The Associated Press Kevin Galligan walked out of the hospital yesterday, wearing a neck brace and feeling lucky to escape serious injury in a railing collapse that injured nine spectators at the Army-Navy game. ''I can't believe I got out of here so early,'' said the 21-year-old West Point cadet, expected to recover from a broken bone in his neck that resulted from a 15-foot fall from the first row of stands. ''I mean, they were telling me that I was in bad condition.'' The accident marred Army's thrilling 34-30 victory in the 99th game between the rival academies on Saturday. It also raised questions about the safety of 27-year-old Veterans Stadium, as well as the conduct of academy members whose antics are as much a part of the rivalry as option tosses and fake field goals. ''Any person of common sense knows that a railing like that is not meant to support 20 people leaning on it,'' said Mayor Ed Rendell, a staunch supporter of funding for new sports stadiums for Philadelphia. Rendell said city engineers were investigating what caused the railing in the temporary stands to give way, sending cheering Army cadets and prep school students tumbling from the first row to the artificial turf. Galligan, of Fairhope, Ala., was the most seriously injured and the last one released. He walked out of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital yesterday with a neck brace and a bandaged wrist. Also yesterday, in Pittsburgh, a security fence in Three Rivers Stadium collapsed onto the field in the fourth quarter of the Pittsburgh Steelers' 23-9 loss to the New England Patriots. No serious injuries were reported. As a precaution, Galligan was strapped onto a stretcher for the ride back to the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., and was expected to make a full recovery, West Point doctor Mark Smith said. A 10th person went to a hospital on his own out of concern for a friend, but ended up being treated. Most of the injuries were minor sprains. The spectators fell after Army's Ty Amey ran 70 yards for a touchdown that gave the Cadets a 31-30 lead with 6:08 remaining. During a timeout, fans in the Army section cheered wildly while being filmed by national TV cameras when the railing broke. Galligan told Rendell that he saw the accident coming. ''Not only did he know who won the game, he had seen the tape of the rail giving way,'' Rendell said. ''And he said to me, 'You can see before it goes, I'm motioning for the other guys to get back, because I knew something was going to happen with all those guys bearing down on us'.'' Play was suspended for 31 minutes while the injured were taken off the field in ambulances. The accident dampened the highest-scoring game in Army-Navy history, with the Cadets avenging last year's 39-7 loss that stopped a five-game winning streak. ''If we had played four or five more minutes, we might have come out on top 38-34,'' said Navy defensive tackle Jason Snider, who played for the first time since suffering a bruised spleen against Notre Dame on Nov. 14. ''That's what makes the game exciting.'' The passionate cheering in the stands -- from pushups for every point on the scoreboard to the arrival of flamboyant paratroopers before kickoff -- makes the game special, too. There were even fistfights between cadets and midshipmen on the field before the game. Is the rivalry out of hand? Or does it need a stadium that can better withstand the raucous atmosphere? ''They get excited and all hyped up, and you can't control it,'' said Jay Rivera, a stadium security officer who witnessed the fall. The section of railing that broke was in the same spot where Navy midshipmen had sneaked beneath the stands to tear an Army banner earlier in the game. There was no indication Sunday that the incidents were related. Also, the city says duct tape seen on the railing was not for support, but to keep people from climbing between the rails. ''It looks very clear that it was a clean break, which means there was no rusting or decay,'' said Rendell, who added that he was not concerned about a possible lawsuit. ''There's been no discussion whatsoever on the Army's side of placing blame on anyone right now,'' said Army Capt. John Cornelio, a West Point spokesperson. Veterans Stadium, which opened in 1971, hosts college and pro football and Major League Baseball games. The accident came five days after Gov. Tom Ridge vetoed a bill that would have provided funding for new stadiums in Pittsburgh, but not Philadelphia. ''We need two new stadiums,'' Rendell said. ''If we let this lease run to its conclusion, the Vet will be over 40 years old, which is obviously just inherently dangerous.'' The Vet is under contract to host the Army-Navy game through 2002.
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