Bottles can cause injuries

OXFORD, Miss. — I’ve watched the “Malice at the Palace” on YouTube.com at least a hundred times.

In case your forgot, that was when then-Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest went crazy three years ago against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace at Auburn Hills, the Pistons home arena.

I couldn’t get enough of it. Granted, both the fans and Artest were out of line in what they did — Artest charged into the stands, and fans pelted the court with bottles and cups — but there was some sort of comical aspect to it. I mean, this wasn’t real ... right? It couldn’t possibly be real?

Well, after my experience at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday, that humor will be lost forever.

After Seth Adams’ 42-yard pass completion to Shay Hodge was overturned, giving Alabama the victory, somebody next to me said, “uh, oh,” and suddenly, I saw several hundred bottles whizzing from the student section toward the south end zone. It was about 50 feet from where I stood.

I don’t have a helmet or pads to protect me, so immediately, my mind raced, “How can I get away from this safely?”

Fortunately, the police did an OK job of ending the act, but surveying the damage after the game, I couldn’t help but wonder, “What if?”

What if somebody got hurt? What if somebody had been killed? I thought about this when I saw a whiskey bottle broken into shards of glass. I thought about this when I saw two high-heeled shoes on the turf.

When addressing the matter after the game, Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron had this to say:

“Those are things that are out of my control. I tend to focus on what I can control: my football team and my coaching staff. Those things are very important to me, and all that other stuff is out of my control.”

As one of the most influential people on campus, this is something that is very much in Orgeron’s control.

He was given a stage and a chance to condemn those acts, to at least do what he could to make sure they never happen again, and he blew it.

In case you forgot, two days after Alabama fans pelted Georgia players with similar items, Tide coach Nick Saban admonished his team’s supporters to show more class.

When asked after Saturday’s game about this incident, here is what Saban had to say:

“If they want to be classless, that’s their business. They shouldn’t be throwing stuff. Our fans shouldn’t be throwing stuff, you know. I just want our players to represent the university and their families with class. They should just run off the field, happy that we won the game.”

So, Saban said more about the events Saturday than the Ole Miss coach did.

In fairness to Orgeron, he was still trying to grasp a loss that seemed like a likely victory only moments before. He probably didn’t have time to think about what to say.

And bottle throwing did nothing to damper my view of Ole Miss. The hospitality there always has been great, and I’ve enjoyed every trip I’ve made to Oxford.

Ole Miss fans have a good reputation, and what happened Saturday will do little to change it.

But situations like these just make no sense at all. So you’re mad that your team lost? Who cares?

And sadly, this probably won’t be the last time I’m at a game, hoping that a bottle of Jack Daniel’s doesn’t go whizzing by my head.

All you can hope for is for fans to sit and stew in defeat, pick up and go home.