As a fan, there is nothing more exciting than sitting in the stands when your team is on the verge of pulling off an upset. It's one of the greatest sights in college basketball to see students storming the court after beating a powerhouse.
However, when the school your team defeats is sub-.500 Bowling Green, give me a break.
On Saturday there were several instances in college basketball where students ran onto the court after their schools pulled off upsets: unranked Georgetown University defeating No. 1 Duke University, unranked University of Tennessee beating No. 2 University of Florida and, of course, the biggest upset of them all, Ball State making its first conference win of the season against the powerhouse, 7-9 (3-3) Bowling Green.
Now, by no means am I saying students storming the basketball court at the end of a game is wrong, because I feel that if done right, it is one of the most beautiful traditions in college basketball. However, there is an appropriate time and place for this action, and if students rush the court at the wrong time, the entire school and program can look totally idiotic.
Defeating a ranked team when your school is unranked, making an amazing comeback to beat a rival, ending an unprecedented streak or winning a conference championship are all reasonable situations for students to run onto the court in celebration.
A wrong time to storm the court is after beating a team that has only had one winning record in the past three seasons.
Fans rushing the court after defeating a team that lost to Radford University by nearly 20 points is as pathetic as beating your younger brother in a game of one-on-one basketball, then running around the backyard pumping your fist in triumph.
Now, it is true this win ended the Cardinals' seven-game losing streak, but storming the court in the regular season of college basketball means most people did not expect for your school to win because the other team was heavily favored.
What does this say about the state of the Ball State basketball program, if fans are now considering the Cardinals underdogs against Bowling Green? Have expectations dropped so low for this men's basketball program that students should begin to view wins over teams like Division III Oakland City University to be great victories in Ball State history?
If fans are to storm the court for wins like Saturday's, maybe the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics should start hanging banners above Worthen Arena to commemorate seasons when the men's team finished above .500 or reached the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
Storming the court should be a rarity in college sports and should be saved for only the greatest of endings or the biggest of upsets.
Ball State students would've had the perfect chance to storm the court if the Cardinals had beaten either Indiana University or Butler University earlier this season, and they might have another chance at the end of the season if the Cardinals can make a run in the MAC Tournament.
But defeating the less-than-average Bowling Green Falcons was not the appropriate time to have the first court rush of the season.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
