The Really Big Week 7 Thing Was …
The behavior of a portion of the Tennessee fans.
To be clear, not all of the Vol fans at the Ole Miss-Tennessee games threw things on the field – and at Lane Kiffin and Rebels players – late in what was an otherwise phenomenal college football experience.
Enough of them did to set off what needs to be a warning signal.
The world has changed in a huge way since 2019. Boorish fan behavior has been baked into the cake since sports began, but attitudes are different now.
The political climate is more divisive, the rhetoric has been cranked up to toxic and violent levels, and all the clichés about a divided America have created an environment that emboldens the jerkweeds and bullies – but you know that.
Unfortunately, that all fits in perfectly with the irrational world of sports. College football has always had its fringe elements of fandom, but there’s usually a reasonable limit.
Ha ha, Ohio State and Michigan fans don’t like each other, and friendships are strained when Auburn and Alabama play, and some of the stories about business deals after the Oklahoma and Texas game are goofy fun. But now that fans are back and the emotions are so high overall, college football has to be careful.
Everyone needs to let off steam, but that doesn’t make it okay to chuck something at a head coach. The question was asked, “Who brings a golf ball to a football game?”
Someone who intended to throw it.
Now, more than ever, we have to stop using the concept of passion to excuse criminal behavior.
No, it’s not cool that Kiffin had to OBJ-catch a water bottle being thrown at him.
No, it’s not funny that someone fired a bottle of mustard on the field.
No, it’s not okay for fans to release their tension in a It Just Means More sort of way, because this is all going to cross a more frightening line in a real hurry for an official if there’s a bad call, or if someone doesn’t like a coach, or for whatever unhinged reason there might be.
College football is just a stupid game, and no, it doesn’t matter in the scheme of the real world, and no, it’s never, ever, ever, ever okay to do anything violent, or mean, or cruel just because you like a team or a school.
That we can get so riled up and so emotional about something that’s so inconsequential is the entire reason why college football is awesome, but it’s entertainment. That’s all.
To the credit of the SEC and the University of Tennessee, everyone in charge said all the right things after the end of the game on Saturday night, but before things get out of hand, there have to be changes and new rules before someone gets hurt.
There has to be a less than zero tolerance policy when it comes to inappropriate fan behavior in stadiums, online, and everywhere else.
College football has to be fun – and safe. If it’s not, then there’s no point in playing it.
– The Us, PJ Fleck: Winners & Losers
– Iowa’s loss: Most Overrated Thing
– ASU’s loss: Most Underrated Thing
– A deep breath What It All Means, Week 7