After spending Friday night watching Ohio beat Pitt, I was extremely excited. I graduated from Ohio University with my bachelor's degree in 1985 and a master's degree in 1987. Even after all these years, I continue to be a proud Bobcat Alum. I try to stay up to date on football scores and attend every football and basketball game when possible. Obviously, that is not something that happens frequently due to logistics, but I always keep up to date on scores.
I was extremely happy to watch Ohio on ESPN2 the other night and was screaming over the phone with other friends of mine who also attended OU in the 80s. All this exhilaration left us pumped up for several hours that we had beat Pitt in OT.
On Sept. 12, I arrived home after a 10-hour workday to read in the local paper that the jubilation Friday night lead to stupidity by some folks. When I read that couches were set on fire, and police officers had beer and/or beer cans thrown at them, I was disgusted! How in the world is setting a fire or being aggressive towards a law enforcement officer any form of celebration?
I am certain that those folks -who took the opportunity to be disrespectful to law enforcement -would be the first ones to call them if something ever happened to them or their property. What on earth possesses a person to act in this manner? And what would happen if the fire department was busy putting out a fire set by folks for celebratory reasons, and a real fire was not responded to quickly and a child lost his or her life? Does this truly reflect OU pride? I think not.
I also think there are thousands of OU fans/students/alumni who show their pride by cheering, celebrating, etc. without causing harm to others. I don't want to hear blame it on alcohol. I went to OU and drank and never lost control like that.
Trust me, I am far from some prude, but I think celebrations can be done without disrespect. For thousands of OU students who reacted appropriately with school pride, I stand beside you. Heck, the next time I'm at OU, I'd be proud to do the court street crawl with you! For those few folks who marred the celebration, I have a piece of advice: GROW UP!
-Cindy Lafollett is an OU Alum. Send her an e-mail at Clafol1588@aol.com.
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Letter to the Editor
