Students hurt as goal post comes tumbling down

and Keith Huebsch The goal post was supposed to go into the Schuylkill River -- but it almost crashed onto the Schuylkill Expressway. If not for the cries of "NO!" from hundreds of fans who lined the expressway ramp and the beeping of horns from the cars below, the afternoon's festivities would have been ruined. As many parents watched, University students tore down the west-end goal post and carried it to the river in celebration of the 33-0 trouncing over Harvard that clinched sole possession of the Ivy League title for the Quakers. It was the third time in the last two years that a goal post came down after a home football win. University students were unsuccessful in their attempts to tear down a goal post at Princeton's Palmer Stadium last week after a 33-19 Quaker win over the Tigers. Unlike last year's rowdiness, however, some fans were hurt in the frenzy after the game at Franklin Field. Two police officers and approximately seven fans were injured during the mayhem, according to University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich. "For the most part, the injuries at the football game were the biggest thing for us," he said. "It was alcohol and irrational behavior on the part of the students. And quite frankly, it is something that is extremely difficult to control or prevent without the cooperation of the students." At least two students were treated at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for arm and ankle fractures, said Resident Hospital Administrator Nancy Dodd. They underwent x-rays and were later released. "It is dangerous any time anyone tries to start taking down the goalpost," Kuprevich said. "We were certainly more fortunate than Wisconsin." Kuprevich was referring to the melee last year when more than 30 Wisconsin students were injured as they tore down the goal posts after Wisconsin defeated Michigan. He said University Police Chief George Clisby would conduct a "critical incident review" of Saturday's incidents. "Our mission was to try to prevent any injuries," the commissioner said. "Our efforts were the same as last year. Last year we didn't have any injuries." He said a new approach would be taken by police to prevent the situation from repeating at future football games. Associate Athletic Director Elton Cochran-Fikes said last night he had not heard of an exact cost estimate to replace the goal post. He guessed replacement would be between $10,000 and $20,000. Better estimates would be available later today, he added, when experts will assess the damages to where the goal post once stood. "I don't think that's a tradition we should be fostering," Cochran-Fikes said. "Coming onto the field and congratulating the team would have been nice instead of destroying property. "It's a pretty dangerous activity," he added. Daily Pennsylvanian Staff Writer Gregory Montanaro contributed to this story.