radek2166
03-26-2005, 03:37 PM
WVU hoping fans will stay cool
Officials fear more postgame mayhem
Saturday, March 26, 2005
By David Templeton and Bill Schackner, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Morgantown and West Virginia University officials say they will add police patrols before today's NCAA basketball tournament game to prevent a replay of yesterday morning's mayhem.
Caught a bit off guard by unruly crowds that set fires and damaged property shortly after midnight yesterday, officials vowed they won't be fooled again.
WVU officials said police will clear the most volatile street, Grant Avenue in the Sunnyside section of the city, before WVU faces Louisville at 4:40 p.m. for the regional championship in Albuquerque, N.M.
City Fire Chief David Fetty said his department will cruise streets in full force before, during and after the game, win or lose.
After WVU's victory just after midnight yesterday, fans poured into streets, set fires in trash bins and on roadways, tipped over cars and set at least one ablaze, and threw rocks, bricks and beer bottles at police and firefighters. No serious injuries were reported.
It all occurred despite attempts by WVU to discourage a repeat of the mayhem that has become an embarrassing distraction from the school's athletic success.
In advance of Thursday night's game, campus leaders including Coach John Beilein and players had urged students by campus e-mail to "support the team by celebrating safely and responsibly," school officials said.
University leaders, including Ken Gray, vice president for student affairs, condemned the trouble but said the vast majority of WVU's 25,000 students celebrated peacefully. Those found to have violated the law will face "swift and severe sanctions which could include expulsion from the university," Gray said.
"The small minority of individuals engaged in this conduct won't detract, I hope, from the success of the team and the image of the university," he said.
There were clues mayhem was ready to erupt even at halftime when the score was tied and several fires were ignited throughout the city.
Fetty said he watched the game at home, until a free throw sealed the victory for WVU in the final seconds.
"I better get ready to go," he said he announced to his family.
"I had been cautiously optimistic the students would behave themselves, but I won't be naive," he said. "I'll be out [tonight]. Me watching the game at home won't happen again."
For more than an a hour after the win, the fire department was busy extinguishing 35 street fires citywide, including a car that was tipped over on Grant Avenue and set ablaze.
The Sunnyside area, just off campus, was the focus of the trouble. Police made only four arrests in the early hours so officers could remain in the streets to quell riotous behavior. More arrests are expected, the police department said in a news release.
One firefighter suffered a bruise when he was struck in the head with a can of beer, Fetty reported. Several police cruisers were struck with debris and damaged.
Fetty said his department issued six citations for illegal burning and failure to follow orders of fire officials. The citations carry a maximum $1,000 fine.
The burning of couches in the streets has become an embarrassing Morgantown tradition after sports victories, and officials have worked unsuccessfully for years to eliminate the practice.
When WVU sealed the win early yesterday, people poured into the streets along University and Grant avenues in Sunnyside, into the downtown and elsewhere throughout the city.
Doug Hamilton, owner of the Corner Cafe on University Avenue, said 35 people barged from his cafe after the free throw and began an impromptu celebration that stopped traffic on University Avenue. Fans were hollering and taking off their shirts.
An upholstered chair was tossed from the second floor balcony of a neighboring building, landing on one celebrant's shoulders and knocking him to the ground, Hamilton said.
Once onlookers were able to get the person in a sitting position, and realized he was not seriously injured, they torched the chair. Police tried controlling the crowd with pepper spray and gave chase to several revelers. That act, Hamilton said, turned the crowd against police, leading to an escalation.
"It was definitely out of hand for a while," he said. "Big groups of people were moving from place to place."
GQ Magazine this month ranked WVU in the "top 10 most obnoxious college sports fans." It said WVU fans might be "the college-sports version of soccer hooligans."
Morgantown officials view the disturbances as a threat to another reputation they are trying to foster. Expansion Management magazine, a publication that helps companies of 50 to 500 people find the best locations for their businesses, ranked the Morgantown area as among the top "quality of life" urban areas in the nation.
City officials were taken aback by yesterday's violence because it was a basketball game, Fetty said.
Similar disturbances have followed several football victories. The worst was Oct. 22, 2003, when WVU defeated No. 3 Virginia Tech. Students rushed the turf at Mountaineer Field and tried to tear down the goal posts. A 40-minute battle with police ensued, during which pepper spray was used on the crowd. As many as 150 fires were set throughout town, Fetty said, many of them couches and chairs.
Fetty said yesterday's disturbance was "by far the worst" to occur after a basketball game.
He and city officials have pressed West Virginia legislators to make igniting of street fires a felony arson, but the measure did not pass. It has been reintroduced, he said. City officials also are seeking other legislation to help stem sports-related violence.
If WVU wins today's game, the Mountaineers will go to the Final Four for the first time since 1959. If that happens, people are expecting a sizable celebration.
"If they win this game, this town might not be standing," said Ira Eskin, a 22-year-old employee of The Rusted Musket eatery on University Avenue.
Can someone explain to me why when a sports team wins something. Fans think the best course of action is to try and destroy the city. I really dont get this.
