After the dust has settled, I still have yet to see a good reason why rushing the field after a victory over a top 10 football team can’t be practical or safe if we institute certain rules. It’s important to understand that no one is calling for a free for all. What a majority of students would like to see is the tens of thousands of dollars that we spend per game on security go toward the safe facilitation of rushing the field in the event of a rare, emotionally fulfilling win rather than toward threats of arrest or pepper spray.
To the practical side of things, I think most would agree that it isn’t feasible for students sitting in sections 6/7/8 to rush over the high wall. The sideline is built for great sightlines, and needs to stay that way. But why should that stop the thousands of students sitting in the endzone sections from either hopping over the short wall (which several did on Saturday without incident…except for the arrest), or taking one of 8 sets of stairs that go from the end zone areas to the field? Instead of having police lining the student sections, they could just as easily form a line to provide a clear form of exit for the away team and coaches, and at the bottom of 6/7/8 to prevent kids from jumping. For those in the impassable sections, they will likely file around to the SEZ section as others clear out.
For safety, consider this: a small internet sensation was made out of the fact that even a girl in crutches was out storming the field at Baylor, as they beat no. 5 Oklahoma. CBSSports tracked her down, and in the interview she said “I didn’t get hurt and the feeling of celebrating with the team was unreal!”. The walls in front of Baylor’s student section are comparable to those behind the endzones at Carter-Finley. But “crutch girl” didn’t make it down alone – she did it with the help of security. “I think [security] realized it would be safer to just let me down,” she said. Now compare this to threats of a possible arrest haunting them while they searched for a job coming from the Wake County Sheriffs.
Even with that, I don’t blame the police or security. There just wasn’t protocol to follow. If just a few simple things had been instituted and known ahead of the game, it would have been a safe and controlled environment for all to enjoy a much deserved victory. Even though many of us may not experience a top 10 victory at home as students ever again, I urge everyone to contact Debbie Yow and ask for a review – so that future students can hopefully get to experience what newspapers today called the “coolest sight in college football”. If we want to bring excitement back to athletics here at NC State (which I believe Debbie Yow has done a great job of doing so far), it starts with giving the fans the best experience possible.
