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By Kyle Kensing
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Sunday, November 6, 2005
For the Wildcat football faithful,
Arizona Stadium was the site of the
biggest of all of the 2005
Homecoming week celebrations.
With two minutes remaining last
night and Arizona leading No. 7 UCLA
52-14, hundreds of Arizona students
swarmed onto the sidelines to revel
in the upset win.
And
as freshman quarterback Willie Tuitama knelt to run off the final
seconds, the red mob charged onto the field.
"We
took (the stadium) over, and now we're taking over the whole town,"
said fan Kelly Peters, 24. "The Wildcats are hot like wasabi."
Senior running back Gilbert Harris finished with 114 yards on 16
carries a one touchdown, his performance just one of many highlights
seen on a night Homecoming festivities reached a pitch not seen in
Tucson for some time.
"To
give the fans a win like this, against a top-10 team, means a lot to
us and this program," Harris said.
Peters said Arizona winning in spectacular fashion in the final
Homecoming appearance for its seniors was the ultimate gift for the
elder Wildcats.
"(Safety) Darrell Brooks is the heart and soul of this football
team, and tonight he got the win he deserves," Peters said.
The
senior trio of Brooks, Harris and running back Mike Bell were
drowned in a sea of red shirts on the Arizona Stadium field, as one
group of fans carried Bell away on its collective shoulders.
"It
was like one of those things you dream for," Bell said. "It was a
blessing. I'm almost in tears."
For
some Arizona alumni in attendance, the victory was the perfect
capper to their return to Tucson.
"We
came to see one of the greatest games in the last 10 years," said
2000 alumnus Jeff Cruechsield.
While
the celebration was an expression of excitement and joy for many, it
was a cause for concern for university event staff and officers with
the Tucson Police Department who were on hand.
Some fans scaled the goal post in
the north end zone, which is buried
nearly 30 feet in the ground and
reinforced by concrete, despite
warnings of arrest from the public
address announcer.
Nevertheless, the illegal behavior
of a few was not nearly enough to
deter from the overall sentiment of
triumph, including that from Arizona
head coach Mike Stoops, who
addressed the media holding his son
Colton.
"(The
fans) have been by us, even when the media hasn't," he said. "Our
kids have stayed positive, our staff has stayed positive, and (the
fans) have stayed with it."
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