Texas Tech fans embarrass the city by rioting, setting fires

Last night was incredible.

Or, at least, mostly incredible.

Texas Tech did the unthinkable, taking down Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans in a magnificent upset and punching the Red Raiders’ ticket to the National Championship game. Tech made history in the most amazing way and we’ve officially entered into the golden era of Red Raider basketball.

And for fans in Lubbock, there was no better opportunity to show the world what kind of university we have. To win with class, grace and respect for our opponents.

But, naturally, Tech fans went the other way and confirmed pretty much every negative stereotype ever cast on Red Raider Nation. We had:

Mobs burning couches:

Mobs flipping cars:

So much fire:

and I don’t even know what this is:

There was another video of someone smashing in car windows but I can’t find it and I’m too frustrated about the whole situation to keep looking. There were riot squads and tear gas and just a bevy of belligerent behavior that shamed the entire university and all of its alumni.

My question is why—what was practical, what was advantageous about acting like this? It’s truly a miracle no one was significantly injured or even killed with the abrasive actions fans were taking, and there was no reason for it, whatsoever.

“Act like you’ve been there.”

Have you ever heard that saying? It means when you win something big, do so with dignity and honor as if you had done it before. We’ve never made it to a Final Four or a National Championship game, but a respectable fan base would act like we have. It only makes the university look better and it establishes a culture of, “Yeah, we go to Final Fours and championship games, it’s nothing new to us, it’s just who we are and what we do.” Do you think Kansas fans would be flipping cars and setting the city on fire?

Tech has always been criticized for its fans. There’s a lot of passion for the university and that’s one of the best things about the school. But why, why do we have to cross lines and amplify people’s disdain and disrespect for us and our institution? With behavior like last night, we are openly inviting people to call us stupid, senseless, ignorant, violent, disrespectful, and flat out dangerous.

And to the people who are encouraging the behavior or thinking it’s funny, well, keep that in mind when you leave Lubbock and go out into the world where 99 percent of people don’t see Tech fans’ behavior as “fun and passionate” but classless and ignorant. You’re not just assailing our reputation, you’re destroying yours, too.