Even though his XFL collapsed after just one season, World Wrestling Entertainment chairman Vince McMahon might have made an impact on football after all.
After watching the brawl between the University of Miami and Florida International University football teams Saturday night, you couldn't help but think this was some kind of WWE programming.
The main event of Saturday night's college football action was not Auburn upsetting Florida or USC and Michigan squeaking out wins, but the event that could've actually been put on pay-per-view and deemed an all-out, hardcore Royal Rumble.
For those who missed it, with nine minutes left in the third quarter, Miami's James Wright caught a touchdown pass, turned to the FIU bench and bowed to the crowd. After the extra point was kicked, things got ugly.
FIU's Chris Smith tackled Miami holder Matt Perrelli and held him down as Marshall McDuffie, Jr., Smith's teammate, ran up and kicked Perrelli in the head. Suddenly, both benches were cleared, and the chaos began.
There was an FIU player who seemed to get suplexed by a Miami player. The Hurricanes' Brandon Meriweather did his best Albert Haynesworth impression by stomping on an FIU player's leg. Foreign objects were brought into the fracas, as Miami's Anthony Reddick raised his helmet over his head and slammed it into an FIU player. An unidentified, injured FIU player was even seen using his crutches as weapons.
Meanwhile, you have Miami color commentator and former Hurricane Lamar Thomas magically become Jerry The King Lawler by declaring on the air that you come into our house
you should get your behind kicked and I was about to go down the elevator to get in that thing.
Honestly, the only thing missing was Stone Cold Steve Austin driving a monster truck on to the field at the Orange Bowl and delivering a Stone Cold Stunner to every single player.
This incident was similar to WWE wrestling matches in nearly every way ' lots of low blows, foreign objects, crazy commentators and even a suplex. And while wrestling is purely entertainment these days, this incident was anything but.
Nothing like what we saw Saturday should happen anywhere on a sports field or in a sports arena unless it's produced by McMahon himself. These players, who obviously let their emotions completely take over their bodies, disgraced the game that they've worked so hard to excel at.
Thirty-one players were suspended following the brawl, and Thomas was immediately fired for his comments. Reddick and Meriweather are suspended indefinitely, while Smith and McDuffie were dismissed from FIU's team altogether but will remain on scholarship. The remaining players, who were originally suspended for just one game, have now been suspended indefinitely. Simply put, any player who was really involved in the brawl should be out of football, period.
Saturday night's brawl was just a reminder of what the XFL taught us five years ago:
Wrestling and football just don't mix.
' Jason Fazzone is a junior journalism major who covers volleyball for The Post and wonders what possibly could happen next following the brawl. Send him your thoughts in an e-mail to jf104004@ohiou.edu.
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