Usually I am against imposed uniformity because it can stunt ideas and growth. For example, Jeffersonian ideals are outdated and have yet to be remodeled to the current era, but many still feel obliged to follow them. For instance, values such as honor and social norms - like segregation - have changed over time. Honor has become more ambiguous and segregation is no longer accepted. However, there is a time and place where everyone from students and staff to alumni and local residents should come together as one: Saturdays at Scott Stadium.
Sporting events are supposed to be a time when individuality goes out the window in favor of a collective state of mind. For many, sports are a source of great release because it gives them an opportunity to just live in the moment and forget about any duties and responsibilities. There is no thinking involved - just watching, lots of cheering, and the occasional boo. Unfortunately, at the University, football games are a weekly outdoor cocktail party.
I remember hearing a shock jock first-year criticizing the University for being posh when it came to football. He was crude and loud, but he wasn't incorrect. Flash forward to the current football season; nothing has changed. The atmosphere in Scott Stadium during most games is embarrassing. The culprit: Guys in ties and girls in pearls.
Since Al Groh stepped in as head coach, he tried to override decades of tradition by implementing the Sea of Orange campaign. Instead of coats and ties for men and sundresses for women, Groh figured that having everyone wear the school colors would produce more unity. Common sense dictates that Groh's conclusion is more than reasonable. Social psychologists would most likely agree as they believe that the social circumstance of being "one of many" would lead to a loss of individuality and would therefore increase crowd mentality.
On the other hand, journalists and armchair coaches sometimes lack common sense and a simple understanding of psychology. A 2005 lead editorial in The Cavalier Daily stated that "the argument that the roiling Sea of Orange makes Scott Stadium more imposing is a bit silly." Although opponents are accustomed to going into a sea of (insert school color) every road game, the Sea of Orange campaign is not meant to be an intimidation tactic. Its purpose is to give unrelenting support to the players, coaches, and staff on the field that wear navy blue and orange.
One argument for dressing up is that since dressing up has been a long-running tradition, it is more relevant than the more recent orange t-shirt trend. The rebuttal is simply that traditions change. Christmas has expanded to include two new religions - corporatism and consumerism. General Motors has turned away from massive gas guzzlers to eco-friendly cars. Switching from ties and sundresses to t-shirts is barely a change in tradition compared to what has happened with Christmas and GM.
Another argument for not adopting orange shirts is that it would result in a loss of school identity. The first counterargument is that other schools have similar traditions where students dress up, so we are not unique in that sense. These schools include Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt, all of which have more of a right to deviate from the norm than does Virginia. These programs belong to football schools, towns, and states. They live and breathe football and have the winning tradition that we do not. There, dressing up does not distract their hardcore student-fans from cheering, whereas dressing up here means small talk among casual students. Secondly, I would be hard-pressed to find another school that purposefully tries to separate themselves from anyone else as much as we do. What other undergraduate schools use "Grounds" and "first-years" colloquially? What other school worships their founder and central architecture as much as we do? What other school has student self-governance and the infallible honor system? Look around because there are so many other things that only we have.
Disregarding my opinion on the attire at games, one thing I think everyone can agree on is that the football team is not composed of just the coaches, players, and team staff. There is a reason for home-field advantage and that is the fans. Wearing t-shirts does not make the game any less sociable, it just redirects attention from the crowd and toward the field. If everyone contributed to the game-day atmosphere, maybe the team will win more, and games will be even more sociable. I would guess about two-thirds of the stadium is already wearing orange. The people that need to step up stand in the student section and on the hill.
Hung Vu's column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at h.vu@cavalierdaily.com.
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