Student support is usually a key factor in determining the outcome of a college basketball game. Fans usually come out in support of their team, wearing the school colors, cheering for the team and doing something as simple as singing the school’s fight song.
It’s become increasingly clear, however, that the latter usually doesn’t occur during UCR home games.
During timeouts at the SRC arena, the band and the cheer squad usually perform the school’s fight song in an attempt to boost the spirits of the crowd. But nine times out of 10, they are the only ones in the entire arena singing the song.
The students sitting on the bleachers simply don’t know the words. It’s a little hard to imagine why. The big screen at the SRC arena even includes the lyrics of the song, but students still don’t sing it.
The entire song is no more than 53 words long. It lasts just over a minute and it is played at just about every home game at UCR. There should be no excuse not to know the words by now.
So here’s a challenge I’m proposing to the students reading this column: the next time you attend one of our home games, learn the fight song and help boost our school spirit up a bit.
One can simply go online and search for the UCR fight song. The lyrics and the theme song are both on YouTube and are easy to find and even easier to learn.
Come on, UC Riverside. We’re the only Division I school in the Inland Empire and we’ve come a long way since the school was founded in 1954. There is a lot to be proud about. So let’s all learn the song and make sure the crowds at the Student Recreation Center sing at the top of their lungs the next time there is a home game.
Go Brave Scots!
