Holly Singh
Staff Writer
College game-day at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville isn’t just a game — it is the hallmark of the college experience. Fall brings more than just clueless first-years, autumn leaves and the smell of new textbooks. It brings ESPN and college football.
Allow me to describe an early Saturday morning in fall, when the Virginia Cavaliers start the season with the first home game: sorority girls in sundresses and oh-so-impractical shoes gather outside the fraternity houses filled with rowdy boys in orange and blue ties. The main roads into Charlottesville are clogged with cars, mostly SUVs plastered in orange and blue Virginia gear and vehicles of opposing teams, ready to park in a grassy spot, set up a table of finger foods and beverages and begin a day of tailgating. The Lawn, a prestigious strip of grass lined with historically old dorm rooms and the incredible architectural “rotunda” designed by Thomas Jefferson himself, is filled with barbecues, red cups, country music and fans. Families and students wander through, eventually finding their way down the brick sidewalks that lead to Scott Stadium.
Often the stadium is already ablaze in orange because Hoo Crew, a huge sports fan organization that breaks the age-old tradition of sundresses and ties to UVA football games, skips the tailgating to ensure getting the best seats in the house. They leave an enormous grass hill behind the end zone for the sundresses and ties to fight for a view of the field. By first quarter’s end, 70,000 of the most rabid fans in college sports fill the stands.
When the big screen shows the Cavalier mascot defeating the opposing team’s mascot, the crowd bellows in one voice. With a swell of smoke, the Virginia football team races behind the cheerleaders onto the field. The feeling of pride in every student, alumnus, parent and supporter creates camaraderie like no other. No matter what major, ethnicity or age, students cannot help but feel that piercing pride. Yes, even the sundresses, who have no idea what “first and goal” means, scream the “Good Ole Song” at the top of their lungs every time Virginia scores a touchdown. And, football itself is a sheer joy.
While my school colors have not changed from my undergraduate years at Virginia, I find a much different and more subdued experience with sports here. I know that Pepperdine can never have a stadium filled with 70,000 fans. I also know that it is home to many nationally recognized sports teams. I am impressed that Pepperdine remains such a competitive force in Division One sports and by the support that less-recognized franchises get here. For example, the first women’s volleyball home game was packed with students and school spirit on Friday night.
My only complaint is that without football, Pepperdine students are missing out on something that is truly remarkable.
Almost everyone here has heard that Pepperdine once boasted an undefeated football team back in 1947. Last year, Pepperdine honored the 1946 Waves team that finished the season with an 8-1 record and earned the championship win in the First Annual Will Rogers Bowl. A fullback on the team called his experience “electrifying” and said he felt “privileged to have been a part of it.”
This “electrifying” experience is what is missing now — the kind of pride that lives on 60 years after the team was disbanded and thrills players and spectators alike.
I know many of you probably have a strong affinity for another school like UCLA or USC. But, when it’s truly your team, not just that of your brother, mother or best friend, the bond is even greater, the experience even more exhilarating.
Yes, I am new here to Pepperdine and have yet to encounter Midnight Madness and spring sports. I have yet to attend a water polo game or soccer match. I cannot wait to don the blue and orange and feel pride in my new school. However, I am simply saying that bringing a football team to Pepperdine might allow for a larger scale experience in school spirit — one that has created the kind of love and school pride that allows me to even write this article. Every year, I can return as an alumnus, and I know exactly what I will get — the sundresses, the sea of orange, the crashing helmets, the traditions. And most importantly, those memories that forever keep me bonded with the class of 2007.
09-25-2008
