I’ve been to a fair number of sporting events in my time, and I’ve seen my share of signs. I’ve never taken one to a game, but I often thought I would at some point. Last week, that dream died. In what has turned out to be a brilliant public relations move — an advertising coup really — the athletic department managed to get students fired up, not about the football team, but by banning signs at all athletic events in the name of a “positive game-day environment.”
I’ll be honest, I never went to the games for the signs, but they were part of the experience. If a football game takes place without signs, is it really the same? During the past week, I’ve racked my brain to think of memorable signs that I’ve seen at football and basketball games, and I couldn’t really come up with anything. Clearly I’m scarred and repressing the memories I have of the offensive posters. All I could come up with were the usual suspects, “Hi Mom,” “I Love Chris Long” and those oversized VIC cards at basketball games. Aside from trying to communicate with family members over long distances, inspiring cult-like obsession with student athletes and proclaiming yourself to be a very important customer, mostly these signs were designed to drawn attention to oneself in an attempt to get on TV and show school spirit.
Since signs were, on the whole, not very offensive or off-putting, I tried to rationalize the decision and talk myself into a sign ban. Maybe large pieces of poster board blocked the view of some fans. That would certainly take away from my gameday experience. I kept coming back to the word “environment.” Perhaps the University was concerned by the overuse of paper products in the construction of signs, and in another attempt to “go green,” decided to get rid of signs to help the global environment — very noble. Since they’re not being used for anything else, maybe University administrators will allow students to take trays into the stadium to hold up and toss around. It would certainly make hill surfing easier.
Unsatisfied with my answers, I sensed that I was grasping for straws and could no longer ignore the smoking gun: the “Fire Groh” sign of 2007. It couldn’t be that students were using signs to express their displeasure toward a mediocre football program, and the athletic department sought to silence that voice? Could it? Students came to the Richmond game with white pieces of paper to hold up, possibly to shield their eyes from the display on the field or as a collective act of surrender to an unseen enemy. But in all likelihood, the blank sheets were a protest against the silencing of their voice and to show how this policy took away their ability to be passionate.
I fear that the sign ban will be the canary in the coal mine and is a sign of things to come. What else might be done in the name of a more “positive gameday environment?” Will they ban U.Va. colors? It would certainly be fairer to the visiting team if Scott Stadium was turned into a neutral venue. The sea of orange is clearly a sign of school spirit. Guys in ties, girls in pearls is a blatant sign of preppiness and tradition. The scoreboard is an obvious sign of the progress of the game. Against Richmond, the players were certainly confused by how the sign ban affected the scoreboard because they didn’t realize they could continue to put points on it.
They say the pen is mightier than the sword (or in this case the sabre). Since they have already taken away the pen, a clear violation of the First Amendment, I think they’ll go after the Second Amendment, the right to keep and bear arms. Can you imagine Cav Man without his sabre? How will he slay the other mascots? Talk about offending other schools — every week Cav Man murders their mascots. What could I write on a sign that is worse than that? I also fear the sign ban will increase the indifference among students about the football team to the point that they will stop attending games. At that point the athletic department could make attendance at games mandatory, a clear violation of the Eighth Amendment — cruel and unusual punishment would certainly be inflicted.
The pep band, tailgating on the lawn, signs — the dream is dead. As much as I want a sign, I’d settle for a football team.
John’s column runs biweekly Mondays. He can be reached at j.gregory@cavalierdaily.com.
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