page_title: Pitch invasion
section_title: American football
hierarchical_section_title: Pitch invasion / American football
caption_attribution_description: English: Ecstatic fans of the home team, University of Washington, storm the field in celebration after a college football game between the visiting No. 3-ranked USC Trojans and the Washington Huskies ended in an upset over the heavily-favored Trojans, with the Huskies prevailing 16–13. Husky Stadium on September 19, 2009.
context_page_description: A pitch invasion occurs when an individual or a crowd of people watching a sporting event run onto the playing area to celebrate or protest an incident. Pitch invasions may involve individual people or capacity crowds. Pitch invasions can result in charges being brought, possibly resulting in fines or jail time, and sanctions against the club involved, especially if the actions cause a disruption in play.
context_section_description: This is especially common in college and high school football when a team pulls off a major upset, defeats a majoring rival, ends a long losing streak or notches a history-making win.  Many schools employ riot police to physically prevent fans from rushing the field, a controversy in and of itself. However, with the widespread advent of artificial turf, some schools are becoming laxer about students invading the pitch. In the last few years, goalposts are also taken down within moments of the end of the game as a cautionary measure to prevent fans from climbing atop them to cause damage to the standard holding them up, damage to television camera equipment on the posts, and spectator injury. In the National Football League, storming the field usually results in a lifetime revocation of season tickets from the holder of them, even if given or sold to another person.
caption: Ecstatic Washington Huskies college football fans storm the field in celebration after defeating the heavily favored No. 3 USC Trojans in an upset.
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