Pepperdine football… still undefeated. As the new freshmen wandered into the bookstore to stock up on all their Pepperdine gear to support their newfound school spirit they probably saw the “still undefeated” T-shirts in the clothing section of the bookstore and may have thought to themselves, “I didn’t see a football field when I took a tour here.” Those of us who have been around for a year (or three) are familiar with the fact that this shirt consistently populates the racks at the Pepperdine bookstore— we are also very familiar with the sad reality that Pepperdine most definitely does not have a football team.
As the sports editor I feel like I should explain why. We obviously did at one point— and a good one at that. But now the only indication a football team ever existed here are the T-shirts in the bookstore and the only rightful arrogance we can cling to is that we still are and will always be undefeated.
But despite this well-deserved bragging right the truth remains that those of us who call ourselves football fans are forced to take our football loyalties elsewhere.
There is a chance that you aren’t into college football at all and really only care about the sport when someone talks about the professional world that includes the Chargers Jets or Patriots. Of those who do appreciate the college football scene some might be UCLA fanatics.
Or maybe you just stick to your hometown roots and cheer for the Longhorns or the Colorado Buffaloes. While I personally pick the latter I am proud to call myself anything but a USC fan after their scandal this summer that royally ruined USC football for the next three (if not more) years.
Any good sports fan has undoubtedly heard about Heisman trophy-winner Reggie Bush who was accused of receiving “improper” benefits while attending USC. You may have been shocked that such a prestigious and renowned football program would do such a thing. But let’s be honest. I’m sure they weren’t the first and they definitely won’t be the last.
If the stiff punishment that gives the Trojans no possibility of post-season play for the next two years and forces them to forfeit 10 scholarships for the next three seasons isn’t enough to send a message to other Division 1 schools you would think the revocation of all post-season games won during Reggie Bush’s time would be. But since the USC scandal multiple other D-1 programs like Alabama and North Carolina have gone under investigation for similar controversies.
Maybe because USC is relatively close to Pepperdine and is the preferred athletic choice for a notable portion of Pepperdine students it serves as the biggest conversation piece among Southern California residents. In fact I could safely argue that there are many Pepperdine students who have more school spirit for another school than they do for Pepperdine. As an avid football fan myself I can’t completely discourage this mindset. But passion for another team shouldn’t equate to dislike for another — specifically Pepperdine.
It’s the start of a new semester which means the start of a new football season. At Pepperdine it means the start of every fall sport besides football. This of course means an abundance of athletic events that could honestly use a few more Pepperdine fans. This could be the year that we stop hiding behind a facade of fake school spirit fueled by the free T-shirts and Chipotle burrito card handouts at home games. Whether we want to admit it or not our school spirit is lacking. And since I don’t see a football team anywhere in our near future it’s up to Pepperdine students to change that. The lack of a football team may not be all bad, because even though we don’t have a football team unlike USC we can at least say we have our pride.
Go Waves!
