DC Opinion piece on Homecoming...

[MustangSally]

When I saw the title, I was thinking "oh great, another long rant about how lame SMU is and we have no traditions, etc" but I read it and am very impressed. Sure this kid admits he's a fan of another school, but he GETS IT, the whole idea behind why you go to games, and what to do when you are there. He's basically the "casual football fan" in student form. While I wish everyone was rah-rah crazy SMU sports nuts, I think i'd rather have more kids like this than the greek (and non-greek) no-shows.

Deficit of school spirit


By Bill Meehan
November 09, 2005

I am not a good student here at SMU. I am only involved in one student organization. I don’t regularly attend the Boulevard, and I worship a different school. Quite frankly, I’m the guy with the Notre Dame hat you’ve never seen without that hat. I do attempt some respect, though. I attend SMU football games. I have since my freshman year. I have seen the worst of times, when we went 0-12. Now, I feel I’ve seen something worse.
I do not claim to ooze school spirit, but many students do. I do not hang signs that say that I love SMU or SMU football. I merely claim that when I show spirit, I mean it. When I attend football games, I do it for the football. I do it to support the team. I do it to make noise when we’re on defense. I do it to quiet others when we are on offense. I yell pass, ball, option, fullback and reverse on the hope that the defense hears and reacts. If I was not there for the team, I would not bother to show at all.

Many student organizations do claim school spirit. These organizations have tents on the Boulevard and host parties to celebrate the team. They build floats for Homecoming and nominate candidates for king and queen. They project an image of spirit and support that cannot be matched by the others in the student body. I myself admit that the displays are quite impressive.

I caught glimpses of these displays Saturday. The game was Homecoming. It felt more like Homeleaving. The crowd was best described as sparse for most of the first half. I could not believe how many people were not only sitting but also seemed uninterested in the game. The demeanor felt like we were losing by 20 points. We were winning by 20. Then, towards the end of the first half, I noticed a change. The student section started to swell. People came with signs and had coordinated outfits. Students from many student organizations started to force their way into the stands. The stands became crowded.

The half ended and the Homecoming ceremonies were completed while the now crowded student section made large amounts of noise. The signs were displayed and noisemakers filled the stadium with celebration, the most noise since TCU came to town, all during the halftime show. Then, the ceremonies ended and the exodus began. This is where the term Homeleaving came from. All told, the organizations were mostly out of the stadium as the second half kicked off. The student section was left with maybe 400-500 students. It now held less than half the number of students that it had before people showed up for the halftime show. The masses of the allegedly loyal student organizations occupied the stands for maybe 20 minutes. Fifteen of those minutes were the ceremonies.

So, I’m here to call you out. I am talking to the Greeks and the other student organizations. This is for the people who built floats, coordinated outfits, made signs, carried noisemakers, filled the stands and left without realizing the score. You claim that you love and support your school, but you really only care about your image. I’m here to smear that image. I want to expose you for what you really are. You’re fake, imitators and, most of all, classless. You have an utter lack of respect for the team that you claim to respect, as well as the alumni who support this school.

If you disagree, prove me wrong. Show me that this was an anomaly that does not reflect the student body. Show me that you care about the school, the players and the alumni. I’ll even give you the date and time to prove it. Nov. 26, at 2 p.m., we host UTEP. That’s two days after Thanksgiving. If you care to salvage what’s left of your sacred image, meet me at the stadium, lower level, next to the band.

Bill Meehan is a junior computer science and math major. He may be contacted at [email protected].

[DiamondM]

I have been trying to mount a crusade that bases the "Spirit Competition," the winner of which is announced at halftime of the Homecoming game, on attendance AT THE GAMES throughout the season, as well as in the 3rd quarter of the Homecoming Game. (I would also love to see it based in part on participation and attendance at the 73 year-old tradition of Pigskin Revue, but I realize that is unrealistic).

Currently, it is based on a number of made up things throughout homecoming week that do not show spirit for SMU, but spirit for your own group, like attendance at the Homecoming parade and creation of a float. I think if the criteria stays the same, it shouldn't be called the "Spirit Competition" at all. Of course, I think this year the Wesley Foundation won the competition. That may tell you everything you need to know about the amount of even fake spirit the Greeks overall have for SMU.

[Spaz]

The OTHER thing that pisses me off is the float competition
Lambda Chi had the best float by far (the Eat Me Cake/Deathmobile from Animal house) followed by Sig Ep (I'm biased I know)

Both were disqualified I heard for like STUPID reasons, and the winners were like a VW and some other stupid crap

Basically, every year awards are given out based on who (what sor/frat) has the most people running the events. It's crap and stupid.

