Cubs Fans Are Celebrating By Taking Insane Trust Falls Off Very Tall Objects
Let’s hope this doesn’t become a trend in the world of sports fandom.
Chicago Cubs fans have been partying almost non-stop since Wednesday when the team took down their first World Series in 108 years. Fortunately for all the drunken revelers on the streets (and it seems like there are millions of them), the celebrations leading up to today’s parade has been civil and good-natured.
But that doesn’t mean it’s been perfectly safe. Apparently at a loss for safer ways to demonstrate their enthusiasm, more than a few fans have taken to performing death-defying trust falls off of tall objects into the arms of others who have taken to the streets.
Like so many facets of sports fandom, it’s pretty pointless to analyze. You could say it’s brought about by a sense of community and trust (of course), but that doesn’t completely explain the desire to take headers off of light posts onto busy streets, relying on the kindness of strangers to keep them off the pavement.
Whatever the reason, it’s happening, it’s dangerous, and it’s pretty hard to stop watching.
Here’s one from the night of the victory:
Another from a stomach-churning height (roughly 18 feet) just this morning into a crowd of fans awaiting the team’s victory parade:
8:15am and people are already jumping off stuff #CubsParade #FlyTheW https://t.co/hNn1acybAj— Baylee Taylor (@Baylee Taylor)1478268629.0
Note the time stamp. These people should really have waited until at least lunchtime to think this through.
A bit later another fan in a different Cubs jersey took the backward plunge, disappearing into a throng of paradegoers.
hands down the best trust fall out there #CubsParade https://t.co/upTPaLH6Zs— Anna Lockwood (@Anna Lockwood)1478271039.0
Sure, it’s kind of cute (in a self-destructive, negligent way) that the fans are trusting one another to do this, but the law of large numbers and common sense dictate that it won’t be long before something bad happens if this trend continues. It’s, above all else, really, really dangerous. Even if their form happens to be perfect, as it clearly was in the top video.
Fortunately, the coming and going of the parade should (should, mind you) create a natural end to this type of behavior. After today, maybe Cubs fans can share their enthusiasm in a safer manner, like a friendly conversation, or a well-crafted blog post. It’s not as thrilling, but it keeps your skull intact.