Does no storming the court hurt UF basketball enthusiasm?

[InstiGATOR1]

While watching the end of NCSU beating Duke today, this occurred to me. There is something about letting fans have passion. If you don't let fans have passion, does it make it harder to build a fan base?

I know it is dangerous, but so is all of life. Here is an interesting story about an NCSU student in a wheeler chair joining in today:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2013/01/12/qa-with-north-carolina-state-wheelchair-fan-will-privette/1829185/?sf8567217=1

[hgators]

We act like we've been there before.

[akaGatorhoops]

We cna not storm at this stage of our program. . . it would be silly. But yeah... there were times in the past that i would like to have seen it happen. I know Tupac will rip me for this, but just how I feel.

[number1]

Why would we storm the court? That is like our football fans storming the field after beating LSU or South Carolina this season. lol

[MadduxFanII]

Have we been in a position to storm the court recently? Last time we had a game that even remotely qualified was the win over Kentucky in 2005 in our last game and senior day for David Lee.

At this point in our program's history there's no one we could beat at home that would really justify a court storming.

[GatorPlanet]

It looks like fun but it's also dangerous. I remember a UF equipment manager getting knocked out during a field-rush by the Mississippi State jackasses during the SOS era. I've also seen our hoopsters get manhandled and shoved during similar incidents, but thankfully not hurt.

[InstiGATOR1]

I do agree UF has not had many situations where its fans might have stormed the court. I too am usually in the act like you have been there before camp. On the other hand despite Vitale's list today, UF needs to keep building its fan excitement about this program.

[warhorsegator]

We act like we've been there before.

Only punks storm the floor. Real men go for a beer when clock hits zero

[hgators]

Ever see Kansas, KY, UCLA, Dook or the Heels storm?!

[tommyuf21]

I do agree UF has not had many situations where its fans might have stormed the court. I too am usually in the act like you have been there before camp. On the other hand despite Vitale's list today, UF needs to keep building its fan excitement about this program.

Most of our big wins have happened in tournaments, as I recall.

We could have stormed the court a few times in my days at UF, specifically against UK (Bowie & Turpin team) in 84 or when Joe Lawrence hit the game winner in the NIT quarterfinal.

[GatorPlanet]

Most of our big wins have happened in tournaments, as I recall.

We could have stormed the court a few times in my days at UF, specifically against UK (Bowie & Turpin team) in 84 or when Joe Lawrence hit the game winner in the NIT quarterfinal.

Can you imagine us storming the floor after a big NIT win now? What a different era that was.

[akaGatorhoops]

i forget the year... perhaps 1999. but when we beat uk and teddy jumped up on the scorer's table. we should have stomed.

[tommyuf21]

Can you imagine us storming the floor after a big NIT win now? What a different era that was.

I remember it very well. I still remember how exciting it was for us to get to our first Sweet 16 in 1987 (beating Purdue in Round 2, if I remember correctly).

[notexgator]

Bear in mind the SEC charges first storming of the court cost $25,000; the second $100,000; the third $250,000. Rather steep price to pay for getting on a court. This was put in place because one of our managers got attacked and hit in the headf with a concusion. Plus students at the time were also trying to jump Joakim and bait him into a fight. Good rule - I have no problem with it.

[ApexNC]

Storming the court is bush league. We are not bush league.

[GataBaitx3]

Storming the court is bush league. We are not bush league.

This.

[gatordavisl]

http://www.dogsandbabieslearning.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/no.jpg

[GatorsGators]

Storming the court is bush league. We are not bush league.this

I can understand a program like South Carolina storming the court after pulling off a monumental upset against Kentucky in 2010. We're past that.

[swampgas44]

Duke was favored by 1.5 points today and they stormed the court ??????

[themistocles]

How many of you are familiar with Soccer (football) play in Europe and South America.

Storming not infrequently ends in riots.

In fact, the city government of Amsterdam started giving away free pot at its cafes when big games were in town, and the number of dangerous incidents dropped precipitously. Unfortunately, the only places you can finally use that useful tool to cool people down in the US are Washington and Colorado.