[Sam I Am]

Bill Meehan's message deserves a jesture of appreciation for what he has tried to accomplish in student attendance. I will cheer for his fighting Irish more often (not always) in return for his challenging the SMU students to show up or shut up when it comes to claims of having school spirit.

[MustangSally]

Exactly, it's not SMU spirit, it's spirit for your group at an SMU event. Look at the Greek floats every year, they usually stick to a theme "rock and roll homecoming" or whatever, but RARELY do they show anything about "Rock and Roll over the Rice Owls" or any attempt at pro-SMU slogans. It has nothing to do with the team, the game, or the school, it's simply a float for your organization in a parade at SMU. That's just a small example, but I feel a valid one.

The pep rallies were always super lame. It was basically a chance for some girl to test out her event planning skills. They'd invite all the greeks with promises of "spirit points", set up a little stage by Dallas Hall, and have a team captain give a 20 second speech. At every one, there was a sign in sheet, and you'd see countless people walk up, sign it, and then leave. I really disliked when I was there with the Mustang Band and random-sorority-girl-in-charge-for-the-day would come up and ask "hey could you all play that little song, or whatever you do...just do something when we announce that you're here". I realized then that it had nothing to do with actual school spirit or promoting a game, but it was just a public event for different organizations to wave their own posters and signs when their name was announced.

[SMU Football Blog]

The OTHER thing that pisses me off is the float competition
Lambda Chi had the best float by far (the Eat Me Cake/Deathmobile from Animal house) followed by Sig Ep (I'm biased I know)

Both were disqualified I heard for like STUPID reasons, and the winners were like a VW and some other stupid crap

The LXA float didn't win?!?! I admit I am/was a LXA so I am biased, but that was the best float I have ever seen at an SMU parade. It even said "Eat Rice" on the side, which I thought was genius.

[MustangSally]

Ok, I must admit that sounds like a pretty cool float. Was it just the cake, or was the deathmobile coming out of the front?

My brother is on student council for his 11th grade class at a small Christian school, and had to think up an idea for a float. My dad seemed almost hell-bent on getting him to do the deathmobile, he spent hours online looking at plans of floats, pictures of the original, and how to make a breakaway cake. They ended up not doing it, but I'd never seen my dad's eyes light up like they did when he thought of recreating that float.

[Hoop Fan]

well said. Its true people dont like losing football and you have to give them something to come for and cheer for. But to come only for the halftime ceremony and promptly leave is just as he described it: classless. Really classless.

Its not much different than going to your kids play, and after he says his two stupid lines getting up and leaving.

[Spaz]

Basically it was the cake. Then it broke in the middle and like hydolically seperated and revealed the DeathMobile underneath.
It was not only good because of the theme, but the execution was AMAZING

However, some alums got pissed cuz they'd start playing Varsity, then a record scratching noise, then Louie Louie

I thought that was silly. I doubt students knew that's like Rice's unofficial fight song because it is [deleted]

[jtstang]

The Animal House take was greatness. Best float ever. If disqualified for any reason the entire SMU homecoming production is a sham. Not surprising for SMU.

[SMU Football Blog]

Basically it was the cake. Then it broke in the middle and like hydolically seperated and revealed the DeathMobile underneath.
It was not only good because of the theme, but the execution was AMAZING

However, some alums got pissed cuz they'd start playing Varsity, then a record scratching noise, then Louie Louie

I thought that was silly. I doubt students knew that's like Rice's unofficial fight song because it is [deleted]

It was done with cables, but basically that is what it was, plus it said "Eat Rice" on the side instead of "Eat me"

I hope anybody that was ticked feels pretty stupid. That wasn't Varsity. I thought the same thing at first, but then I remembered that on the soundtrack for the movie, which I own, it does the same thing. That is why it had all the audio cuts in the middle ("It's not going to be an orgy") It plays a few bars of the Faber College Theme at the beginning. Yeah, the "It's not going to be an orgy" is arguably offensive, but I thought it was funny and I had my kids with me.

[MustangSally]

Academic Festival Overture, by Brahms. I think that's the name of it.

[mrydel]

Loved his lullaby!

[EastStang]

Kudos on a very good message in the DC. Probably won't be read by 90% of the students. Now if you call them out by name, they'll read it because they see the actual name of their fraternities. Like the LXA's are soo gay. The Sig Eps hump sheep. Something like that. Then they'll read the rest of the article to see what you're talking about. Disclaimer: I have only met a few gay LXA's and have never really seen a Sig Ep hump a sheep, so they may in fact be innocent of that. But I'd like to see them have to deny it. I'll be at the UTEP game wearing a gray SMU T shirt. It will take at least the entire fraternity to catch me. If you're not there, you won't see me.

[BarbaraAnn]

I'll be at the game, as always, with 60 of my friends.