It’s Rivalry Week here at Southern Utah University. As the football team prepares its march to Ogden to battle Weber State and renew the annual “Beehive Bowl”, rivalry students have taken to campus to express their support.
Looking around campus, students can see that any W’s (ex. Health and Wellness Center, Welcome Center, and Did You Know) have been crossed out with red tape to show school spirit against Weber. The Xs are mainly in the Student Center and on social media, and are pretty hard to miss.
The tradition is widely accepted to have started in Columbus, Ohio, the home of Ohio State University. Ahead of their annual rivalry game against the University of Michigan, Ohio State not only goes around campus to cross out any mention of M, but the school’s official proclamation is edited to do the same.
It makes sense for this tradition to have heavy roots in the Midwest, as The Game (as it is affectionately known) is widely recognized as one of the biggest rivalries in college football.
The Student Involvement and Leadership Office, under the direction of Heather Garcia, led the charge in the student center, and the social media pages were quick to jump on it as well.
The official Thundercrew Instagram changed their name to Thundercrex for this week, dropping the W and using the red X emoji in place of any W’s in any of their posts.
Heather Garcia, Assistant Director of Student Involvement and Leadership, said she “got this idea from Ryan Bailey, and [she believes] it was Portland State who did this for their rivals.”
After a week filled with activities, the showdown will take place at Weber State on Oct. 12 at 6 p.m. For students wishing to go to the game but without transportation, SUU will be taking the Spirit Bus.
Story and Photo by: Ryan Sunderman
life@suunews.net
