With March Madness in full swing, college hoops fans are getting more passionate and emotional than actors in a Spanish soap opera.
There are plenty of reasons to get fired up about college basketball. Case in point: MSU's two last-minute losses to Wisconsin.
I was going berserk for the entirety of MSU's final regular-season home game. When the game went into overtime, my heart was pumping and adrenaline raced through my veins. When Chris Hill nailed back-to-back 3-pointers in the final minutes of overtime I was ardent, yet saddened. I realized it was all for naught, as the clock ran down to zero and I watched our hopes for a Big Ten Championship crumble.
My emotions were running no less rampant in Saturday's last-minute, 68-66 loss to the Badgers. My dad had to explain calmly that the players cannot hear me when I yell at the TV. But I could hardly contain my emotion, because I couldn't fathom back-to-back losses to a team that was defeated by Michigan at Crisler Arena.
But there is a big difference between being incensed and becoming disorderly.
Court rushing is a common sight in basketball, typically after a huge upset when the underdog makes a last-minute, game-winning shot. These sort of antics can easily get out of control. And it doesn't just happen in college basketball.
On Feb. 27, a high-school basketball game in Metropolis, Ill., turned into a rampage. The home team, Cairo, was defeated 64-61 by Massac County after senior Kalin Lowe missed a 3-point shot in the final seconds. In the ensuing chaos, upset Cairo supporters and ecstatic Massac County fans rushed the floor and fighting broke out. Five people were injured and 40 law enforcement officers were called in to break up the crowd.
Although I can empathize with fans who get extremely upset when their home team loses at the last minute, resorting to unruly behavior is unacceptable.
Spartans fans have seen their fair share of riotous and chaotic conduct. After MSU's 1999 Final Four loss to Duke on March 27, about 10,000 people rioted in East Lansing, leading to more than $250,000 in damages. After Texas defeated MSU, 85-76, on March 28, 2003, students again took to the streets, overturning cars, setting fires and causing roughly $40,000 in damages.
This sort of conduct leaves a bad taste in the mouths of administrators for years, and can tarnish a university's reputation. Everybody loses when celebration turns into bedlam: Students wind up in jail, property gets destroyed and it costs cities and universities money.
March Madness has its name for a reason - it's insanity. When else do you see students painted green, fans jumping up and down for hours on end and entire stadium sections filled with students clad in their university's colors? This kind of mentality is what being a college hoops fan is all about. So get emotional, get excited, but please - keep the madness within reason.
Evan Rondeau is The State News sports administration reporter. He can be reached at rondeau1@msu.edu
