Why my alma mater’s camaraderie is better than yours
I knew it was happening. I was watching him do it right before my eyes. He’d been flirting with a lot of others. At least two one-night stands. That I know of. So when it finally did—when he dumped me, I should have been ready for it.
But I wasn’t. There I was with my radio blaring, on a rainy Friday morning, sitting in traffic on Columbia Parkway when he told me. My stomach flipped. My eyes welled with tears. I punched the radio off. It still caught me off guard.
Tailgating at the game vs. Syracuse
He’s leaving me.
University of Cincinnati Head Coach Butch Jones told his team (and the rest of Cincinnati) in a early morning meeting that he was leaving. He was packing his bags and heading to Tennessee. (Which they don’t seem to pleased about.)
Apparently the meeting was at 7:30 a.m. and he was off the UC campus by 7:35 a.m. What did he say in those 5 minutes? “I’m leaving. But represent the C!” “I know I said I’d be the coach for the Belk Bowl. But I was joking. Good luck!”
Family and friends at the UC game in Toledo.
There are a lot of reasons that people have speculated on why Butch wanted to leave. The Big East is in shambles, he doesn’t like Nippert Stadium, he thinks our fan base is measly at best.
I love Nippert. So back off—that excuse isn’t working. And yes, the Big East is in shambles, but we can fix it if that’s what you want.
But he’s right, there are problems with the UC fan base. One that seems beyond repair.
The student body of UC (and the rest of the fan base) is pathetic at times when it comes to showing up for games. I’ve seen it, I’ve been a season ticket holder for awhile now. I’ve been to nearly every game this season and at least the four before it. I’ve even traveled to a few.
And I don’t even go here. Nor lived here.
Keeping warm at the last home game.
Nippert Stadium is an amazing facility. It puts students on top of the action. Our fight song is fun to sing. It sells beer. Only 12 other college stadiums do this. But the student section is rarely filled to capacity. So why aren’t they showing up to the football games?
Even last night, at the UC basketball game, our #11-ranked Bearcats completely obliterated the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. And still the student section wasn’t filled up. What, do they need to be in the Top 10 for you? Sure, they were playing a sub-par team, sure next week is exams, sure UC is a commuter school.
But there’s something wrong with UC student’s camaraderie. Why don’t people cheer on their ranked teams? Brace yourself, but UC students take their city and their team for granted.
And when Lance McAlister tweets videos like this:
It’s easy to see why Butch Jones was drooling over a home field advantage and facilities like that. The University of Tennessee averages almost 90,000 a game. We hardly got over 80,000 total in the last three home games.
About to head to Papa John’s stadium for the game at Louisville.
As my dad always says, Cincinnati’s favorite past time is bashing on UC Athletics.
For 4 years, I went to a MAC school. Ohio University students went to football games and basketball games. Our student section was always brimming over the top. We were 31-22 when I went there. We went to a few bowl games and were ranked a few times. On paper and by the numbers, UC is better. But not its fans.
But the difference between the two is simple. At OU, it’s all about student camaraderie. Just this past week a student attempted suicide off a bridge that cuts toward campus. Two students tried to talk the student down. After he survived the fall, students came out in flocks to write positive post-its at the site where he jumped. A month or so before that, a negative self-reflection message was written on a bathroom wall. Students, armed with post-its, covered the message with more positive notes of encouragement.
Staying warm at the game against Rutgers.
So when we want to go and support our football team, we do it—because that’s what students do. Support each other.
I’ve been to so many UC games since I was 5 or 6 I’ve lost count. When I moved to Athens to attend OU, my friends and UC students were shocked.
“But you love UC!?”
Yeah. I really do love UC, but you don’t.
It was about midday when I was beginning to feel better about the breakup. I threw away old photos of him, threw my sweatshirt that smelled of him and Nippert into the laundry. And as I was about to click the ‘unfollow’ button on my twitter, he did this:
https://twitter.com/UTCoachJones/status/277059060514295808
And my heart twisted into a knot again. He rubbed it in. And I hated him all over again. If not for me, then for the rest of the UC fans.
So I’m begging the UC students to join together for this one. We’re better than to let one man ruin our lives. We’re better than a coach.
When Butch dumped us he left us heart-broken and angry, left us wondering why we weren’t good enough, left us blaring the saddest of all Avett Brothers songs. But like every break-up, you can’t go through it alone.
Support each other and bounce back. Because you have a post-breakup vacation in front of you.
Say hello to Charlotte, NC for me.
Cori's Story 