Texas Tech Coach begs fans to stop throwing tortillas on the field

Texas Tech football coach Joey McGuire has simply had enough.

After Saturday’s 42-17 win over the University of Kansas, McGuire used his postgame press conference to implore Texas Tech fans to refrain from what has become a beloved tradition: throwing tortillas on the field.

“Is that a Red Raider?” McGuire, steamed, asked reporters after the game. “You came to the game and you love this team and you’re passionate about this team, but yet you’re going to throw another tortilla and you know it’s against the rules?”

The Red Raiders ultimately came out on top, despite passionate hucksters twice conceding penalties for their own team. For McGuire, it seems there is no such thing as a casual (flatbread) affair.

The two unsportsmanlike conduct calls – which came after two warnings – combined for 30 yards of penalties. The first punctuated a 17-point run by Kansas, and the second came on a final 55-yard Raiders rushing touchdown.

Athletic directors at the Big 12 Conference voted 15-1 in August in favor of disciplinary action for fans who throw things on the field. The only hold? Kirby Hocutt, Texas Tech Director of Athletics.

“I’m frustrated,” McGuire complained Saturday. “We have a new rule in this competition. We know the rule, we didn’t adhere to it and we were punished tonight.”

“You made it about you,” he continued, addressing the tortilla renegades. “If you throw tortillas more than once, it’s all about you.”

Texas Tech does not allow fans to openly carry the food item, forcing would-be tortilla wearers to take matters into their own hands.

The pro-tortilla-tossing blog TechTortillas.com advises fans Shoving “a pack of 10 or 20 tortillas” into their cowboy boots to get past security. Alternative strategies include taping them to your chest or folding them into a cowboy hat.