By

The University of Louisville pep band has come a long way, but there is still work to be done.

As I sat in Conseco Field House watching the Cardinals take on Purdue University, I remember catching a glimpse of the two pep bands. Purdue’s student pep band was on their feet cheering on the Boilermakers, while our geriatric version, was sitting down waiting for their next opportunity to play something from VH1’s list of Awesomely Bad songs.

I still think that the pep band is taking up valuable seating at Freedom Hall inhibiting student spirit. In a perfect world (an athletic department dedicated to maximizing student spirit) those seats would be given to students, while the pep band would play down to the students, keeping them spirited while not blocking their view with a tuba.

Now, the pep band does some things that make me very happy, and adds to the atmosphere. The song played on the gigantic bass drum while the players run out on the court is an awesome tradition. Playing the theme from “The Godfather” when U of L head coach Rick Pitino comes out gives me chills. Not only do they play “All Hail,” but they sing it too, and that is something the student fans should take note of.

The lack of student spirit at basketball games can’t be totally attributed to the pep band. In our next issue we will explore student spirit at U of L and what students think of it. If you have an opinion, please contact me. However, the pep band can do a lot to generate spirit by playing songs that are more conducive to the students.

Since half of the pep band is middle aged and considers popular music to be the sweet melodies played by Delilah on her weeknight radio show, I thought I would talk to the students and find out what songs they would like to hear.

My personal choice is “Jesus Walks” by Kanye West.

Here is a list of my ten favorite suggestions:

“So Fresh and So Clean”

Kristal Beach – Junior

“Grindin”

Devin Schmidt – Junior

“Changes”

Bob Parks- Senior

“My Drink and My Two Step”

Kyle Markham- Senior

“Space Jam Theme”

Brady DeLuca – Senior

“Never Scared”

Patrick Mayer – Junior

“Tequilla”

Tricia Boelscher – Junior

“Wanna be a Balla”

Will Glover- Freshman

“Rock Boyz”

Edgar Sosa – Sophomore

“Diamonds are Forever”

Andre McGee – Junior

The best vehicle for student spirit is student involvement. If this initiative to create an alumni pep band is going to work, they are going to need to take the opinions of the students into account. If they are going to play songs that students don’t want to hear, then they shouldn’t be sitting by the students. If they are going to keep playing Abba’s “Dancing Queen” they can go play at a roller rink.