On Septembe 26, 2007 the Daily Lobo posted a great article about the UNM football games. The article stated how the UNM athletic department announced that they will no longer be selling standing room only tickets at any future football games. The athletic department claims that it is necessary to ban the standing room only tickets in order to keep everyone at the game safe. They have been contemplating the decision for a while, and after the Lobo game against the Aggies they have made the decision final.
The Football game against NMSU was the fourth largest game in the history of UNM's stadium. There was a total attendance of 41,033 people at the game. Out of all these people, only 700 were standing room only tickets. In a crowd of 41,033 people I doubt that the 700 standing room only tickets had any affect on the overall safety at the stadium. I think that it is really unfortunate that the athletic department has vetoed the standing room only tickets. UNM games often sell out so it is unfortunate that all of the other fans will have to be turned away.
It is really sad that the safety of the stadium depends on the size of the crowd that attend it. The safety should solely depend on the security guards. If the game is sold out more security should be brought in. With a game the size of the NMSU one, additional security must be brought in. I do agree that the game against the aggies was out of countrol. I was personally there and it was pretty crazy. I got caught in the mob, and got pushed around a lot. I am a guy though so it was not very bad for me, but a petite girl or a handicap person could have been seriously injured. The Daily Lobo article talked about a girl who was in a wheel chair and unfortunately got caught in the mob. She got pushed into a cement wall and could not free herself. Thankfully she was with friends and did not get seriously injured. This is when it is essential that security be present to prevent incidents like this from happening.
There was also a number of fights reported at the game against NMSU. A lot of students tailgate before the games and get drunk. This is why tempers are high and especially when playing a rival, students will be fighting. It is unfortunate but at the same time inevitable.
I really want to veto against the athletic department and try to get the standing room only tickets back. It is not fair to the lobo fans to not offer standing room only. Yes, safety is a big issue and changes with the stadiums security must be made. Incidents like the one with the handicapped girl are extremely dangerous and should not be happening. Hopefully the athletic department will be able to upgrade security and bring back the standing room only tickets.
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I agree with you that games need more security, however, don't you think that it is also the responsibility of the students to be safe as well? If we were to get the standing tckets back, maybe there could be some way of penalizing only the students that are the disturbances. Just a thought.
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