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Bulls Game Highlights Postgame Precautions

Indira Levine / News Channel 8

USF fan John Fiori, 21, is arrested by Tampa police on the field after the game.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 3, 2007

TAMPA - They came from all walks of life: an electrician from Princeton, W.Va., students at the University of Tampa and University of South Florida. Another worked in the Home Shopping Network showroom in Clearwater, and there was a stay-at-home dad from Newberry.

All found themselves in the stands at Raymond James Stadium on Friday night to watch the University of South Florida Bulls football team soundly defeat the fifth-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers.

Besides witnessing that defining moment in the history of the fledgling USF football program, they all had something else in common: All left the game in paddy wagon.

Hundreds stormed the field after the final whistle, despite signs in the stands warning against such behavior. But just a few were arrested on charges of trespassing or disorderly conduct or opposing arrest without violence.

A few were additionally charged with possession of drugs. All have been released after posting bail that ranged from $500 to $2,500.

In spite of the burgeoning success of the USF football program and the addition of collapsible goal posts that were installed last year just for the rambunctious college football fans who rush the field after dramatic USF football wins the policy remains the same, authorities say.

No one is allowed on the field, even after those exhilarating wins.

In years past, the main reason to prohibit fans from cascading over the 8-foot walls that separate the seats from the field was to save the goal posts, said Barbara Casey, spokeswoman for the Tampa Sports Authority, and to protect against injuries caused by the falling posts.

"We don't want people down there," she said, "for the obvious reasons, the broken legs and ankles that can occur in situations like that."

At Friday night's game, she saw hundreds of fans jump the wall. But once they got on the field and saw the goal posts already down they can be collapsed in 15 seconds most just ran to the USF football players and coaches and celebrated with them.

Casey said that's fine, although it's still illegal to go on the field.

"How many can you get?" she asked. "We had a lot of security and law enforcement down there. You can't grab everybody."

Also on the field is the defeated visiting football team. If fans taunt a 300-pound lineman from a losing team, well, that could end badly, Casey said.

But on Friday night, Casey said, the USF fans "were well-behaved once they went over the wall."

Jail records show nine men were arrested Friday night at Raymond James Stadium, some from the stands during the game, some from the field after the game.

Hillsborough County sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said deputies ejected 24 people from the game without making arrests.

She said law enforcement officers use their best judgment and follow the law as best they can.

"Anybody who is unauthorized to be on the field is considered a trespasser by Florida statute," she said, "and can be charged with trespassing."

Two years ago bedlam broke out at the stadium when USF defeated the University of Louisville, which had been ranked ninth in the nation at the time. The field was flooded with fans, and authorities made seven arrests. One unruly fan was shocked with a Taser.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or at kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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