Anyone else think this is -EV?
Officials fear more postgame mayhem
Saturday, March 26, 2005
By David Templeton and Bill Schackner, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Morgantown and West Virginia University officials say they will add police patrols before today's NCAA basketball tournament game to prevent a replay of yesterday morning's mayhem.
Caught a bit off guard by unruly crowds that set fires and damaged property shortly after midnight yesterday, officials vowed they won't be fooled again.
WVU officials said police will clear the most volatile street, Grant Avenue in the Sunnyside section of the city, before WVU faces Louisville at 4:40 p.m. for the regional championship in Albuquerque, N.M.
City Fire Chief David Fetty said his department will cruise streets in full force before, during and after the game, win or lose.
After WVU's victory just after midnight yesterday, fans poured into streets, set fires in trash bins and on roadways, tipped over cars and set at least one ablaze, and threw rocks, bricks and beer bottles at police and firefighters. No serious injuries were reported.
It all occurred despite attempts by WVU to discourage a repeat of the mayhem that has become an embarrassing distraction from the school's athletic success.
In advance of Thursday night's game, campus leaders including Coach John Beilein and players had urged students by campus e-mail to "support the team by celebrating safely and responsibly," school officials said.
University leaders, including Ken Gray, vice president for student affairs, condemned the trouble but said the vast majority of WVU's 25,000 students celebrated peacefully. Those found to have violated the law will face "swift and severe sanctions which could include expulsion from the university," Gray said.
"The small minority of individuals engaged in this conduct won't detract, I hope, from the success of the team and the image of the university," he said.
There were clues mayhem was ready to erupt even at halftime when the score was tied and several fires were ignited throughout the city.
Fetty said he watched the game at home, until a free throw sealed the victory for WVU in the final seconds.
"I better get ready to go," he said he announced to his family.
"I had been cautiously optimistic the students would behave themselves, but I won't be naive," he said. "I'll be out [tonight]. Me watching the game at home won't happen again."
For more than an a hour after the win, the fire department was busy extinguishing 35 street fires citywide, including a car that was tipped over on Grant Avenue and set ablaze.
The Sunnyside area, just off campus, was the focus of the trouble. Police made only four arrests in the early hours so officers could remain in the streets to quell riotous behavior. More arrests are expected, the police department said in a news release.
One firefighter suffered a bruise when he was struck in the head with a can of beer, Fetty reported. Several police cruisers were struck with debris and damaged.
Fetty said his department issued six citations for illegal burning and failure to follow orders of fire officials. The citations carry a maximum $1,000 fine.
The burning of couches in the streets has become an embarrassing Morgantown tradition after sports victories, and officials have worked unsuccessfully for years to eliminate the practice.
When WVU sealed the win early yesterday, people poured into the streets along University and Grant avenues in Sunnyside, into the downtown and elsewhere throughout the city.
Doug Hamilton, owner of the Corner Cafe on University Avenue, said 35 people barged from his cafe after the free throw and began an impromptu celebration that stopped traffic on University Avenue. Fans were hollering and taking off their shirts.
An upholstered chair was tossed from the second floor balcony of a neighboring building, landing on one celebrant's shoulders and knocking him to the ground, Hamilton said.
Once onlookers were able to get the person in a sitting position, and realized he was not seriously injured, they torched the chair. Police tried controlling the crowd with pepper spray and gave chase to several revelers. That act, Hamilton said, turned the crowd against police, leading to an escalation.
"It was definitely out of hand for a while," he said. "Big groups of people were moving from place to place."
GQ Magazine this month ranked WVU in the "top 10 most obnoxious college sports fans." It said WVU fans might be "the college-sports version of soccer hooligans."
Morgantown officials view the disturbances as a threat to another reputation they are trying to foster. Expansion Management magazine, a publication that helps companies of 50 to 500 people find the best locations for their businesses, ranked the Morgantown area as among the top "quality of life" urban areas in the nation.
City officials were taken aback by yesterday's violence because it was a basketball game, Fetty said.
Similar disturbances have followed several football victories. The worst was Oct. 22, 2003, when WVU defeated No. 3 Virginia Tech. Students rushed the turf at Mountaineer Field and tried to tear down the goal posts. A 40-minute battle with police ensued, during which pepper spray was used on the crowd. As many as 150 fires were set throughout town, Fetty said, many of them couches and chairs.
Fetty said yesterday's disturbance was "by far the worst" to occur after a basketball game.
He and city officials have pressed West Virginia legislators to make igniting of street fires a felony arson, but the measure did not pass. It has been reintroduced, he said. City officials also are seeking other legislation to help stem sports-related violence.
If WVU wins today's game, the Mountaineers will go to the Final Four for the first time since 1959. If that happens, people are expecting a sizable celebration.
"If they win this game, this town might not be standing," said Ira Eskin, a 22-year-old employee of The Rusted Musket eatery on University Avenue.
Can someone explain to me why when a sports team wins something. Fans think the best course of action is to try and destroy the city. I really dont get this.
Anyone else think this is -EV?