School Spirit in Black and White

You may have heard rumors from the Environmental Action Committee that green is the new crimson, but you’ll look like a fool if you wear either crimson or green to the upcoming men’s basketball games. (Well, if you wear green you’ll just look like an awkwardly misdirected Dartmouth fan). Turns out that the new crimson is...black and white.

If you're psyched to cheer your brains out at the next game, start with a trip to your closet. According to Kai-Cheng Ho ’10 on this Facebook event page, the upcoming Cornell and Columbia games will have pretty snazzy dress codes: white and black for Cornell and "Black Out" for Columbia.

Ho concludes with the following words of wisdom: “We're going to create a uniformed 'Sixth Man' section. Don't be that 'guy.' Trust me. You don't want to feel left out and dress completely different than everybody else.”

You heard the man. Forget all that crimson nonsense and pretend you're in a black-and-white film for a few hours. You'll be so classy, the opposing teams won't stand a chance.

This plan was cooked up by a passionate group of juniors and seniors who have taken it upon themselves to transform the student section at men’s basketball games into a giant mass of supporting fans.

Due to their Facebook-event-heard-round-the-world, tickets for the recent basketball games against Princeton and Penn were in such high demand that students had to register for them online days in advance. (You should check out the group even if it's just to read the moving thank-you note for the crowd’s cheering at the devastatingly close Princeton game. It’s worth it.)

All this fan frenzy started with intense Facebook pep-talks that urged students to become the “sixth man” (the “non-starter off the bench that contributes to the team's success,” according to the event description). Ho and crew then brought a massive whiteboard to the gym, displaying cheers for the crowd to chant—many of which involved highly nuanced jabs at players on the opposing team. What’s more, they coordinated gimmicks like passing out newspapers for students to "read" while the rival team’s starting lineup was announced.

Wish you’d been there?  You’re in luck! The contagious energy of the powerful “I Believe That We Will Win” chant from the Princeton game was captured on video for your viewing pleasure.