Blogs

Homecoming celebration still a rush the third time around

A student’s argument for rushing the field after Saturday’s Homecoming win over UCLA:

OK, OK, OK, we understand that beating a Bruins team that got killed by Utah and beaten by bad Notre Dame and Washington State squads can’t compare to Homecoming victories of yore – such as the UCLA and California contests of the past two years – that defined “”field-rushing games.””

We understand that Saturday’s rush puts us in a category with ASU (yuck!) and Oregon fans who rush the field every other week after games they should win.

But that doesn’t take into consideration the biggest reason fans rushed the field: We’re Arizona – quality home victories don’t exactly grow on trees.

The one plus side, from a football standpoint, of attending Arizona the last four years is the opportunity to rush the field at least once a year; even fifth-year seniors can say that, although it does not wash away the sour taste of the team’s bowl-less runs.

We can’t reasonably expect the Wildcats to pull the upset against the No. 3 Ducks on Nov. 15, so why not take the field-rushing chance when we’ve got it?

Once UCLA quarterback Osaar Rasshan’s fourth-and-11 pass fell incomplete with 2:07 left on the clock, no rush to the sidelines of the past few years ensued; instead, just a few, faint “”Rush the field!”” chants trickled across the student section.

Unlike on-field celebrations of the past few Homecomings, nobody really knew what was going on until the first red shirts hopped the fence and started flooding onto the turf.

Part of the fun involved the question lingering in the Arizona Stadium air: Would Zona Zoo would make it five straight years of field rushing?

Legitimate or not, that’s one UA football tradition I’m glad we decided to carry on.

Michael Schwartz
assistant sports editor

Mailbag

In response to Tom Knauer’s “”A farce for the ages,”” (Yesterday) I would like to take this time to send a collective “”screw you”” to Knauer, sincerely, the UA student population. I find myself wondering if Knauer knows anything about tradition, about finding high notes in a season of lows. Arizona isn’t exactly a storied university with regards to its football, so Knauer attempting to show his own embarrassment directed at the students for rushing the field after beating UCLA (who was in contention for the Pac-10 title) is ridiculous.

Maybe Knauer should stop wasting his column space (which, hopefully, is limited) bitching about Arizona having school spirit. Three years in a row, Tom – I wish you would accept a newly started tradition. Knauer goes on to call the rushers “”all certainly casual football fans.”” Wow, Tom.

The day Tom Knauer knows more about football – any sport for that matter – (than I do) is the day I start cheering for ASU. In other words, the day I die. My friends Brett and Kevin and I would love to see Knauer and the others that didn’t rush (apparently “”real”” football fans) attempt to show us that they know more about football than us. And we are only freshmen.

Does Knauer know that Yale has won more national championships than any other university? Does Tom even know that Arizona plays USC next year for Homecoming? I don’t really care if he does, because if I ever see him in public, I will be too busy calling him out to question him. Anyways (sic), Tom, stick to copying (sic), please.

Sincerely, from the University of Arizona, “”You, Tom, are an idiot.””

Enjoy the bleachers while I go hug Antoine Cason and Mike Thomas again.

David Colangelo
criminal justice administration freshman