Violence following Nebraska game disgusting
Security problems, Nebraska fans and overzealous stadium protection to blame
By Richard bray
Published: Wednesday, October 30, 2002
Updated: Monday, March 1, 2010 18:03
After Saturday's football game against Nebraska, hundreds of Cornhusker fans celebrated by rushing out onto the field, where at least one female fan was tackled by a Kyle Field security guard, according to the Lincoln Journal Star.
Numerous fans at the game witnessed a member of the Corps of Cadets punch a Nebraska fan in the face. This disgusting situation was created by poor Kyle Field security, an overzealous protection of Kyle Field and blatant stupidity on the part of Nebraska fans.
The first, and most important, step to preventing such occurrences is for fans to have the maturity not to run out on the field. Football fields are the domain of authorized personnel. When fans charge the field, they endanger the athletes, coaches, media personnel and others who have a legitimate reason to be on the field.
The Nebraska fans were behaving in a ridiculous manner. It doesn't matter if it was Nebraska's first win on the road this season, or if Nebraska's victory over the Aggies was an important win for its fans.
They endangered themselves and others while running out onto Kyle Field and they deserved to be punished. However, that punishment should not have come from an overzealous cadet.
Instead, it should have come from Kyle Field security, which fell miserably short Saturday. If security officers alone are not enough to prevent fans from charging the field, then barricades should be used. If chain link fences are required to keep fans from the field, so be it.
Innocent people are endangered when fans rush the field, and it is the job of security officers to ensure that the field is safe for the athletes and fans. Current security measures are obviously not successful and security must be improved upon in the future.
It is not as if such an event was entirely unexpected. After all, one only needs to look back to last year's game against Texas Tech, when a melee ensued following the Texas A&M-Texas Tech game, to see that the Big 12 Conference is not immune to embarrassing debacles that can result in injuries.
Another example of this obnoxious behavior is the Kansas-Baylor game that took place earlier this season. Following Baylor's victory, fans stormed the field and tore down the goalposts.
This behavior keeps occurring after Big 12 Conference games and steps must be taken by stadium officials to prevent them in the future.
This failure on the part of security does not excuse the cadet who punched a Nebraska fan in the face. What the Nebraska fans did was stupid and disrespectful, and they deserved punishment, but assaulting Nebraska fans only embarrasses A&M.
If Aggies hate to see other schools raid their field, they should demand better security at the games. Taking matters into their own hands only serves to desecrate A&M's reputation. The A&M football media guide referred to Texas Tech as "classless clowns" for their behavior following the game last year, but the cadet's conduct Saturday was equally classless. "Defending" Kyle Field does not serve as a legitimate excuse to run up and punch someone in the face.
This is not just an example of the Corps being out of control. There were plenty of non-regs present who would have done the same to "defend" Kyle Field. The student who punched a Nebraska fan could have been one of any number of Aggies present, but that still doesn't make it right. To think one is justified in punching someone in the face for running onto Kyle Field is exceptionally poor judgment, and is definitely not "good bull."
By defending the field themselves rather than leaving it to security officials, Aggies made the situation even more dangerous. Had the violence escalated, there could have been serious injuries.
The excuse that Kyle Field is a memorial and must therefore be defended by any means necessary is simply false. Although the flags surrounding Kyle Field are a memorial to the Aggies who lost their lives in World War I, the field itself is not a memorial.
In 1918, plans were made by a group of students to construct a new memorial library and stadium in memory of those who lost their lives in World War I, according to an article by A&M Archivist David Chapman. This project, however, never got off the ground. Chapman says the perception of Kyle Field as a memorial has persisted, but Kyle Field has never been officially recognized as a memorial.
If Aggies want to prevent opposing fans from storming the field, they should demand extra security measures instead of taking matters into their own hands. Although the Nebraska fans' behavior was immature and dangerous, Aggies need to have the self-restraint to handle the situation better. Assaulting those who run out on the field only makes a bad situation worse.
