Wasn't I surprised when I got a copy of the Daily Mississippian and found an article about my blog. Well maybe, it's more about Dixie but whatever.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Dixie
Can I tell you how nice it is to go to a college football game where there a) is a mascot and b) its allowed on the field? I don't care what school it is, if there's a mascot, it's great.
On Saturday, I went to the Carolina-Clemson Game in Columbia with my mom. We had a mini picnic at Kate's apartment which is about as far away from the stadium as the width of the stadium.
Let me stop right here and discuss something: Williams-Brice Stadium is a little odd in comparison to other SEC stadiums. I don't mean the shape or capacity or anything like that. I mean its location. As far as I know, all other SEC football stadiums are on campus. Williams-Brice is not, which leads to unique tailgating. Every school brags about its tailgating and traditions; I am not doing that here. The placement of Williams-Brice caused numerous open areas to transform into massive parking lots, and not just any parking lots, but premiere parking lots. A sign across the street proclaims "Condos available. Gameday parking beginning at $20,000." $20,000 for a parking space!!! That a concrete rectangle is for sale for a minimum of $20,000 baffles me, and those aren't even the most expensive ones. There are fenced in parking lots with a pavilion or stage where bands play before the game. The crazy thing is (besides the fact that people pay 7 figures for a parking spot) that the owner also has to pay a property tax on the concrete rectangle. I do understand that at other SEC schools people pay high sums to park on campus next to the stadium as well, but here is the difference: on a college campus there is only so much space designated to parking and only so much space a school is willing to give up for parking. Because the stadium isn't on USC's campus, there's no limit to how many parking lots and game condos can be built. They just keep moving further and further out. Anways, I just needed to declare my bafflement with the idea. (I must admit that the Cockabooses are pretty awesome though.)
Ok, now that I got that out of my head . . . As my mom and I left Kate's apartment, we noticed a plane with banner flying around the stadium. It took me about a minute to figure out what was on the banner: a Confederate flag and the words "LET THE BAND PLAY DIXIE." My mom and I stopped in our tracks. Let me get one thing clear--I go to a school where the band plays Dixie in the stadium (technically is From Dixie with Love which combines Dixie with the Battle Hymn of the Republic). I understand the importance of tradition, which is why I tolerate it when I go to games at Ole Miss; I know the University of Georgia plays it, and I'm sure other schools as well. However, I don't think that a school that has no tradition of playing the song really ought to play it especially in connection with the Confederate flag as the person who sponsored the banner thought it should be. Let's face it, Dixie (the song) and the Confederate flag brig up connotations of the Civil War. And what does the Civil War bring up? That's right, slavery. You can argue all you want about states rights and what have you, but it boils down to slaves as property and southern whites wanting to take their "property" wherever they wanted. Anyways, in my humble and unasked opinion it is in poor taste for the University of South Carolina band to play Dixie in the stadium. There's no precedent - why start now and tarnish the school's image?
On Saturday, I went to the Carolina-Clemson Game in Columbia with my mom. We had a mini picnic at Kate's apartment which is about as far away from the stadium as the width of the stadium.
Let me stop right here and discuss something: Williams-Brice Stadium is a little odd in comparison to other SEC stadiums. I don't mean the shape or capacity or anything like that. I mean its location. As far as I know, all other SEC football stadiums are on campus. Williams-Brice is not, which leads to unique tailgating. Every school brags about its tailgating and traditions; I am not doing that here. The placement of Williams-Brice caused numerous open areas to transform into massive parking lots, and not just any parking lots, but premiere parking lots. A sign across the street proclaims "Condos available. Gameday parking beginning at $20,000." $20,000 for a parking space!!! That a concrete rectangle is for sale for a minimum of $20,000 baffles me, and those aren't even the most expensive ones. There are fenced in parking lots with a pavilion or stage where bands play before the game. The crazy thing is (besides the fact that people pay 7 figures for a parking spot) that the owner also has to pay a property tax on the concrete rectangle. I do understand that at other SEC schools people pay high sums to park on campus next to the stadium as well, but here is the difference: on a college campus there is only so much space designated to parking and only so much space a school is willing to give up for parking. Because the stadium isn't on USC's campus, there's no limit to how many parking lots and game condos can be built. They just keep moving further and further out. Anways, I just needed to declare my bafflement with the idea. (I must admit that the Cockabooses are pretty awesome though.)
Ok, now that I got that out of my head . . . As my mom and I left Kate's apartment, we noticed a plane with banner flying around the stadium. It took me about a minute to figure out what was on the banner: a Confederate flag and the words "LET THE BAND PLAY DIXIE." My mom and I stopped in our tracks. Let me get one thing clear--I go to a school where the band plays Dixie in the stadium (technically is From Dixie with Love which combines Dixie with the Battle Hymn of the Republic). I understand the importance of tradition, which is why I tolerate it when I go to games at Ole Miss; I know the University of Georgia plays it, and I'm sure other schools as well. However, I don't think that a school that has no tradition of playing the song really ought to play it especially in connection with the Confederate flag as the person who sponsored the banner thought it should be. Let's face it, Dixie (the song) and the Confederate flag brig up connotations of the Civil War. And what does the Civil War bring up? That's right, slavery. You can argue all you want about states rights and what have you, but it boils down to slaves as property and southern whites wanting to take their "property" wherever they wanted. Anyways, in my humble and unasked opinion it is in poor taste for the University of South Carolina band to play Dixie in the stadium. There's no precedent - why start now and tarnish the school's image?
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