The Mob/Mass Mind phenomena is exceedingly powerful and frequently associates with people acting in ways they would not be happy about normally.

I don't think storming is wise.

[InstiGATOR1]

Some of the responses here are a bit like someone noting Calipari bringa in rap stars to meet his team to help recruiting and responding I don't like rap. Well that is irrelevant to the discussion of Calipari bringing in rap stars to scrimmages as your personal opinion on rushing the court is to the issue of whether fan enthusiasm at UF is hurt by not allowing rushing the court.

As I said in my second post above, my personal view is a bit old school too. That said fans are implicitly or explicitly permitted to show their elation at the end of big or tight wins at almost every other school including many if not all other SEC schools.

I think the best answers are that UF has so few opportunities. UF has more money than any other program in the SEC [maybe aTm has more] so I do not find the money issues such a big deal. I do wonder if the UF UAA sometimes takes some of the fun out of fandom?

[gatorbogey]

the ship has sailed on us storming the court - at least w/ BD...now we could go thru years [a decade?] of mediocrity and then, a big win might warrant it.

enthusiasm and fun and festive celebrations should be part of the equation. but, you know, when i look at the rowdy reptiles, it seems like they have a 'stormin' good time for the entire game!!!

[rserina]

I guess I don't see the relationship between fan support and storming the court. It basically engages somewhere between 500-1000 undergrads. Our problem is an alumni fanbase more concerned with who our next grad assistant will be in football than with anything inside our hoops program.

[tupacbiff]

We cna not storm at this stage of our program. . . it would be silly. But yeah... there were times in the past that i would like to have seen it happen. I know Tupac will rip me for this, but just how I feel.

Yes you are right.

It looks cool on tv but there have been a number of serious injuries including paralysis.

Essentially it is a liability issue and arenas and schools are flat out stupid to allow it.

[co_gator89]

Storming the court/ripping down the goalposts is typically for Georgia basketball/Kentucky football, a.k.a. perennial losers. And like others have stated, it's not safe.

[gatorbogey]

I guess I don't see the relationship between fan support and storming the court. It basically engages somewhere between 500-1000 undergrads. Our problem is an alumni fanbase more concerned with who our next grad assistant will be in football than with anything inside our hoops program.

spot on.
but i do think students that are/were rowdy reptiles will change that culture a bit. we've only had about a decade's worth of that vs 60+ years for the football following to develop and mature.

and i think as those former rowdies get into the alumni side of the dome, you'll see alot more noise and participation from the alumni base at games too.

i remember my days on campus - hoops was indeed an afterthought. but we did get excited if we made it to the ncaa's. and we'd have watch parties for those games that rivaled football game parties.

i still think we're in flux in this matter. but w/ the down economy, priorities for travel and expenses still go to football. although i must say, over the last half-decade, i think i've split my resources and expenditures pretty evenly between gator football, basketball and gator baseball. so some see football and hoops as 1A, and 1B.

[UFG8rGuy3283]

the ship has sailed on us storming the court - at least w/ BD...now we could go thru years [a decade?] of mediocrity and then, a big win might warrant it.

enthusiasm and fun and festive celebrations should be part of the equation. but, you know, when i look at the rowdy reptiles, it seems like they have a 'stormin' good time for the entire game!!!

Agreed.

I remember being a student in 2000 when Teddy returned from back surgery early and we beat #8 UT. Dupay jumped up on the table in front of the student section and only 2 or 3 guys made it on the court before they were made examples of and no one else dared to do it.

That was a moment when it would have been justified, imo, but we have been too good for too long to storm the court for anything.

[tilly]

Were are favored in probably 90% of our home games in the last 10 years. Favorites dont storm floors.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tablet using Gator Country

[bullish]

NC State hasn't won anything big since Jim Valvano. My daughter went to school there and danced on the dance team, saw many losses in basketball and football. There program has great facilities and it was a matter of time before they got it together. Pent up for something great, they beat Coach K, Hall of Famer, and #1 Duke. Great for them.
Storming the floor was a no-brainer. Call it a turning point for the program. If Florida had been mired in a slump this long, I'm sure, fine or not, if we were to beat Cal and #1 Kentucky on our court, we couldn't hold back the fans. The arena they play in holds about 18m. Gottfried is recruiting talent. NC State has a good fan base and look for this trend to continue. In football, it still has to be proven, but they are making changes.

