The Daily Athenaeum Interactive

Our Perspective
Celebrating win is fine, but not at the expense of safety

bout 12:30 a.m. Thursday morning, a 7-foot-tall bonfire burned brightly on Richwood Avenue behind Dairy Mart.
The scene was particularly odd, considering only one police cruiser, with its lights flashing, and only one officer were on the scene.
Undoubtedly, such a scene would disturb the typical bystander. Where were the blaring sirens and the firefighters and trucks?
Overextended, to say the least. Unfortunately, this scene was probably repeated consistently late Wednesday and early Thursday morning.
Street fires were a common occurrence the other night, and numerous materials (doors, couches, mattresses, trees and even shrubbery) were used to keep fires burning on North High Street, Grant Avenue and elsewhere in Morgantown.
As the hangover of a great West Virginia University football win (a post-Nehlen program-defining one at that) now looms over Morgantown, perhaps the University’s students and fans need to realize that celebration can cross the line into unnecessary destruction.
We’re not saying don’t celebrate more excessively than during a win over Rutgers, but just that when bonfires start melting vehicles and burning telephone poles and power lines, the ecstasy has gone overboard.
Some of the celebration, but not all, on High Street could be considered more acceptable.
Immediately following the 21-18 win over Virginia Tech, fans crowded the sidewalks hooting, hollering and even high-fiving motorists who were honking their car horns. Because this nondestructive early celebration did little more than block up traffic for a few seconds, it seems a better way to celebrate a big win.
West Virginia University can and should pride itself on its great fans, team spirit and raucous behavior at its own football games.
But when that raucous behavior extends into the streets and others’ safety and personal property are unwillingly put in harm’s way, as Associate Dean of Student Affairs Tom Sloane said, the celebrating has crossed the line.
As far as Mountaineer Field’s goalposts go, our readers may remember an editorial last week asking University officials and the West Virginia State Police to consider what type of win might constitute removal of the stadium’s goalposts. It appears students and fans have answered that question.

Voice your opinion today! Send e-mail to DAPerspectives@mail.wvu.edu

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