The ESPN2 production team will no doubt have scenes from the field storm that followed Virginia’s 46-38 double-OT win over Florida State from a year ago cued up for this weekend’s broadcast from Tallahassee.
I can guarantee you there will be no mention of the 19 people who were injured in the field storm, some with serious, life-altering injuries.
The focus will be on just how danged cool the whole thing was, seeing fans in the student section behind the north end zone rushing the field milliseconds after Ja’Son Prevard intercepted a fourth-down Thomas Castellanos pass into the end zone.
So what if a few people were trampled in the making of the idyllic scene, right?
It didn’t emerge to those of us in the press box that what we had witnessed was a mass casualty event until reports started circulating online about the carnage.
That’s how out of control crazy the scene was; there were people literally being triaged on the field, a few feet from fans and players celebrating the dramatic finish.
I reached out after the game to our photographer, the Godfather of Online UVA Media, Mike Ingalls, who was on the field during the field storm, and was himself in harm’s way, to see what he knew, and he texted me back about one young woman on the field on a stretcher with an apparent leg injury, which jibed with online reports about a young woman with a broken leg.
The next morning, we reached out to the University, and got confirmation of the police and emergency response, and the number of victims treated at the UVA Hospital.
ICYMI
- Nineteen injured in field storm, second incident, following UVA-FSU football game
- UVA Football: How do 19 fans end up injured after a football game?
The game was Friday night, primetime, and drew a high rating – more than 4 million viewers, per the folks at Nielsen – and so, video from the field storm was all over TV on the College Football Saturday that followed.
Nothing was said then about the 19 injuries, and the follow-ups that were featured on later UVA Football broadcasts glossed over the other side of the field storm story as well, because of course they did.
We ran a piece in November to report on the situation of a UVA student who was seriously injured, whose mother said at the time faced a “long road to recovery.”
ICYMI
Fast forward to Tuesday, and we get a question of Tony Elliott, the head coach, from a reporter apparently oblivious to the other side of the field storm story, based on the question.
The field storm last year was big, obviously national. It still gets talked about as one of the best. What do you remember about that storm?
“One of the best.”
Tone deaf dipsh-t.
Elliott began his answer with a lengthy stream of consciousness about how he’d just wanted to get across the field to shake hands with FSU coach Mike Norvell, and how Norvell is one of the best in the business, et cetera, et cetera, typical coachspeak for a game week.
“But I didn’t even have a chance to get close to him,” Elliott said, finally getting to the point. “And the next thing I know, I felt bad for some people, ‘cuz they were getting run over by the police trying to get to the locker room. That’s what I remember.”
At least that’s a better answer to a dumb question from the UVA Football media than the two that TE gave on his feelings on how great he thinks Michael Vick is.
Share
Chris Graham
