Stay Classy, Tucson
Anybody watching the end of the USC-Arizona basketball game last night saw a Wildcat fan throw a water bottle onto the court and pelt guard Dwight Lewis on his right foot. It was so close to the USC bench that announcers thought the bottle almost hit Coach Tim Floyd.
Arizona Coach Kevin O'Neill got on the mic, called out the jerk, and apologized to USC. It was a classy move appreciated by Wildcats and Trojans alike.
You can see the whole incident in the video above, which was originally posted by College Hoops Journal. Police and school officials are investigating.
After the game, Floyd told reporters, "That kind of thing can happen in any arena. We're not bothered about it. It's one person."
Apparently, it's not one person that O'Neill is worried about. The day before the game, he filmed a video message and e-mailed it to 16,000 members of the "Zona Zoo" student cheering section, chastising them because of inappropriate behavior at their game against Stanford. "We want to make sure this weekend [when] we play USC and UCLA that we show national TV audiences that we are a positive, energetic, enthusiastic student section. ... Please, be positive in your approach to the basketball games."
So much for that. Here's the video of his plea:
It's a striking contrast to the enthusiasm of Arizona State fans, whom I'll rant about tomorrow.
