The 2OT. To storm the court, or to not storm the court.

The thought

It’s the same story every year. Someone upsets a top ranked opponent and the students storm the court. All of the sudden, there is a national debate over sportsmanship and the ethics of such a celebration.

Some people are firmly against it, saying that to storm the court is classless and implies that you’re not used to winning. Others say that it’s all good fun and a part of what makes college sports so great.

While field stormings occur in football, the debate intensifies during basketball season where court stormings are more frequent due to the close proximity between the students and the court (it’s a good five foot drop from the stands if you want to rush the field at the Jones). The smaller space also puts fans in close contact with opposing players and coaches.

In this case, Texas Tech was reprimanded and fined $25,000 over an incident that occurred during the West Virginia game. The Tech student section rushed the court after the Red Raiders upset the then #2 ranked Mountaineers. During the court storming Wesley Harris of West Virginia punched a student who had bumped into him. Wesley Harris received a public reprimand from the Big 12.

Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby mentioned that there is no rule in place that prevents fans from entering the court after a game has concluded. Despite this, a fine was still issued because Texas Tech allegedly failed to provide security to the West Virginia players and staff.

So what is the take on court storming, and is Texas Tech really in the wrong here?

The take.

Here’s the thing. It’s a -expletive deleted- game. A game played and watched by mostly 18-22 year olds nonetheless. Lighten up. The majority of people who complain about court storming tend to be on the losing end and let’s be honest, those people aren’t really mad that people are on the court. They’re mad because they lost. Plain and simple. This idea that you have to “act like you’ve been there before” is utterly ridiculous. Most of these students were in elementary school the last time Tech was really competitive in basketball. Let them be excited.

Now in regards to this situation. I believe Tech provided more than enough security for the West Virginia players and staff. I’ll leave the video for you to judge but it seemed to me like the students left a reasonable amount of space between them and the Mountaineer bench.

Certainly more so than West Virginia gave Baylor last year.

It looked like the student was unintentionally pushed into Wesley Harris, but even if it wasn’t, is it so unreasonable that these student athletes be expected to make their way back to the locker room without assaulting someone.

Clearly the big 12 disagrees, but if there clearly is no rule against storming the court, then slapping a $25,000 fine for the first offense seems excessive. Especially when the evidence is circumstantial at best.

What’s your take?

Let me know what your opinion is about court storming in the comments.