COLUMN: Utter Foolishness
It was one thing to have BYU students throwing tortillas at their football games, that was a little silly. Some people would say our True Aggie tradition doesn’t show much maturity. But what I saw following the BYU-Utah game was utter foolishness.
I woke up at the crack of 10 a.m. to drive down to Salt Lake for the game. I could feel the excitement of game day as I put a basket of dirty clothes in my car and topped off the gas tank. This was the biggest game of the year, a rivalry that split cities and families. Somehow I had the good fortune of getting one of the tickets my dad bought for the family.
The drive down seemed to take no time once I came into range of the Salt Lake radio stations. I arrived in Bountiful right at noon, departure time. My brother, niece, sister, her husband and I all piled into my sister’s Jeep Cherokee for the last leg of the trip. We were all Utah supporters and we would meet my uncle and his clan, all rabid BYU fans, at the stadium.
After a detour to retrieve some forgotten tickets, a parking fiasco and a TRAX ride, we arrived at Rice-Eccles Stadium just half an hour after kickoff.
Of course I was chosen to be the buffer between the two sides of the family and keep the peace. It wasn’t too hard as both teams played a mediocre game. Utah made fewer mistakes and won the game.
Then it happened. Utah fans have a history of tearing down goal posts. Mostly at Lavell Edwards Stadium (BYU’s) after a Utah win. But what I saw that day amazed me. Students and fans rushed the field in celebration of their victory. Security personnel guarded the goal posts on both ends, and for a time were successful in keeping the posts intact.
Then at the south end zone, hundreds of students rushed the security, overpowering them. Crazed fans began pushing on the goal post and some climbed up it trying to bring it down. It was over in a few seconds and a few fans were hit by the falling post. The fans then picked the whole mess up and managed to break one of the uprights in two while dragging it to the north end zone, stampede-style. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
They tore down the other goal post in a similar fashion. Both goal posts were paraded around by the mob of fans and ended up abandoned in the east bleachers.
All the while I stood there thinking this is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. There is some rationalization for tearing down the goal posts at an opposing team’s stadium. But to tear down your own goal posts causing problems, injuries and increased costs at your own university just doesn’t make any sense.
University students are always looking to carry on the traditions of their forbears and create new traditions. I think it’s great, but let’s be smart about what traditions we create and follow. There’s no need to act like idiots. And just for the record, I’m in favor of True Aggie night.
Cory Hill is a sophomore majoring in photography. Comments can be sent to coryhill@cc.usu.edu.