COLUMN: Where has the school spirit gone?
The fire that I knew in "Fire up Chips" was extinguished long ago.
As I watched the Michigan and Michigan State football teams win this Saturday, I was faced with the disheartening realization that most Chippewas will never get to experience football and school spirit the same way that our neighboring Spartans and Wolverines will.
A sea of maize and blue filled The Big House as Michigan beat Ohio State University for the first time in almost 3,000 days. After the game, students rushed the field and celebrated with senior players as they finally broke the losing streak against their rival, potentially giving Michigan the opportunity to play in a Bowl Championship Series game.
The Spartans handled Northwestern University, securing a spot in the Big Ten Championship game against Wisconsin after having an admirable 10-2 season and winning the Big Ten Legends division.
While both U-M and MSU football programs found success in 2011, their victories bring back memories of the 2009 Central Michigan University season that now seems so long ago. For the first time in school history, our football program was nationally ranked, going undefeated in the Mid-American Conference and ending the season with a 11-2 record.
Who could possibly forget the 2009 nail-biter between CMU and MSU, where CMU edged out a victory in East Lansing with a last-second field goal? I attended the game and remember cheering at the top of my lungs, more than proud of my school's unexpected victory.
Any prestige the Chippewa football team once held seems dead and gone, but the football program isn't to blame. The most noticeable problem is with school spirit, or should I say, the absence of school spirit.
By the fourth quarter of most CMU 2011 football games at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, no more than a few hundred students were usually in the stands. Throughout my time at CMU, I had never seen so many of my friends and peers act so unenthusiastic about attending the games, which unlike MSU and U-M games, are entirely free.
Looking back to the 2008 and 2009 seasons when the Chippewas found success on the football field, I remember one key difference — football games were actually fun.
After three years of the strict tailgating policies implemented in 2009, Parking Lot 63 is largely empty on gameday. I remember my freshman year when four or five rows of the parking lot were guaranteed to be packed with thousands of students, most of whom would attend the game.
Even the historic rivalry between the CMU and Western Michigan football teams has dissipated, and excitement for the match-up that was once seen is now overshadowed by the massive police presence during the weekend.
I'm assuming the tailgating policies have prevented more than underaged drinking and the over-intoxication of the student body. Imagine Coach Dan Enos inviting potential recruits to a home game and having to explain why only a few hundred members of the on-campus student body, which amounts to more than 21,000, are in attendance for most games.
While MSU and U-M have no common area for students to tailgate, they are allowed to gather before games in their university's attire and enjoy themselves, a privilege that CMU used to give students.
I understand that the university is seeking to reduce the number of accidents on gameday, but the consumption of alcohol by college students is inevitable. For many students, removing the ability to drink before games simply eliminates their desire to go.
As I remember my freshman and sophomore year, it saddens me to know that many younger students may not see the school spirit that CMU once displayed.