We as Gators, I'm sure, hope they stomp Roy boy and the heels also. I hope we don't play them a first game in the tournament. They have large guards, a good front line, and some depth. As we are getting cut down with injuries, this would be a tough out.

[Go2gtr]

You can't have passion without storming the court?

[Brewski]

We storm the bars on Univ Ave.

[wci347]

Who would we storm the court against Georgia? NCState has been a has been program for eons. Duke and UNC have dominated the conference, and last year even SOW won a championship. NCState is the stepchild of the three schools in North Carolina. They are light years behind both of them academically and athletically.

We don't have to deal with such realities thank God at our school. We don't need to storm any courts.

[sgtfury]

In the SEC, fans rushing the court results in a hefty fine for the home team.

[humegator]

Vandy beat us a few years back, they stormed the court, and one of our players (don't remember who, he eventually transferred) hit a fan. Don't remember the outcome, but regardless, nothing good comes from fans being on the playing surface.

[Msgreentea]

http://www.thepostgame.com/features/201301/will-privette-storms-court-north-carolina-state-duke-basketball

The NC State court storming was a near disaster - and based on this story hard to see how They wouldn't be found liable. Plus one of NC State players was pushed over.

The Tallahassee website had some horrific pictures of the court storming when they beat UF in the 06-07 season. Pictures which were quickly taken off line. One UF player appeared to take an unintentional elbow to the head as the crowd was making a b line to Noah. Further the warchant website had accounts of guys who were trying to get to the front near Noah - who was apparently getting shoved, shoving back, shouting back, in tears with cell phone cameras in his eyes. Noah was apparently grabbed by either the UF trainer or strength guy and gotten out.

[TheGator]

No. Florida is better than that.

[sgtfury]

While watching the end of NCSU beating Duke today, this occurred to me. There is something about letting fans have passion. If you don't let fans have passion, does it make it harder to build a fan base?

I know it is dangerous, but so is all of life. Here is an interesting story about an NCSU student in a wheeler chair joining in today:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2013/01/12/qa-with-north-carolina-state-wheelchair-fan-will-privette/1829185/?sf8567217=1

Storm the court when you beat the #1 team. Cannot remember a #1 team coming into the O'Connell center in the past 5 years of this new fan celebration.

[REM08]

Storm the court when you beat the #1 team. Cannot remember a #1 team coming into the O'Connell center in the past 5 years of this new fan celebration.

Not when you've had the kind of success you guys have recently. Gotta be past that. Even logically think about this... Whoever the number 1 team is right now (UL or Duke?), if they come into town, what is the line? It couldn't be much more than 5 or 6 I wouldn't think. Gonna rush the court for that? Not after two titles last decade.

[InstiGATOR1]

Miami coach Jim Larranaga on the ESPN podcast:

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=8880359

says students should storm the court after every home win.

[UFLAW81]

Miami coach Jim Larranaga on the ESPN podcast:

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=8880359

says students should storm the court after every home win.

That's really dumb.

[InstiGATOR1]

That's really dumb.

Did you listen to what he said or did you just react?

[UFLAW81]

Did you listen to what he said or did you just react?

says students should storm the court after every home win.

[MJGator8104]

If that's what he said (and I don't plan to listen to it myself...at least not right now), that is stupid.

[penleydr]

Aside from a buzzer beater to beat UK for a title the last game of the regular season, I don't think there is a situation where I could approve of storming the court.

[tupacbiff]

As I have said countless times, any school/venue that allows people to storm tge court are idiots. Tge liability they are opening themselves up to is monumental.

[ufgator4ever]

If you storm the court at UF, it means two or three drunk students. There just isn't any storm mentality at UF. Too much future at stake to risk a silly arrest, which inevitably our upd friends would be waiting to do.
Only gator storm in my memory wasn't on campus. It was Jax in 84? I think.

