This year, our team’s opening game against William & Mary drew the smallest crowd for a season opener since 1997. A staff editorial on Sept. 14, “Win or lose, root for the home team,” commented on this disappointing turnout, saying fans need to amp up their school spirit if they want the Terps to play better. I say, why?
One of the many degradations of being a student at a jock school is that people are constantly after you to show enthusiasm for the team.
From the school’s point of view, you’ve got keep the spirit amped because the school has invested zillions of dollars and taken out insane loans to keep the sports thing cranked, and if you fail to be the sort of person who pees his pants at the prospect of paying tens of thousands for luxury boxes and season tickets the school is fucked.
From your fellow students’ point of view, the growth of a party of unamped peers provokes cognitive dissonance, the alienation effect, a crisis of bad faith, acedia, ennui, dark nights of the soul, and nihilistic panic. They are like the people on this tourist bus.
September 19th, 2012 at 12:53PM
A side note: Google Ngram on “school spirit” shows a peak in around 1930. Can’t figure what’s going on, or what is the equivalent term these days.
http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=school+spirit&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=0&smoothing=3
September 20th, 2012 at 1:18PM
This brings to mind the opening chapter of Catcher in the Rye: “It was the last game of the year, and you were supposed to commit suicide or something if old Pencey didn’t win.”
September 20th, 2012 at 1:21PM
Marilyn: LOL.
September 20th, 2012 at 1:49PM
Try being a FACULTY member who is pushed to show enthusiasm for the teams, if you’re looking for petty degradations.
(We’re “asked” to wear school colors on Fridays. I don’t. I won’t. If I happen to pick out something that has the school colors in it, fine. But I’m not going to make my wardrobe decision based on the AD’s request.)