Spring Break
Tearing It Down In Kansas
Chris Licata
Issue date: 11/2/05 Section: Sports
3:45 p.m. - The Goalposts Take A Swim
I lost track of the goalposts in the pandemonium of trying to find my co-workers on the field, but I soon saw them again. The KU students had taken the goalposts out of the stadium and dumped them into a nearby lake. A number of students dove into the lake and went swimming with the goalposts while the remaining student body sang the fight song.
4:00 p.m. - An Impromptu Parade
After a brief swim, a number of students began dragging out the waterlogged goalposts - but not to return them to the field. The goalposts were immediately dragged out of the lake and paraded up and down West Campus Road to the delight of honking cars. Chants of, "To the Chancellor's Office!" could be heard from all over, but the students had a better idea.
4:30 p.m. - A Final Resting Place
The final stop for the Memorial Stadium goalposts proved to be the "Chi-Oh (Chi Omega) fountain" in the middle of a roundabout located in the heart of campus. The students set the goalposts up in dramatic fashion and pictures were taken while I was asked by a number of students to swap e-mail addresses so they could use the pictures for Facebook.
So I was finally able to live out my dream of rushing a football field - and I didn't even get pepper sprayed. Although it is a shame it happened at a school close to 2,000 miles away from UConn. The KU athletic department should be commended for what they did. Rather than fight the situation and alienate their students, they acted quickly to bring the goalposts down themselves and limit the risk of injury. Pepper spray is not the answer and neither is complacency. It's time for more universities to take a page out of the KU playbook.
LicataCS@yahoo.com
I lost track of the goalposts in the pandemonium of trying to find my co-workers on the field, but I soon saw them again. The KU students had taken the goalposts out of the stadium and dumped them into a nearby lake. A number of students dove into the lake and went swimming with the goalposts while the remaining student body sang the fight song.
4:00 p.m. - An Impromptu Parade
After a brief swim, a number of students began dragging out the waterlogged goalposts - but not to return them to the field. The goalposts were immediately dragged out of the lake and paraded up and down West Campus Road to the delight of honking cars. Chants of, "To the Chancellor's Office!" could be heard from all over, but the students had a better idea.
4:30 p.m. - A Final Resting Place
The final stop for the Memorial Stadium goalposts proved to be the "Chi-Oh (Chi Omega) fountain" in the middle of a roundabout located in the heart of campus. The students set the goalposts up in dramatic fashion and pictures were taken while I was asked by a number of students to swap e-mail addresses so they could use the pictures for Facebook.
So I was finally able to live out my dream of rushing a football field - and I didn't even get pepper sprayed. Although it is a shame it happened at a school close to 2,000 miles away from UConn. The KU athletic department should be commended for what they did. Rather than fight the situation and alienate their students, they acted quickly to bring the goalposts down themselves and limit the risk of injury. Pepper spray is not the answer and neither is complacency. It's time for more universities to take a page out of the KU playbook.
LicataCS@yahoo.com