DURING winter break the city of Charlottesville becomes a different place. For instance, on the Corner it may be easier to spot a parking space than a student bearing the latest handbag from Kate Spade. However, at one point during winter break the peace and quiet came to a halt as locals and repatriated students alike endured the return of the most audibly unattractive nuisance in the University community. Jan. 5, Charlottesville residents and University students alike begrudgingly shared University Hall with our Virginia pep band.
The pep band's presence behind the hoop at U.Va.'s home basketball games creates a problem that only can be solved by dismissing its members and taking some measures to rehabilitate them back into average University society. The pep band presents a nuisance because its members reserve a large portion of highly sought after student seats. They create a sea of orange making a perfect backdrop for the visiting foul shooter. With new technology emerging, their old-fashioned way of entertaining could be replaced with more hip and innovative crowd pleasers.
This argument will hinge on the first, most disagreeable contribution the pep band makes to every basketball game. Their presence displaces many, possibly more dedicated, students from high-value seating. While this issue predominates in most anti-pep band arguments, the others must be addressed effectively to demonstrate the possibility of a viable alternative.
Students never are more against the pep band than 20 minutes before the gates open, when their hands are turning from cold to numb and they begin to conceptualize the course of action they must take to secure the most optimal seating. There is the north end of the stadium and the south end, with the pep band. As they enter the turnstalls students make that crucial decision that could place them either behind the scene of an Adam Hall power dunk or behind the tuba player, whose wild hair blocks about 60 percent of their view of the court.
It is in these crucial times in Cavalier basketball when every inch of seating must be designated to the general student population. Duke's Cameron Stadium and North Carolina's Dean Dome are notorious for their intimidating fans that reach right out to the heart of the action. While U-Hall will be replaced with new plans for student seating, it is not certain that the pep band will be excluded from this area. Fans who have pitched tents and endured harsh weather for as many as seven days have earned the U-Hall seating that the pep band strolls into minutes before game time.
More front row seats recently were commandeered by groups like the Hoo Crew (recently elected by your student council to keep you in line) and the Virginia Dance Team. While these groups similarly cut in line for student seating, their numbers are lower and more manageable. Furthermore, the Hoo Crew improves the quality of life before the game, and the dance team certainly improves the quality of entertainment during the game.
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Entertainment is the second deficiency when Cavalier basketball relies on the University pep band. While traditional instruments, brass, reeds, percussion and the rest have entertained audiences in the past, the 21st century basketball fans expect 21st century entertainment. One favorable innovation that is notably missing so far this year is the portable blimp that patrolled inside U-Hall dropping corporate sponsored ping-pong balls on students. These types of activities and give-aways are exactly what make students ecstatic. So let this be a word of advice to the sports promotions office: Students love free stuff.
The University could take a lesson from professional arenas and play actual music over a public announcement system. Another possibility would be a disc jockey, or a spinster to play techno, house or other cutting edge sounds. If all else fails, Cavalier basketball could rely on those good-looking people standing on the sidelines that do flips and acrobatics to invigorate the crowd.
The last issue pales in comparison to the first and to some degree the second. However, that the pep band is uniformly outfitted in orange pennies creates a steady backdrop upon which opponents gaze as they drain free throws. Although they are difficult to overlook, the pep band can fade into the background with all their common oddities.
Cavalier basketball has been ranked as one of the best organizations in the country this year, and the team certainly deserves the best fan support and entertainment. Opening pep band seating to the general student population would allow time and weather tested fans to better enjoy their basketball team.
(Matt West's column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at mwest@cavalierdaily.com.)
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