May 12, 2001
Welcome to the University of Southern California’s American football game at the Los Angeles Coliseum. You are participating in the biggest event of your school year, football season. The question is why you should bother to go to a sports game at all.
It’s all about team spirit. It’s all about the sense of belonging. It’s all about pride. And above all, it’s all about fun.
You know about team spirit from home already. You know, when your school’s sports team is going up against another team? Think of that but multiply the pride by 10. It’s not just the students and faculties who are rooting for your universities, but the alumni and general public also. And having team spirit doesn’t always entail attending sports events or having a famous sports team either. It’s all about your school.
During your orientation session to your new university, you would more than likely be informed of the school’s mascot, traditions, history, and sports teams. Very much like universities back home, once you enter the school, someone would tell you about the friendly/healthy rivalry with other schools--like that of Chulalongkorn and Thammasat Universities—and let you in on the traditional insults and jokes. They’d teach you the fight songs, cheers, and alma mater. They’d encourage you to get involve, to show your support for the school, and to be a part of the community. All the same benefits as the freshmen in Thailand except that there is no hazing here. (The differences in freshman traditions will be explored in later article.)
Even after a disappointing game,
USC Football player Rocky took the time to show off
his Trojan spirit with the fans like Oakley.
Hey, this is America. You don’t have to believe anything they say or do anything at all if you don’t want to. A lot of people couldn’t care or less about being at a certain university while someone, like yours truly, would dive in headfirst and became the school’s biggest fan. That sounds silly to you, doesn’t it? Being an international student, you might feel a bit shy and uncertain about this whole school spirit business. You might feel awkward, even intimidated, because you are among all the American kids in the strange environment. On top of it all, you don’t even know their sports all that well. (I went to all home football games my freshman year knowing almost nothing about American football, but it didn’t matter to me as long as I got to be at the game, screaming at the top of my lungs.) Then again, you might not give a hoot about any of this spirit stuff to begin with. But you don’t need a sports team or knowing any statistics to be spirited. All you need is to take pride in the university and you being there.
Step one. Feel the pride. You are now a part of the prestigious academic institution. There are countless famous alumni produced from your school. The research program at your university is world class. Et cetera. Once you feel proud about being a part of the legacy, you are getting to become your school’s most loyal fan.
Step two. Show off the pride. Buy some clothing with university logo or name on it. Put a sticker on your car. Get a key chain. Know just a little bit of your school’s history, traditions, and trivia so that you would be able to explain to someone about your school.
Step three. Live the pride. You are a (insert your school mascot here) now. Let the world knows. Wear proudly your school gears. Cheer on when your school or a famous alumnus is in the news. Praise your school and trash your rival any chance you get. Defend your school to the best of your ability. (If you can’t, either shrug off the comment or change the subject as soon as possible!) Attend sports events to support your team. Go to Homecoming to experience the pride from all generations.
Can't help but to dance to the music of
the best damn marching band in the universe, USC Marching Band!
By immersing yourself in the school spirit, you would get to do a lot more things and widen your horizon more than just sitting around in your dorm all day studying or doing nothing. First thing I did after the freshman spirit rally was joining the spirit organization Trojan Pride. All my time in college I was active with this group and I got to do so much more than what I came to college for: I sold and designed T-shirts, organized and crowd-controlled spirit rallies and concerts, took road trips to San Francisco, taunted UCLA football players 3 times my size from the front row seat, and learned more about USC tidbits than I ever needed to know.
It’s true that not all of the universities have great sports teams, or are famous for any of the sports, but school spirits are still alive and well. Let me refresh your memory about the motto of studying abroad: Carpe Diem (Seize the Day). Get out there and let the fun begins.
Fight on!
That *is* a real license plate! Just not Oakley's.
But it best explains who she is.
Related Links
You are on your own for this one! Visit your university's store for gears, and look up spirit groups/clubs/organizations to join in. See the following USC's example.