Today's Tidbit... Only Fools Rush On

We have seen a recent spate of publicity, and fines have been levied due to fans rushing the field in victory. Such behavior illustrates how kids these days no longer respect authority, think only of themselves, and do not consider how their behavior potentially endangers the players and coaches on the field.

Back in my day, we knew our place and did not venture onto the field following a victory or a loss. We knew better than that. However, let me tell you a story or two of fan behavior before the forward pass entered football.

Back then, large and small school teams often played games on fields with limited grandstands. For big games, especially the rivalry games played in late November, the crowds far exceeded the capacity of the stands, so the proprietors roped off the field, expecting the crowd to stay on the side of the rope opposite the playing field.

An article from April 2022 describes field roping and includes seven images of crowds more or less behind the ropes.

Keeping Crowds Behind the Ropes

Crowds remained orderly in most cases, but that was not always the case when the gales of November made ‘em surly.