By Andy Knabel
The familiar sounds of “Fight! U of L” flows from instruments as our marching band plays our fight song. We all stand and clap to the beat, but very routinely, with little passion or excitement.
The same could be said for “All Hail U of L.” It’s a tradition for students and alumni to stand and clap along with their fight song. It is also tradition to sing the fight song. Most universities have large, passionate and dedicated fan bases built from rich tradition and school spirit. There may be no tradition more important in the minds of proud alumni, students and fans than their fight songs.
Notre Dame sees the concept of the fight song as an integral part of college athletics. The “Notre Dame Victory March” is one of the most widely recognized songs. The history and tradition that lives in the song date back many decades.
However, one tradition you may not be aware of is their tradition of playing the visiting team’s fight song before every home game to honor their opponent.
In singing our school’s fight song, we honor our classmates, our U of L friends, and all former Cardinals. The fight song is the basic form of fan support at the collegiate level and we have a proud tradition and passionate fan following. So, why does no one sing the fight song at U of L?
My first thought leads me to believe that people don’t sing it because they don’t know the words. In-state rival University of Kentucky displays the words to their fight song on the big screen at the stadium. They even have a sing-a-long ball that bounces across the words making it easy to keep the beat and sing.
Auburn University has a crash-course in school spirit as part of freshman orientation which includes teaching all of the incoming students the Tigers’ cheers and fight song.
The athletic department could make strides toward improving fan support by involving the fans even more than they already do, and put some importance and pride into playing and singing our fight song.
If Cardinal fans are supposed to be the best fans in the country, it is only right for “Fight! U of L” and “All Hail U of L” to be honored by being sung loud and proud.
