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There are sad fans, and then there are fans who cause a sad scene. Worse than sad, really.
There was about a 20-minute delay in Saturday’s Mississippi at Tennessee game in Knoxville because so much junk was thrown onto the field, especially at the Ole Miss bench, after officials ruled that the Vols were short on a 4th-down play with less than a minute left in the game.
Spectators — we won’t even call them “fans” in this case — chucked everything from water bottles and beer cans to a bottle of mustard and, most dangerous, a golf ball that landed near Rebels coach Lane Kiffin.
It was a disgraceful moment that ruined what had been a charged, loud atmosphere on Rocky Top:
https://twitter.com/goodaurachicago/status/1449592457390432259?s=20
Even Tennessee’s own cheerleaders and marching band members were not safe from flying debris:
From earlier: #Tennessee cheerleaders leave the field, dodging debris thrown from #Vols fans. #OleMissvsTENN pic.twitter.com/nscFlOlukp
— Jake Kline (@JakeAKline) October 17, 2021
The people who threw the objects were roundly condemned on social media:
https://twitter.com/Ga_Sports_Fan/status/1449591080127766529?s=20
It was a thoughtless display, as one observer pointed out:
https://twitter.com/abagailbarrett/status/1449586232602812416?s=20
The game finally resumed after the delay, but the ugly scene will be a lasting memory from an otherwise exciting game:
https://twitter.com/gregg_chambliss/status/1449587682674360321?s=20
Not only American social media accounts took note, either. This story had legs around the world:
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin pelted with golf ball as sour Tennessee fans litter field with debris https://t.co/Q6BpJKhxJF pic.twitter.com/J7ae5mhln9
— Fabluc ?????????? (@Fabiolucv) October 17, 2021
Tennessee Vols football fans throw trash, debris onto Neyland Stadium field late in game vs. Ole Miss; game delayed for 18 minutes – Knoxville News Sentinel https://t.co/VoQPrvUCks pic.twitter.com/2ScuHLJTsL
— TU NOTIMUNDO (@tunotimundo) October 17, 2021
Even outlets thousands of miles away shared the news:
CM – Le jeu entre le Tennessee et Ole Miss s’est arrêté alors que les fans jettent des débris sur le terrain du stade Neyland https://t.co/4iZ4e9lc37
— Cameroon Magazine (@cameroonmag) October 17, 2021
This post has it right: The people who endangered players, cheerleaders and other spectators really should have a major rethink:
It's interesting that "BUT THE OFFICIATING" is the response from Tennessee fans over the debris throwing in Knoxville. Just *peak* not getting priorities straight.
— Jason Weaver (@Redmac83) October 17, 2021
Blech. Let’s move on to more conventional sad fans, shall we? Kentucky took its first loss of the season in Athens as Georgia extended its winning streak vs. the Wildcats to 12:
Zamir White busts a long one, and these Kentucky fans start to realize they never stood a chance #sadSECfans #UGAvsUK pic.twitter.com/7HnxvXI9Ye
— sadSECfans (@sadSECfans) October 16, 2021
UK is still having a great season, but dreams of an SEC East title have certainly grown dimmer:
Bad day for these Kentucky fans #sadSECfans #UGAvsUK pic.twitter.com/c623QeqRX8
— sadSECfans (@sadSECfans) October 16, 2021
As we suspected last week after Alabama lost, it was a focused bunch of Crimson Tide that showed up in Starkville, making for a long night among Mississippi State fans:
Bama whoopin Miss St #sadSECfans #BAMAvsMSU pic.twitter.com/CrjOtaCkQQ
— sadSECfans (@sadSECfans) October 17, 2021
And Arkansas fans struck a fine #SurrenderCobra as their team lost for the 3rd straight game:
#sadSECfans #SurrenderCobra pic.twitter.com/sT8zVVAdlK
— sadSECfans (@sadSECfans) October 16, 2021
Outside the SEC, Texas fans had a hard time taking another loss, this time to Oklahoma State. The Cowboys have beaten the Longhorns in 6 of the past 7 meetings in Austin:
Pokes!! ??? @CowboyFB #surrendercobra pic.twitter.com/fbSEYR7uw0
— Nicole Northcutt (@nicolenorthcutt) October 16, 2021
Folks, please recycle your water bottles and keep your golf balls in the bag and at the driving range, is that cool? Thanks.
Longtime newspaper veteran Jim Tomlin is a copy editor and writer with SaturdayDownSouth.com.