ATLANTA — On a busy day, flags were planted Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, Chapel Hill, N.C., and Tallahassee, Fla. A trident was driven into the earth in Tucson, Ariz.
Tempers flared, umbrage was taken, and many hands were wrung. But at least we can expect a bumper crop of flags come the spring harvest.
The only thing more impressive than the volume of flag planting on rivalry Saturday was the offense taken by it.
Poor sportsmanship. Disrespectful. What are you doing trying to plant a flag in artificial turf?
Is it possible that it can just be a fun part of rivalry games?
It’s one of the traditions that makes college football a different (and arguably better) sport than the NFL, right along with marching bands, fight songs and coaches being the highest-paid public officials in their states.
Can you imagine the Falcons planting a flag on the Saints’ fleur de lis in the Superdome?
I guess you would first have to be able to imagine the Falcons winning in the Superdome, but that’s beside the point. But you probably can’t imagine it, because it would never happen.
The rivalries in college sports are way more meaningful, and this is just one more expression of it. With college football becoming more like its professional cousin with the ease of transfer and name, image and likeness payments, it’s a line of demarcation that’s worth embracing.
No one is being harmed by a flag plant. The visiting team is not actually taking possession of the field. The game has already been decided and the act is merely a symbol of what just happened. It’s basically a trophy, albeit a visceral one.
For players on the losing team and their fans, it’s a bitter pill to swallow after losing the game, but here’s the question – if your team was the one celebrating with a flag plant in your rival’s stadium, would you protest?
Of course you wouldn’t. Chances are you would say things like, “If they don’t like it, they should go find their own Connor Stalions” or “Stop acting like babies” or “Woof woof woof!” (The last one applies only to Georgia fans.)
And that’s the thing. If fans want to see their own team plant their school’s flag after being their rival in their stadium – or if players want to be permitted to do so – then they have to be willing to accept that their rival can do the same.
Go back to your locker room, leave the stands or turn off the television. You don’t have to watch. Or, burn it into your memory and vow to take revenge in a year’s time. What does stopping a flag planting prevent?
Former Georgia Tech center Freddie Burden lived both sides of it. In 2014 and 2016, he helped the Yellow Jackets win at Sanford Stadium and plucked pieces of the stadium’s famed hedges as a souvenir.
