Staff Editorial: School spirit is not just for the winning team
A packed stadium is not a common sight at UH, where students proudly rally around the football team — as long as they’re winning. | File photo/The Cougar
All you could see on Aug. 29 was the sea of red — red shirts, red hair, red face paint. School spirit was rampant, and you could feel that this was going to be the start of something big for UH.
At the gates of TDECU Stadium, 40,755 students, alumni and Cougar fans lined up for their chance to be a part of history — a part of something bigger than themselves. The game started, the crowd cheered, the band played. Everything was perfect.
By the start of the fourth quarter, more than half of the 40,755 fans were gone — disappointed by the way the game played out. School spirit went out the window, and the sea of red turned into a creek.
The second football game against Grambling State lost about 10,000 fans in the stands. This Saturday’s game against UNLV lost another 10,000, barely filling half of the 40,000-seat stadium.
This is where the problem lies.
UH has tradionally been known as a commuter school. Located in a growing, fast-paced, limitless city, UH has gone through many ups and downs.
We enjoy Tier One Research status, and our next goal is to become a fully Tier One accredited university. It will not happen without a change in student life, including school spirit, and attending athletic events is only a small part of it.
Though Cougars are tired of being constantly compared to University of Texas and Texas A&M University, it cannot be ignored that these universities have school spirit. They are successful because they have the backing of the student body behind them, win or lose, every single day.
There are plenty of students who are proud to be a part of this University, but there are still some who doubt how great UH can become.
With a more spirit-oriented student body, UH could differentiate itself from the other four universities in the Houston area.
The official motto at the University is “In Tempore,” which means “In Time.” In time, we will become great. In time, we will become nationally and globally recognized. In time, every single person who walks on this campus will walk around with a kick in their step, radiating with pride.
But why wait until it is our time to shine? We, as a student body, should work together to make that time — our time — come now. Step one is maintaining that Cougar spirit every single day: win or lose, rain or shine.
In time, if students are proud of their school, there’s no telling what UH can do.
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