Student Life ArchivesSchool spirit at Wash. U. is about as evident as a Yankees flag in Boston. That is to say, it doesn’t exist. As junior volleyball player Whitney Smith pointed out, “People didn’t even know that we won the national championship two years ago. They just asked if the season was over.”
Most students complain that Division III sports are not as competitive as the Dukes and USCs of Division I athletics. As I sat in the Athletic Complex in the midst of Convocation, I had an epiphany. Is it possible that the varsity teams at Wash. U. are just too good?
With 12 NCAA Championships and 105 conference titles (11 titles last year alone), the varsity teams do not provide the struggle that is essential to a good ballgame or rivalry. They just dominate everyone. And with the volleyball, football and women’s soccer team already picked to win the University Athletic Association conference before play even begins, I can understand the disinterest.
As junior volleyball player Amy Baum explains, “Even if the gym is packed with fans for the other team, the energy is contagious. As long as someone cares, it makes you play better.”
Who would want to come and watch the volleyball team that has won eight national championships and qualifies for the final four almost every year? Or what about the women’s cross country team who finished third in the nation last year? I completely understand why a student would not want to cheer for a program that finished sixth overall in the NCSA Power Rankings (a ranking which compares athletic programs across Divisions I, II, and III and their performance throughout the year).
Wash U students are just not accustomed to being ranked ahead of Harvard, Princeton, and even Notre Dame with their prized football history. Unless you cheer for Stanford or Duke, every team you followed through the Bowl Championship Series and March Madness was ranked below the athletic program right here at Washington University.
Baum said, “All the athletes like each other; we live together. There are no attitudes despite that we all strive for the same goals.”
With that in mind, muster up the courage to join Red Alert, wear the t-shirt, and come witness what promises to be another year of domination. Upperclassmen should join the enthusiasm that many freshmen initially have and take pride in what Wash U has to offer outside the classroom and dorm.
“Red Alert is geared towards the freshmen so we hope it becomes contagious to all classes,” commented Smith. “There is no other time in your life when you can paint your face, go crazy, and have a good time. The games are free, and you are supporting your classmates who are accessible peers, not faces on ESPN.”
Plus, they give out free pizza, and everybody loves free pizza.