Stick It In Cheer

As a freshman the first thing that I realized when arriving here, was how many traditions Virginia Tech has. Football games are were many of these traditions are established and embedded into the Hokie Nation. As you enter the football stadium on a camp day, all you will see are people wearing orange and maroon from head to toe. The whole stadium is packed, and cheers are constantly being chanted. Girls are being thrown in the air, by groups of boys trying to imitate the number of points that the football team had scored. Keys are rattling and the “wave” is in full motion around the cheering crowds in the stadium. Yet recently there has been a major controversy about a cheer that is often chanted in Virginia Tech’s stadium.

The “stick it in” cheer has recently been under much scrutiny from the faculty and staff at Virginia Tech. Traditionally the cheer was chanted as Tech’s offense was within striking range of the end zone. The band and the cheerleaders would gyrate and dance along with the cheer, and it has become a famous cheer among many Virginia Tech fans. Yet because of the recent events that took place, many members of the administration believe that Virginia Tech is under a microscope, and any negative actions that take place are a representation of Virginia Tech.

The “Stick It In” cheer was created ten years ago, and was a pun that refers to the ‘stick’ for the drumline’s drumsticks. The administration no longer allows for the band to play this cheer, and the students at Virginia Tech are outraged. There is now a facebook group called “Save the Stick It In Cheer”. It was created by Marching Virginians member Greg Bringhurst, and already has over 2,500 members.

Personally I do not see what the big deal is. This cheer has been around for ten years, and until now the administration did not seem to have a problem with it. Nowadays I would think that a cheer like this would be more acceptable than it would have been ten years ago. For example nowadays, kids are exposed to scenes and images on television way earlier than they were ten years ago. Girls in music videos and magazines are more explicit than they were many years ago. But yet because of the incidents that happened this past April, the Virginia Tech administration seems to be overly concerned about the image of the school.

I do understand that this cheer is probably not the popular cheer among much of the administration, but what do they expect. The “stick it in” cheer is a tradition, and goes along with the whole experience of attending a football game. The football games are always very intense and exciting, and it is because of these traditions and cheers that students and alumni are able to join along and be spirited. It was stated that Lane Stadium was voted the best home field advantage in college football in 2005 by rivals.com. It was voted this, because of the enthusiasm and pride that Hokie fans have. The “Stick It In” cheer is more about spirit and tradition than it is about anything else.

Although the cheer is banned, students are beginning to fight against the administration to “bring the Stick It In cheer back”. If you walk around campus on a game day you will see many students wear the “Stick It In, Stick It In, Stick It In” t-shirts proudly along the campus.