[tommyuf21]

If you storm the court at UF, it means two or three drunk students. There just isn't any storm mentality at UF. Too much future at stake to risk a silly arrest, which inevitably our upd friends would be waiting to do.
Only gator storm in my memory wasn't on campus. It was Jax in 84? I think.

Yep, was there for that one. Goal posts went down.

[GatorLurker]

As I have said countless times, any school/venue that allows people to storm tge court are idiots. Tge liability they are opening themselves up to is monumental.

I agree with tupac on this.

And I would like to ESPN be the part of the people being sued because they are responsible for almost all of the popularity of this with their "news coverage". And they have very deep pockets so they are are very enticing target in such a lawsuit.

[gatorbogey]

had a blast stormin' the field in '84 after the big win [finally!] over UGA. that was pure joy. people got injured. one was a frat brother who was first over the fence and got the nightstick on the back of the skull...but the pre-occupied police in that zone was the breech that allowed the rest of us to flow onto the field unabated.

had a great time last weekend at the gator win over missouri. plenty of enthusiasm. no storming needed.

[maxgator]

LOL.

I know why the op has his name.

[MJGator8104]

If you storm the court at UF, it means two or three drunk students. There just isn't any storm mentality at UF. Too much future at stake to risk a silly arrest, which inevitably our upd friends would be waiting to do.
Only gator storm in my memory wasn't on campus. It was Jax in 84? I think.

From the day Foley became the AD, he had police line the field to keep people from storming the field at UF. After a while, we got used to and don't even actually want to do it no matter how "big" the win was/is.

At this point in time, most UF fans also have the "been there" type attitude as well. This, of course, does not mean we aren't willing to go dancing in the streets...:wave:

[malscott]

I think you could storm the gym back in the Florida gym days, right? I always remember the University police challenging kids to try it on Florida field as they lines the perimeter. Just scream louder from the stands.

[jrcg8tor]

I believe we almost had a real bad situation at UGA involving Matt Walsh one year. Also I believe we had a player (Powell, I think) that threw a punch at Vandy I think.

UF had a stretch where it seemed like almost every road loss in football and basketball resulted in the court or field being stormed. Foley pushed for the SEC rules and I am glad he did. People get hurt and it has the potential to get very ugly. Glad we dont allow it.

[twodaparty]

Ever see Kansas, KY, UCLA, Dook or the Heels storm?!

Yes. Kansas fans stormed the court in Las Vegas when beating us in an early season Invitational there. I remember it well. We are Florida, we don't need to storm the court or field. When you are elite you don't have to do that. Kentucky fans would storm the court before we would.

I specifically remember when we FINALLY beat Kentucky in a thriller on David Lee's senior day. We had camped out for days and I was in the front row. The players WANTED the students to storm the court to celebrate I remember them waiving for us to come. When it was obvious we weren't coming the players instead came to us by jumping on the press tables. I slapped hands with Matt Walsh and was on the back page of the Alligator doing so. If there was EVER a game it was going to happen, it was that 05' senior day Florida - Kentucky game. Since it didn't, it never will.

[gatorbogey]

i like that - players storming to the rowdy reptiles...clear out press row!! ;)

yep, we [now] celebrate in the stands, high fivin' all around - just like after every big play etc.

[madgator]

i forget the year... perhaps 1999. but when we beat uk and teddy jumped up on the scorer's table. we should have stomed.

this is the one and only time it ever should have happened.

we're far beyond this now as a program



it's cliche and amateur. Like when we started playing jump around before the football games. (man does this TICK me off). We have to do it because Wisconsin does it?

or even worse, that chanting/techno beat song.

[TampaGatorFan]

We act like we've been there before.

^ this

UF is an elite basketball program under Billy D, and the whole country knows it. We don't need to storm any damn courts.

[UFG8rGuy3283]

i forget the year... perhaps 1999. but when we beat uk and teddy jumped up on the scorer's table. we should have stomed.

I was there in the student section and we were going to until the first 3 guys who did it got dropped and face planted by the cops. Foley was on front of the student section yelling at everyone that they would be arrested if they stormed.

Agree completely that if there was ever a time, that was it.

In retrospect, if we had only known the real reason why Teddy returned and why he was probably so pumped, we would have told him to get his low life self off the table.