24 September 2009

School Spirit

While I was at UNT the other day, I entered into discussion with someone about school spirit. We noticed how several people were walking by wearing other schools' shirts. UT. TCU. Basically, not UNT shirts. While I had always noticed it before, the thought never occurred to me until now: why? Why are you wearing a shirt from one college, while you're attending another?

I have a couple shirts from LeTourneau University, but I was a student there for three semesters. There's just no way that every student wearing a shirt from another school actually went to that school. I mean, why would you leave UT to go to UNT? Not the likely answer.

Instead, we decided that school spirit was the culprit. We determined that school spirit--in college--is based almost entirely on two things: sports and preference. The first is obvious. If you're football team is awesome, you want to support them. If your basketball team makes it to the Final Four, you represent. The second also makes sense. If you REALLY wanted to go to Texas A&M, you're going to have A&M stuff. If you're super smart and/or uppity and/or wealthy, you might have Ivy League stuff.

But no one cares about the nation's top chemistry department or lacrosse team or trombonist or whatever. That just doesn't inspire school spirit. UNT has a phenomenal music department. But how do you turn that into school spirit? UNT has an up-and-coming business school. But how do you make people excited about that? I'm not sure you do. Maybe a lack of school spirit is OK. After all, UNT is the third-largest school in Texas. And that can't be a bad thing.

So for those who are banking on a stellar football team in the next few years, get over it. It may not happen, and it may not matter. Let's be good at that which we are good. And if we're lucky, we'll get to watch some good football, too.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I have seen this problem at UNC as well. Students wear other institutions' apparel and it frustrates me. I can understand that perhaps they have grown up watching Notre Dame football... heck, maybe their parents even went there? Still, wearing CSU and CU (in-state universities) is irksome. If you support them so much, then go there. If you have no UNC Bear Pride, then either don't go here if you're going to tear us down or learn to love it. Just because we are not in the Big Ten conference or win every game doesn't mean that support for the teams isn't needed or wanted. If I know the person, I'll ask why they wear it, and most of the time it is either because they are from that town but didn't go to the college, they got it for free/as a gift or a sibling goes there. They don't care that it isn't UNC. :(