By Richard Reeve
What a game on Saturday night! Who could ask for a more exciting finish from the 11-0 Cougars?
Funny, my inbox isn''t filled with nasty Ute e-mails anymore.
Guess they learned when to keep their mouths shut.
But my main question is about the BYU Army ROTC and what they did to BYU fans after the game. I wasn''t aware that I was attending a Saturday night double-header. Going into the last few seconds of the fourth quarter, LaVell Edwards Stadium was a fairly pleasant venue without a single fight between Utah and BYU. But who would of guessed the only wrestling matches seen on the field would be involving people from the same team?
What a bargain! Two games for the price of one, the second match-up being BYU vs. the ROTC.
When Jernaro Gilford picked off Utah quarterback Lance Rice''s pass late in the fourth quarter, the BYU celebration began. When time expired and the victory was secure, swarms of fans rushed to the epicenter of the victory dance, cheering and with big smiles. What a moment in BYU''s history. 11-0! A defeat that had not happened in 10 years at home.
But some fans expecting to meet warm hugs from athletes and friends unexpectedly met flying elbows and fists from the ROTC cadets waiting for rail-hoppers like hungry wolves.
From my seat on the tenth row on the east side of the stadium I saw one BYU fan running from the end zone only to get ruthlessly gripped into a headlock by a ROTC cadet, almost snapping her neck, and then holding her down on the field.
Meanwhile, police allowed other fans to enjoy the long awaited celebration that they deserved by admitting them onto the field. In an unconfirmed story, I was told one fan was taken to the hospital after getting punched repeatedly by a cadet and after being examined the doctor said he had a concussion.
Since when was the ROTC granted crowd control? I am not trying to start something with the ROTC.
I have many acquaintances with them covering them last year, but what was going through their heads that night?
What they did was not only shocking but unethical, immoral and just plain wrong. Did you all see the police body slamming fans racing onto the field?
Security''s job, as well as yours, was to make sure no one got hurt. Instead, you implemented just that on many innocent fans. Please remember, we are all on the same undefeated team.
My only guess is Utah paid off our cadets to get a couple cheap shots on BYU. I thought something was up when I didn''t see the Ute male cheerleaders wearing pink skirts.