GARRETT WAIT
Sports Editor
Yes, the Graphic has been on fire recently with staff editorials calling for civilized decency in the stands during sporting events. Yes, we’ve preached rationality over conflict with other schools’ fans and athletes. I even wrote a column describing and emphasizing calm, cool athletic support.
Now forget everything we’ve ever said about that.
Entering Saturday night’s game against those simpletons from Loyola, I want each and every Pepperdine student in attendance to be as loud and vicious as humanly possible.
This time, it’s not really about the players on the court. The game will probably be more competitive than we would like. LMU, for some reason, was able to smack us around at Gersten Pavilion and will likely try to do the same thing this time around.
This time, neither team really has a lot to play for other than pride and bragging rights. Sure, a higher conference-tournament seed could be on the line for the Waves, but we’re pretty much guaranteed to be playing either San Diego or San Francisco, the two conference teams we match up best against.
This time, the onus will be on the fans to make the game come alive and have meaning. LMU students will try to take over our hallowed gym, like they do every year. Except this time, the game coincides with the first day of our spring break. Those of us who are sticking around must defend Firestone Fieldhouse with every vocal chord and clever chant we have within us.
I’m not telling anybody to be vulgar. That’s not really what we should be about as fans of a school with such high moral values. We do, however, need to remind LMU people exactly how much we hate them. We need to let them know that they are decidedly beneath us as human beings.
This column is supposed to be about basketball, and in a way it is. Basketball is a spectator sport, and as spectators, we play an integral part in the game. We need to show those pieces of airport trash from across town just what real fans look like.
Every time they shout “What time’s curfew?” we need to remind them that it’s at 1 a.m. and that they would gladly adhere to the rules if they had been able to get into our school. Last time, they even had the audacity to suggest that our students had been rejected by their junior college-esque admissions board. I find that laughable and somewhat cute. At least they’re trying.
Our school’s average SAT score was nearly 100 points higher than theirs. Also, our Princeton Review admissions’ rating was an Ivy League-like 98, while they were stuck at 93. Clearly, we are the more prestigious school, and Pepperdine students should show pride in getting into this place by defiantly defending it with their voices.
We are the top-tier private institution. They are the second-tier Jesuit college with a history of scandal. If you are so inclined, look up the name Anthony Peter Smulders and see if you can come up with a clever way to indelibly tie that to the LMU image.
I’ve given you all the ammo you need to shoot down the LMU faithful’s ridiculous attempts to be clever. Happy hunting.
02-24-2005
