Tweet
Wonder if any USD grads were in the stands at Auburn Hills Friday night?
S.D.'s had ugly sports scenes, too
Commentary by By Darrell Shoemaker, Journal Sports Writer
RAPID CITY --
Friday's scene in Detroit also reminded me of an incident nearly 25 years ago in Vermillion.
I was a freshman working as an assistant in the Sports Information Office at the University of South Dakota. Growing up, I had heard the stories of live chickens, live and dead jackrabbits being tossed on the floor of USD-South Dakota State basketball games. I even heard the legendary story of State fans tossing out a frozen dead coyote that beaned one of their own cheerleaders.
But the USD-SDSU rivalry took an ugly turn in 1980 when, in the last minute of the Coyotes-Jackrabbits basketball game in Vermillion, a USD student tossed a bottle from the stands, striking a Jackrabbit player in the face.
I remember the blood streaming from the player's face. I remember USD coach Jack Doyle walking to the area where the fan threw the bottle and demanding to know which student had tossed the bottle. The student was ultimately identified and he was hoisted on the shoulders of fellow USD students and brought to the floor to the waiting arms of security.
Weeks later, I traveled to Brookings with Sports Information Director Mike Mahon for the second meeting between the Jacks and Coyotes. The ugly incident in Vermillion had received national attention and USD officials requested that only essential personnel attend the game in Brookings and ordered students to be on their best behavior.
The roof of Frost Arena was adorned with posters with themes of sportsmanship and the game went without a hitch. That is until 28 seconds remained on the clock - the very time that was on the clock when the bottle was thrown from the stands in Vermillion. SDSU called a timeout and during the intermission, a student tossed out an inflatable whiskey bottle that fell to the arena floor. It was a cool, calm and subtle reminder of the nasty incident in Vermillion.
S.D.'s had ugly sports scenes, too
Commentary by By Darrell Shoemaker, Journal Sports Writer
RAPID CITY --
Friday's scene in Detroit also reminded me of an incident nearly 25 years ago in Vermillion.
I was a freshman working as an assistant in the Sports Information Office at the University of South Dakota. Growing up, I had heard the stories of live chickens, live and dead jackrabbits being tossed on the floor of USD-South Dakota State basketball games. I even heard the legendary story of State fans tossing out a frozen dead coyote that beaned one of their own cheerleaders.
But the USD-SDSU rivalry took an ugly turn in 1980 when, in the last minute of the Coyotes-Jackrabbits basketball game in Vermillion, a USD student tossed a bottle from the stands, striking a Jackrabbit player in the face.
I remember the blood streaming from the player's face. I remember USD coach Jack Doyle walking to the area where the fan threw the bottle and demanding to know which student had tossed the bottle. The student was ultimately identified and he was hoisted on the shoulders of fellow USD students and brought to the floor to the waiting arms of security.
Weeks later, I traveled to Brookings with Sports Information Director Mike Mahon for the second meeting between the Jacks and Coyotes. The ugly incident in Vermillion had received national attention and USD officials requested that only essential personnel attend the game in Brookings and ordered students to be on their best behavior.
The roof of Frost Arena was adorned with posters with themes of sportsmanship and the game went without a hitch. That is until 28 seconds remained on the clock - the very time that was on the clock when the bottle was thrown from the stands in Vermillion. SDSU called a timeout and during the intermission, a student tossed out an inflatable whiskey bottle that fell to the arena floor. It was a cool, calm and subtle reminder of the nasty incident in Vermillion.
Comment