Several journalists have been called out online after highlighting the dangers of fans storming the field after a college football game while apparently not issuing the same concerns for the celebrations following the Biden win.
The game between Notre Dame and Clemson was about as close as it could get, with Notre Dame eventually claiming a 47-40 win over the top-ranked college football team in the United States after two periods of overtime but the controversy was to continue long after the game’s conclusion, as hundreds of fans stormed the field to celebrate the win.
This is a regular occurrence in college ball, but this is no regular season. The ongoing Covid-19 crisis has left its imprint throughout the season, forcing the cancellation of several games and restricting spectators from some stadiums – but all of that was forgotten for a few blissful moments by Notre Dame fans late Saturday.
Notre Dame fans rushed the field after upsetting No. 1 Clemson in double OT. pic.twitter.com/zInnk7qPU0
The scenes of the throngs of supporters, some of them mask-less, mirrored larger celebrations taking place in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia and other states involved in the final throes of this year’s US Presidential Election after Joe Biden pipped incumbent Donald Trump to the 270 electoral college votes required to claim the White House.
On those occasions, though, the mass assembly of Biden supporters hasn’t yet led to a terse warning from the media as to the potential dangers of assemblies such as this.
Our woke sports media and all the usual columnists will be losing the damn minds over the sight of this in South Bend, but it’s safe bet they were overjoyed to see the crowds celebrating Trump losing (and might have even participated themselves) pic.twitter.com/WLHcKOEBTI
COVID is over pic.twitter.com/2oiQ8CmoS9
Joe Biden: “Our work begins with getting Covid under control”Notre Dame students: pic.twitter.com/y7hg2wMgTN
Astonishingly, the above scenes came after an October incident in which Notre Dame students demanded that their University President resigned after being accused of ignoring Covid safety protocols.
Furthermore, the game went ahead without Clemson’s quarterback, and the presumed first pick in next year’s NFL Draft, Trevor Lawrence, who had been ruled out after receiving a positive diagnosis for Covid on October 29 – with questions being asked as to why the arguably best player in college football was allowed to view the game from the sidelines if he was a potential virus threat.
Media: Look at all the support for BIDEN TODAY!!! Notre Dame rushes the field…Media: COVID!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/uPTBdAXLSZ
Between Notre Dame and Biden’s win, you’d think that Covid was over.
The entire Notre Dame football team just got COVID pic.twitter.com/eC8BlpdPuG
The scenes comes amid a surge of Covid cases in the United States. More than 125,000 positive tests were revealed on the day of the game as the United States faces its worst numbers since the crisis began.
However, the reality is that while football fans celebrating a win presents obvious concerns when it comes to spreading the potentially deadly virus, so too does congregating on city streets to celebrate an election victory. While most sober, officious reporters will – perhaps rightly – highlight the difference between the two types of gatherings, the simple fact remains that any situation where people gather en masse is a potential risk, and it misses the point to scold one group and give another a pass.
