Storming the field following a big win is one of the great American college sports traditions. There’s nothing quite like spilling over the grandstand wall and counting down the final seconds as your school finishes off a hated rival.
Just make sure the game is over.
Arizona football fans probably will follow this final piece of advice more carefully after what happened in Tucson late Saturday night. The Wildcats had a 31-24 lead over Oregon with less than a minute to go. Arizona was thinking upset. The Arizona fans, meanwhile, were thinking about dancing in the middle of the field. They were climbing down from the stands and lining the outskirts of the sidelines.
This was all fine and good, except for one tiny problem.
Oregon had the ball.
The Ducks were driving.
In the Arizona red zone.
But hey, no matter, because nothing bad ever happens when the home fans are ready to storm the field. It’s right there in the college football rule book next to “field goals are worth three points” and “holding is a 10-yard penalty.” If the fans are ready to storm then the game is over, right?
Uh, no. Wrong again.
So as the Arizona faithful ringed the playing field, Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli smirked. He thought it was funny. Then Masoli calmly threw a tying touchdown pass with six seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime. And then (and here’s the best part) all those Arizona fans had to climb back into the stands, where they subsequently were given a guest lecture on the meaning of the word “irony” as they watched the Wildcats lose, 44-41, in double overtime.
