by We all know at least one Notre Dame fan that never went there or knows anybody that went there. While this is not directed at all Notre Dame fans, they are a part of the issue. It’s an issue that I, as a student at a Group-of-5 school, am seeing all across the country at other G5 and FCS schools.
Quite frankly, it pisses me off! I was raised a Penn State fan & grew up going to Beaver Stadium and all this and that, but I never went to Penn State. I chose to go to Coastal Carolina. Do I still pay attention to Penn State athletics? Yes. That’s something I will always do, but if Coastal & Penn State are playing at the same time then Coastal goes on the bigger/better TV for me or I’m turning on the Coastal game if I don’t have access to two TVs. And if they play each other, it’s death to Penn State! Chants Up!
I find it weird as hell that students at my school willingly miss a Coastal game to watch a SC, Clemson, or UNC game. Or better yet, I know people who are Coastal students, who missed a Saturday night home game vs. a rival & good team in Georgia Southern, to watch Ohio State play Wisconsin on TV because they grew up Buckeye fans. Stuff like that makes my blood boil!
The way I see it, you can be raised a fan of a certain school and that’s all fine and dandy, but when it comes time to choose your college (if you go to college) and you choose another school over them, for whatever reason, that school no longer has priority over the school you now go to. Or if you do not get accepted into that school then that school that you have been a diehard fan of as far back as you can remember said you aren’t good enough to go there… shouldn’t you feel a bit of animosity towards them? I know I would.
This tweet thread from Sidelines – South Alabama summed it up best!
It is a very simple thing to do… ROOT FOR YOUR DAMN SCHOOL! You are literally paying thousands (in most cases) to go there! If you show up to your team’s home football, baseball, basketball, volleyball, field hockey, etc. games and be loud and supportive, I promise you, you won’t remember sitting on your couch watching South Carolina beat Furman. Instead, you will remember watching your running back hurdle a defender and score a game winning touchdown to beat one of your rivals in the rain from the student section! If you feel attacked by this, good! If you are one of the people who go/went to a school and don’t
root for them over a school you’re just a fan of, you are lame and should be ashamed of yourself!
Great article! I always feel this way. I went to Georgia Southern and see so many alumni and current students that will always root for UGA over Ga Southern. If you love a particular school that much, you should have gone there.