wink-nudge-nudge this crap would get serious.

 

I can't say I recall him saying that at all. I do think he recently said that storming the field after a big win would be pretty cool. That must be a newer attitude though because he was not happy when MSU did it after upsetting us in Starkville...if memory serves one of the trainers got hurt.

The Field storming schoolmarm's at UF had established the post-game iron (blue) perimeter around the field long before Spurrier arrived back in Gainesville to coach.

 

Actually 3 people did try to join in. They got to enjoy the celebration while hog-tied face down on the field. A buddy of mine was one of them.

 

I admire that man and his wisdom even more greatly for sparing FSU his code of conduct.

 

We will never rush the field or court so I’m not worried about forfeiting. Pass the rule.

 

Such as don’t lose to Vandy.

I picture the Bammer AD penning this while dabbing away tears and taking slugs from an open bottle on his desk.

 

I misspoke in my previous statement in saying "Can't" instead of saying "Shouldn't". Penalyzing the team for 3rd party actions is absurd. That's like saying "Gatorranger, we're going to hold you accountable for something Gatorrick said". Penalyze the participants and have them share in paying the fine and take it antoher step in that no futher class registrations or graduation until the fine is paid.

 

Oh, my. Somebody is big mad that their "competitve advantage" is gone. If they can't beat you on the field, they'll find a different way to improve their record.

'Eff Bama, their whiny AD, and their cheatin' football program.

 

This is a real b&$tch move by a guy who makes millions off the backs of mostly working class ppl and students and has forgotten what actual fun looks like. When’s the last time you think he had real fun/ I don’t mean the kinda fun you pay $1500 a ticket for or $2500 a head for a stuffy dinner or make sure you tuck your polo into your jeans before you head to the 19th hole-generic fun… but actual livin - L-I-V-I-N.
You’re in college ONCE. Go to a punk rock show, stage dive, get naked, jump in lake Alice, paint the lion, storm the court. It hurts nobody. Charge the kids (or their rich dad in Naples) a few extra bucks on their student fees and get over yourself.
Remember how to be a person

 

Interesting you had to go back to 1983 and 2004 to find examples of injuries- in literally hundreds of thousands of kids running.
Care to tell me how many DUI crashes have happened to and from games? Arrests? Sexual assaults? Drunken brawls? If the issue is REALLY safety (it’s not) then let’s take alcohol out of the stadium and make sure we have DUI checks setup at the parking garage.
the issue is property damage. Trace any issue back to the wallet. These Admins don’t wanna pay money to replace sod and goalposts. That’s all this is. They care very little about student safety.
Go watch video of any of these celebrations. It’s kids running around hugging. This isn’t Philly where they are burning cars - pppl do actually die there and btw- they still let those things happen.
This is 100% about property over people… as usual.

 

That is not an apt comparison.
It's a flawed example but I accept the challenge.
In your scenario, I will assume that I cannot control what Gatorrick says. It's a foregone conclusion that it is a precise 50:50 proposition; I know he either WILL or WILL NOT say something. If I am told beforehand, and am compos mentis sufficient to understand what I am told and the threatened consequences, if Gatorrick says something I will be penalized in some way, I will be HIGHLY MOTIVATED to preclude Gattorick from saying something. I will use every tool in my rhetorical and physical toolbox to prevent the unjust penalty being applied to me for the actions of someone that, at a certain point I cannot control. I would apply a gag, duct tape his mouth shut, do anything I needed to prevent it. Now, I like Gatorrick and I don't want to infringe upon his agency, so I would do my utmost to tell him to be silent, but if he cannot, I am prepared to go beyond reliance upon his self-control. It's really up to Gatorrick. We can both end up pleased with the outcome or maybe just me, because he chooses to do the thing I informed him he must not do. If Gatorrick does not respect the magnitude of the consequences, they will not compel his behavior. Requiring them, a la your scenario, to pay a financial penalty after the fact assumes the penalty is a) sufficient to compel compliance AND b) there is a mechanism for it's collection. There are fines for speeding yet people do so with full knowledge of it and are willing/able to risk breaking the law.

No, I'm afraid the one thing me and Gatorrick both desperately want, i.e our team winning a victory, must be the common cause around which our actions must coalesce. If Gatorrick knows he will potentially deprive both of us of that which we desire by acting outside of the limits, if he does so, he's a sociopath.

 

Where do I sign to support getting that rule in place?

 

So what if the visiting fans storm the field after a loss. Does that get them a win? The new 12th man!