College Sports: Win, Lose, and Riot

As a native of Northeastern, Conn., and a huge UConn fan, I am ecstatic about the men’s and women’s championships this week! And because I’m from Conn., I have a ton of high school classmates who are at UConn now. So in addition to the requisite celebratory statuses on Facebook, I also saw some firsthand accounts of the celebrations that took place on the campus.

Indescribable. pic.twitter.com/VzyF0iae6B

— Alyssa Gardea (@alyssagardea22) April 8, 2014

That picture looks cool, right? A bunch of college students coming together to celebrate their university’s huge and thoroughly unexpected win! Well, unfortunately, the celebration wasn’t all fun and games. Instead, it devolved into a full blown riot. For example, here’s a video of a lamp post being destroyed and students yelling F*** Kentucky.

And here’s the aftermath in the Student Union.

The Union post game pic.twitter.com/quybQA5j8U

— The Daily Campus (@the_dailycampus) April 8, 2014

Fireworks were set off, cars were flipped, a light post was thrown through a window, and furniture was set on fire. By 1:30am, Conn. police had made 30 arrests.

So as crazy and ridiculous and unfathomable as that riot was, it made a bit of sense. UConn’s men’s team had just won the NCAAs, as a 7-seed, one of the lowest-seeded teams to ever win the tournament. The odds of victory were even lower given that UConn wasn’t allowed to participate in the tournament last year due to sanctions. So all that said and done, it makes some sense that UConn students got so excited. You go crazy when you win, not when you lose, right? I would think that the University of Kentucky would be sad and despondent and have called it a night early.

Well…wrong. Because Kentucky also rioted. And it looked somewhat similar to what happened at UConn, except a bit angrier.

Apparently the riot was a bit smaller than UConn’s, with many students crying and hugging. But there were over a dozen couch fires reported. And by 1:30am, there had been six arrests, which actually does make me wonder — are there are a lot of couches just lying around on UK’s campus? Or do people bring them outside? I don’t get it.

Anyway, with the exception of the UConn and UK gear present in the photos from each of the riots, it’s hard to tell them apart. There’s a disconnect for me here. Why riot both when you win and when you lose?

Part of it may be the culture of college basketball. At UK, they also rioted after pretty much every victory in the NCAA tournament, and more couches met a sad smokey demise. And it’s not like UConn and UK are unique, either. Riots after NCAA games, or other big events on college campuses, or even victories for cities (think Boston after the Red Sox won in 2004) are pretty commonplace.

I think part of it is also groupthink — it’s easy to get caught up in the crowd. And the truly damaging actions, like the light being destroyed, are only the actions of a few. Most people are just cheering and standing around.

But still, why do they riot, win or lose? Maybe I just can’t relate — although GW did make it to the NCAA tournament this year, it was our first time in a long time and we were out in the first round. The victories leading up to the tournament were celebrated, to be sure, but nothing like what happened on campuses this week. The only personal comparison I can even think of was when Obama won reelection in 2012, and hundreds of my peers and I ran to the White House. But even then, it was a crowd much more than a riot. And I can assure you, if we had tried to set a couch on fire we A) wouldn’t have been able to find one and B) would have incurred the wrath of Secret Service.

I think the easiest answer is that riots occur because it’s easy to get caught up in the moment. Whether you win or lose, you were just part of something bigger than yourself. Mass joy and mass disappointment aren’t really all that different, because at the end of the day, you’ve shared that emotion with everyone else in the crowd.

But the reality is ridiculous. A mix of those intense group emotions and alcohol and whatever else leads to the kind of depravity we see on UK and UConn’s campuses last night. It’s insane, it’s dangerous, and in some way it takes away from the great parts of the game. So next time your team wins, or loses, remember to act with dignity. And don’t take out your emotions on an innocent couch.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.