Wait.
What?
That’s what happened last week when Utah Valley hosted New Mexico State for the conference championship in basketball. After an upset win and their first conference title the Utah Valley fans stormed the court in joy. But moments prior to that as the final buzzer sounded a New Mexico State player fired the ball at a Utah Valley player in a fit of rage and ignorance. The oncoming fans saw this and began to mouth the Aggie. Foolishly he retaliated and began to shove the fan. The fan then swung and a small brawl ensued.
The fact that the moments following the game didn’t turn into a reenactment of the old Pacers-Pistons brawl is amazing. The player was almost tackled by his coach and the situation resolved itself as the angered player was taken to the locker room.
Now, the talks of banning court storming are flying about. The SEC fines its members for each offense and more conferences are in talks to follow suit. The argument for the ban is that it is too dangerous for the fans and players and can also lead to troubling situations like the one that happened last Thursday. I completely disagree.
I believe the hosting University takes on the responsibility for all players and staff on hand at the game, including the opposing team. Anytime a University is hosting a big game or a big time program that if beaten, would be cause enough to storm the court should have escape plans. They should have both security posted and rush all players and coaches into the locker room. The faster the teams are led off of the court, the chance for something bad happening decreases rapidly. We can’t lose the exciting and sometimes cliché tradition of storming the court after a big win. It truly embodies what college basketball is all about. Everyone wants to see the small, underdog program beat a team like Duke or Kansas. And come time for the always thrilling March Madness we would lose the Madness part of it. It would be more like a slightly hectic March.
If you haven’t figured out my feelings on this issue I will make it simple for you.
Don’t let one bad apple ruin the whole bunch. Please!