Basketball

Rexrode: Tennessee fans made an amazing night for their team, then stole it away


KNOXVILLE – Marc Curles has been involved in other controversies, like when his SEC officiating crew botched the finish of a Memphis-Mississippi State game on Sept. 18, but his is now the voice that launched a thousand projectiles in the latest case of Tennessee football passion gone stupid.

“…the ruling on the field stands,” Curles said, of a spot review on a 23-yard pass from UT’s Hendon Hooker to Jacob Warren on a fourth-and-24, which looked from some replay angles — especially to the at-that-point-amazing sellout crowd of 102,455 at Neyland Stadium — like it went 24 yards. Saturday’s 31-26 Ole Miss win over Tennessee, fine drama that it was, made way for a “B” comedy.

Plunk. Plunk, plunk. The first few water bottles that reached the field hit in the end zone, in the southwest corner of the field. They were full, or close to it, and carried enough heft to them to do some damage with a direct hit to someone’s head. Plunk, plunk, plunk-plunk-plunk-plunk. Soon enough, as the chorus of boos dissipated, the stream of projectiles increased. They were mostly concentrated in that south end zone and along the east side of the stadium where the Ole Miss bench was located.

The clock read 54 seconds remaining in the game. It was first-and-10 Ole Miss at its own 41. The game wasn’t over yet, not with three timeouts still belonging to Josh Heupel and the Vols. But the next 18 minutes, like it or not, will endure most from this evening. It was a small percentage of a full house, and it’s not the first time sports fans have thrown things onto a field or court. But it was out of hand for a few minutes.





READ NEWS SOURCE

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.