It’s one thing to celebrate your school advancing to the Elite 8 for the first time in 30 years (Dayton Flyers fans). I’ll even give the University of Dayton President Dan Curran a pass for crowd surfing. The Flyers won a huge game over THE Ohio State Buckeyes, the perennial powerhouse of Ohio college athletics, plus they beat No. 3 seeded Syracuse and No. 10 seeded Stanford before ultimately losing to No.1 overall seeded Florida on March 29th.
But let’s look at what ensued during the riots following Dayton’s one-point victory over Syracuse on March 22nd. 5 people were arrested on the Dayton campus. Students were throwing bottles and rocks at police in riot gear. This riot looks pedestrian at best compared to other school riots.
In Lexington, Kentucky, students took to the streets to burn couches and climb trees after the Kentucky Wildcats beat the defending national champions and in-state rival Louisville Cardinals in the Sweet 16 game on March 28th.
Most recently at the University of Arizona, 15 people were arrested after thousands of students stormed the streets when their beloved Wildcats lost to Wisconsin in the Elite 8 matchup. A video featuring a man taking bean bag shots to the stomach area has gone viral. Tear gas was fired, people were tazed and beer was thrown at the police. Sounds like a war zone. You’d think the Arizona basketball program was shut down for good.
Allow me to lend my two cents on this whole rioting business. Is it really worth it?
What? Is YOLO now the official catchphrase of this generation? What’s that gonna do for you? Will you still be screaming YOLO in the police car or in a jail cell?
It’s just plain stupid to take to the streets and put yourself at risk. That guy who took bean bag shots to his body in Arizona may have guts but those “guts” only got him arrested. Not respect. Not from me. If the police beat the crap out of him for no reason at all, then he gets a pass. But that’s not what happened. No Rodney King-type controversy here. Just stupidity. Are the nasty welts worth it, too?
I can say with honesty that I’ve never been shot at by anything (paint balls, bee bees, pellets, bean bags, or actual bullets). I don’t know what I’d do or if I’d be as brave as the Arizona fan, but the fact that being arrested could ruin someone’s life these days just isn’t a risk worth taking.
College students need to realize that they have A LOT to lose. Each situation is different, but is the rest of your life really worth putting at risk because your team lost in the NCAA tournament?
Sports are a wonderful thing. Sports can help unify people like nothing else can. But these rioters, while mostly inebriated, are missing the whole point of sports.
When violence, drunkenness and a little anger mix, it’s hard to stop and the safety of others is all of a sudden at risk. One drunk, angry fan meets with 10 more, the number increases and becomes an aggravated crowd that creates a scene. It’s becoming way too common at big-time universities.
Don’t forget the reason for sports. Winning and losing is at the heart of it. There’s no recourse and no excuse for rioting just because your favorite team lost in a tournament. It’s not the end of the world. It's embarrassing, really.
For the love of sports, is it really worth it?