Other Schools Represented on Our Campus: Why This is Not Okay

Imagine that you are walking to class on a beautiful, sunny day. It is not hot enough where you are impulsively sweating, but it is not cold enough to pull out the Ugg boots. You have your skinny iced Starbucks drink in one hand and your new overly sized bag in the other. For the first time this semester you actually found a parking spot, so you are going to get to class in plenty of time. Everything seems to be going your way. Suddenly, out of nowhere, someone walks by with a University of Florida shirt on. Do you throw your over-priced coffee at them and run while yelling vulgar things? Ideally, yes. Realistically, no. 

UCF is the second largest school in America, with a population of 58,567 students. You would think that a group this size would have an immense amount of school spirit. But as we all know, this is not the case. 

Students support other colleges on a daily basis. While the Gators, Seminoles and Hurricanes all have a rich history and tradition, the University of Central Florida has not quite reached the level of tradition and prestige that the more known schools have from being around for a very long period of time. 

The University of Florida is the main school that is supported on the UCF campus. It does not come as a surprise since UF has the most tradition and history out of any other Florida school, hands down. I am sure that a lot of your parents and siblings have gone to UF, so it is understandable that you may have Gator gear. 

I hate to break it to you, but news flash, you are a Knight, not a Gator. So it is not completely understandable to choose to wear these items on the UCF campus. I am not saying to throw it in a fire and watch it burn. Save it to wear at home or when you go visit UF to show more respect for the school that you are attending. 

A big way that UCF students show school spirit is at athletic events. With the Knights recently getting a bid into the Big East, as well as having established stadiums and an arena on campus, tradition for the future is promising. 

Since the Brighthouse Stadium has been built, there has been an increasing number of fans at the
football games. Win or lose, who doesn’t love tailgating at Memory Mall? Despite losing to FIU, which made everyone want to crawl in a hole and never watch a game again, our football team has gotten significantly better. 

I am sure that you would not be caught dead wearing a UF or Florida State shirt to any UCF game. If you did, you would be taunted and booed until you basically left in tears. As joyful as that may sound, you would not get that same treatment on a regular day on campus. You would get some means looks, but no one would really say anything to you (without that liquid courage). Treat going to class or being on campus the same way you would a game day.

It is all about showing respect for your school. In order for UCF to create a tradition, it has to start with our generation. So when we get old and have kids, we can take pride in telling them that we were the generation that brought UCF to the top.