Fan riots are out of control

By Sean Pullins Sports Central Columnist

This weekend was a historic weekend for the scarlet and gray, as the proverbial monkey seems to have exited the Buckeye State.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have their first opportunity to play for the national championship since 1979.

But, all of that was tarnished Saturday night in what has become a negative trend in college sports today: fans unruly behavior after the game ends.

Living on the OSU campus, the same message was heard over and over all week: party responsibly. Famed OSU running back Archie Griffin even went to the point of taping a public service announcement to discourage bad behavior.

The fans and students were on good behavior after the game until the clock struck midnight -- that's when chaos ensued. Parties broke out a couple of streets from my house. The guests of these parties decided to pay homage to the great season by burning whatever they could find. After that party was broken up, the party moved to another street where celebrators decided to flip and destroy dozens of cars by lighting them on fire. This was to show support of OSU's big victory?

This type of behavior has started to become common in college football today. On this same weekend, celebrations got out of hand on other school's campuses, as well. In Pullman, Washington, arch-rivals Washington and Washington State went to triple-overtime until Washington finally came out on top victorious.

To show respect to both participants in a classic battle, the fans decided to pelt the opposing Washington players with beer bottles and debris. Barbara Hedges, the athletic director of Washington, even stated, "I feared for my life after the debacle took place."

South Carolina, North Carolina, and California games all had injuries resulting from fans tearing down goal posts after wins. These incidents have become a party of the fanfare -- these used to be isolated incidents, but this can't be said any longer.

I have been an avid sports fan since the age of six, and never in celebrating have I thought about burning a vehicle. This type of behavior is unacceptable. The students at Ohio State who partook in the riots Saturday will be expelled from school if found guilty, but will this deter future acts? I don't believe it will.

It doesn't stop with the fans -- coaches are even getting in the act. In a game between Miami (Ohio) and Marshall on November 12th, Marshall made a great comeback to win the game. Assistant coaches Taver Johnson and Jon Wauford destroyed the press box after the loss. Wauford even went to the extent of assaulting a heckling fan that got in his face.

Football is a violent sport and has become the nation's past time. People can still root for their team responsibly -- I know from watching the Bucks all year that they have been a class act all year. It is just a shame their fans have not.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.