Sports Fan Etiquette: When Is Storming the Court Acceptable?

As the final seconds of last night’s college basketball game between Notre Dame and Syracuse ticked away, two things became painfully obvious to everyone watching: 20-0 Syracuse was about to suffer its first loss of the season, and the men and women of the Notre Dame student section were about to swarm onto the court like angry bees.

How original.

Fueled by excitement, and maybe a little bit too much to drink, college sports fans have been “storming” courts, fields and all types of playing surfaces for ages in order to celebrate their schools’ most thrilling victories. Over the years, however, as rowdy coeds have flooded court after court, this once cherished tradition has become predictable, clichéd and hugely overdone. Simply put, America needs a lesson in court-storming etiquette.

Allow me to be your professor.

Much like dieting or enjoying an adult beverage, the single most important rule to keep in mind when celebrating athletic victory is to always practice moderation. A responsible fan must understand that not every game is extraordinary and, therefore, sports moments worthy of a full-fledged on-court ruckus are few and far between.

While the students of Notre Dame may have been merited in their decision to flood the floor last night, smaller, less justified court "stormings" occur far too regularly, taking away from the allure of the tradition.

For example, just a few hundred miles from Notre Dame, another basketball game took place yesterday in Athens, Ohio. Having trailed for much of the contest, the Ohio Bobcats of the Mid-American Conference crafted a fourth-quarter comeback to beat their archrivals, the Redhawks of Miami University.

Predictably, madness ensued in Ohio’s Convocation Center as hordes of students scaled metal barriers, trudged down steps and dodged overwhelmed policemen en route to the court. Within seconds the entire gymnasium floor was transformed into a living, breathing mob of green and white.

What’s so wrong about a little act of team spirit? Well, nothing, if it’s warranted. Ohio is a 15-4 basketball team. Miami is 5-12. Maybe Redhawks fans could have rushed the court to celebrate not losing by 50, but Ohio had little reason to be so excited. This was a game that the Bobcats should have won in a much more convincing fashion, yet Ohio fans still used the mediocre victory as an excuse to get rowdy.

Had the Bobcats student section better understood the law of moderation, students would have stayed under control and enjoyed their victory in a mild manner so as to preserve the integrity of the court-storming tradition.

I understand that few things in this world can match the thrill of victory or the excitement of celebration, but if fans continue to misuse the storming tradition, it may just lose its magic altogether. From one sports fan to another, please don’t let that happen.

Keep on storming, but only when absolutely necessary.