'To the River': Vanderbilt fans describe chaotic celebration and goalpost march after Alabama upset

It sank. Of course it did.

It involved a several-hundred-pound goalpost being hoisted into the Cumberland River, but any of the students marching down Broadway could be forgiven for thinking they could swim. That's because some have described there being something like magic in the air that night.

The goal post, however, wasn't as lively as the raucous Vanderbilt crowd that stormed the field at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, last Saturday after pulling off a perennial upset in college football. The unranked Commodores completed a 40-35 victory over then-No. 1 Alabama, marking Vandy's first victory over an Associated Press top-5 team. Understandably, chaos ensued.

“It was basically chaos,” said Dean Parentis, a senior at Vanderbilt University who attended the game.

Robbie Tylman, another Vanderbilt senior in the audience, called the postgame atmosphere “madness.”

Parentis and Tylman were among the fans on the field when the contest ended — a ploy that led to the SEC fining the school $100,000. By Tylman's estimate, they were also among about 50 people who helped carry the goal post from the FirstBank field on a 2.5-mile trek to the river after a handful of fans tore it down.

“There were students walking up to the players and trying to pat them down and give them high-fives,” Parentis said of the on-field celebrations. “There was a rush in the middle of the field, trying to see the coach and take photos. Then everyone slowly started to spread out towards the goal post on the other side.”

Almost instinctively, the crowd moved toward the posts, shaking them down and carrying them toward Broadway and the river beyond, as police tried to contain the crowds and traffic in the busy downtown area. Tylman, who said he had his hand on the post for about half the ride and was running alongside him in a “sea of ​​a thousand people,” knew immediately where the goal was. Parentis, who said he helped carry the goal post out of the stadium and onto the street, heard shouts in the tunnel: “To the river!”

For about an hour, the group marched and cheered, maneuvering the 30-foot-tall, about 20-foot-wide pole, which weighs several hundred pounds, over and around stationary cars while high-fiving drivers. A fan with a loudspeaker even stood on the goal post and waved a flag, Tylman said.

“It was probably the sweatiest, most disgusting group of people wearing it,” Parentis said. But he called the experience “a blast.”

When they finally arrived at the landing site, the group unloaded the weight. Sure enough, Tylman recalled, when the goal post hit the water, “It sank!” Police quickly dispersed the crowd afterward, but for the fans who made their way, it was a victorious end to an unforgettable evening.

Vanderbilt defeated Alabama in a historic college football upset on October 5 (Photo: Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA Today via Imagn Images)

Much of the excitement was due to the unexpected nature of the victory. Vanderbilt, which started 2-2 this year after finishing 2-10 last season, was a 22.5-point underdog entering the game. As a top team, Alabama had only lost three times to an unranked opponent before Saturday.

Tylman noted that most of the fans in attendance were there because of Alabama.

“The sentiment was very similar: 'Yeah, it'll be fun to watch Vanderbilt lose,'” he said.

“I think one of my friends made a joke like, 'How funny would it be if they won?'” Tylman continued.

Then Vanderbilt never trailed in the competition. An early touchdown from Sedrick Alexander was followed by a pick-six from Randon Fontenette in the first quarter. That gave Vandy fans early hope. Quarterback Diego Pavia continued to perform well, throwing for 252 yards and two touchdowns, and the Commodores completed a historic victory, defeating Bama for the first time in 40 years and handing the Crimson Tide their first loss of the season.

The loss dropped Alabama (4-1) to No. 7 in the rankings while other schools moved up after a weekend of upsets. Vanderbilt (3-2) remains unranked but received 26 votes in the latest AP poll. They travel to play Kentucky (3-2) on Saturday night. But even if the Commodores don't win another game this season, Parentis said he wouldn't care. The climax has already happened.

“We beat Bama. We beat the No. 1 team in the country,” he said. “That's still good enough for me, but I'd like to see us still compete with some other teams. At this point it’s a win-win situation.”

As for the goalpost, the Nashville Fire Department retrieved parts from the river and returned them to Vanderbilt. The school is now auctioning off the pieces along with other play paraphernalia. 6- and 8-inch goal post pieces sold for $4,035, while a 4-inch piece sold for $1,005.

Although Parentis didn't leave with the goalpost on Saturday, he said the memories of the chaos would linger.

“The most important thing we said when we walked over the goal post was, 'There will never be a better spot in college than this,'” he said.

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(Photo: Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA Today via Imagn Images)