It’s official; USC has been fined $25,000 by the SEC after students stormed the court to cap off a 72-67 upset victory over No. 17 Kentucky. Since 2004, the SEC is the only conference in college basketball to maintain its tiered fining system to deter court storming. It’s a little stingy, but the system is in place for good reason. With no deterrence, court storming could occur after every victory, even the marginal ones. That’s bad news for everyone. However, we certainly think the occasional stormed court is absolutely tolerable, even with the steep price tag.
To be clear, court storming will never go away. TV producers love it, the players love it, reporters usually get great interviews, and ultimately it shows school spirit and passion.
But once upon a time, the ritual was reserved for tournament bid-clinching victories or upsetting one of the very top teams. Nowadays, all it takes is a regular season upset over any ranked team or rival for the student section to be unleashed. We like it that way.
Storming the court is just what some schools need, USC included, to jump-start support for their basketball team. Victories like Saturday’s show us a promising glimpse of our team and program’s potential, and that’s worth getting exciting about. Sure, there are dangers associated with storming the court, but there are dangers associated with most anything in life. And maybe storming the court after upsetting an opponent that’s not even ranked in the top ten seems silly to some, but who knows when the next time the Gamecocks get a victory like this will be?
We hope it’s Tuesday, when we face No. 1 Florida. Should we win, don’t be surprised if the court is stormed again and we’re levied an even steeper fine.
The numbers are intimidating, but the school can handle it. $25,000 and $50,000 certainly seem steep, but USC won’t be breaking the bank to pay for it considering how much the school makes off a single night of sports. That doesn’t even include the increased merchandise and ticket sales that usually follow a marquee victory like Saturday’s.
It also helps that we storm the court about as often as we should. If we were already facing down a $75,000 fine, then we’d have a real problem on our hands. We’re not saying $25,000 isn’t worth thinking twice about, but we’re also not saying we have a conduct problem, either.
Ultimately, we agree the fines existence is justified, but that storming the court is worth the financial stakes when the time is right. Sometimes all it takes is that magical moment following a victory, when fan and player meet on the court to enjoy the victory, to gain the kind of momentum to improve an entire season, or even an entire program.