Storming the field is youthful exuberance
I am writing to point out some instances of poor sportsmanship on the part of Loyola Academy fans at the football semifinal game at Loyola, which I attended on Nov. 20 and which was won by Maine South 29-22 when they rallied late in the fourth quarter. I sat on the Loyola side to get a better view of the game and had a close look of the extreme disappointment of the Loyola fans with the outcome of the game.
This was a difficult defeat for Loyola fans but I do not think it warranted the apparent complaints to the IHSA that Loyola fans have submitted. They mainly complained about the fact that very young Maine South fans it appeared to be exclusively students 13 to 17 years old stormed the field when the scoreboard read 00 time remaining.
Shortly thereafter, the officials put one second back on the clock and cleared the field of fans who quickly exited the field and returned to the end zone area. Play resumed and Maine South kneed the ball to end the game, whereupon the Maine South fans again ran onto the field in a joyful celebration of their team's victory and its opportunity to win the 8A title for the third year in a row.
The storming of the field by the victorious team at the conclusion of a state semifinal game is something that I have witnessed probably 30 to 50 times during my 37 years of following the state playoffs. I, as an avid fan, have never heard of any IHSA prohibition of this practice. Nor have I ever learned of any organized objection to it by the losing team. I believe that Loyola is the first loser to complain about this mere expression of youthful exuberance.
This conduct on the part of Loyola is that which characterizes a sore loser. What their team could not achieve on the field, the fans I suspect many older alums and parents are trying to achieve off field with their exaggerated criticism and mischaracterization of the benign, joyful, celebratory behavior of the young students. The Loyola fans need to learn to lose without having to retaliate with inflated charges against youthful celebrants.
Jon W. Anderson
South Barrington