My take on school spirit
The last three years I have had the fortune of being a student at the University of Michigan, due to a combination of reasons I am going back home to Louisiana to finish school at LSU. From what I've seen so far both have great atmospheres when it comes to school spirit. Unfortunately from what I have seen at LSU both from the students and the administration is that the school spirit only applies to sports. The curriculum at LSU which I would imagine applies to many schools in the SEC is pathetic. It was a huge pain in the butt getting them to accept many of my credits from Michigan. Many of the classes they are requiring me to take are completely irrelevant and a waste of time. Hopefully Ill be prepared for the FE exam next April.
This isn't meant to be a rant of elitism, LSU has plenty of smart and stupid people, good and bad professors, just like there are at Michigan. This is mostly me reflecting on how the University of Michigan along with other programs in the Big Ten reflect most what college is about (balancing your priorities in sports, friendships, academics, etc). One thing that I am glad I am able to leave Michigan with is the sense that I learned what school spirit is all about. No other university in America comes close to the complete package that Michigan offers (great sports, great atmosphere, outstanding academics, diverse student body, etc). Even as much as people at Michigan like to say to OSU fans, that university has an excellent reputation compared to many other public universities.
August 14th, 2008 at 3:08 PM ^
August 14th, 2008 at 3:18 PM ^
August 14th, 2008 at 5:00 PM ^
I wouldn't include Stanford in the mix. They have excellent athletics on the whole, but their major sports, most notably football, are not only annually subpar, but don't bring a lot in terms of fans and student support.
Notre Dame is closer, but it's such a boring campus/town that it's hard to really compare. Even Notre Dame fans hate South Bend, and wouldn't step foot there if it wasn't a gameday.
It could be because I like in LA, but I've seen that USC is a lot like UM, as much as I hate to say it. It has great athletics, great academics (ranked like 2 spots below us) and tons of spirit and attendance at sporting events. Most of my friends out here are USC grads, and it's about the only school I have a hard time convincing is inferior to mine. UCLA is good on paper, but I used to live in Westwood (where the campus is) and it's super lame, and the games are empty.
August 14th, 2008 at 6:27 PM ^
I have to disagree on one point - the spirit. I have never been on campus there, but i have seen their games in person and on TV. As far as I can tell they don't have a very solid fan base. (they are more of spectators than fans)
I exclude students and alumni from this argument, but name a team that is as successful as USC on the field that can't fill its stadium on a regular basis.
Texas is probably a very good comparison to UM, in my eyes.
August 14th, 2008 at 8:23 PM ^
The current USC "fans" were the ones rooting for UCLA before Carroll got there. Being born and raised in the area I know that LA fans get a bad rap for being bandwagon and for the most part it's true. You can go across the board the sports and it's like that. No one liked the Angels out here until they won the World Series. The Lakers bandwagon filled up with Kobe/Shaq then disappeared during the past few years and now's it's full again.
I can't stand USC because of that and I would definitely not put them in the same level. Best story about this is a girl my brother went to High School with and went to USC and claimed she was a big fan did not know who Lendale White was and this was during the season he ran for 21 TD's.
August 15th, 2008 at 1:58 PM ^
Also - I wouldn't put a whole lot of weight into the one girl who didn't know LenDale White, there are plenty of girls at UM who say they are huge fans who can't name a lot of the major players.
August 14th, 2008 at 6:52 PM ^
As much as I love Ann Arbor, Austin offers far more to do. There is much more to choose from when it comes to music and bars. Its not a fair comparison given the relative size of the towns and with Austin as the Texas state capitol.
Academically, that swings in our favor.
August 14th, 2008 at 11:47 PM ^