Go big crimson!

At the men's basketball game versus Athletes in Action something seemed a little off as our cheerleaders, dressed in crimson, cheered "Go Big Red!"\nNow that former Athletic Director Michael McNeely is out and interim director Terry Clapacs is in, I urge him to reverse this hideous change.\nThe color change was brought about by McNeely to honor our traditions and bring about unity among athletic teams. I'm all for tradition, but hasn't red and white become a tradition itself? When my parents attended IU many, many years ago the school colors were red and white. (Sorry Mom and Dad, just trying to prove a point!)\nOn the subject of unity, I must say I've never seen something so contrasting as the cheerleaders' maroon, I mean, crimson, uniforms next to the bright red Assembly Hall floor paint? Sure, many of our athletic teams used different logos. But color was the one thing they all had in common. Now athletes don't match stadium décor, and they certainly don't match the fans who already own countless red and white garments. And no, I will not be using my basketball season tickets refund to purchase a crimson shirt to wear to the few games I am deemed worthy to attend. Even if we all changed our wardrobes, would the athletic department spend money that it doesn't have to repaint Assembly Hall? Well, seeing as how $69,000 was spent just to develop the new logo, maybe they would.\nColor is not the only reason I'm not sorry to see McNeely go. Let's examine the treatment McNeely gave the Marching Hundred, the marching band that attends football games when other students won't. Not only did McNeely ruin the tradition of red and white, according to IDS reports, he forbid the Marching Hundred from their 20-year tradition of the pre-game run-on. This policy was recently reversed; however, the band remains behind the goalpost without a net to catch incoming footballs. We can rest easy though knowing that the band has stylish new crimson and cream uniforms. Wool uniforms, in fact, that caused three band members to pass out on a warm day earlier this semester. McNeely cleared everything up by explaining to the IDS, "We wanted one top quality uniform. Looks are important." This coming from a man who is seemingly color blind. \nPerhaps in time we will be able to embrace these new "traditions" of heatstroke. IU sports would elicit the same amount of pride in its fans even if it changed its colors to gold and black. Maybe. Still, we love our traditions, and the truth is that red and white and pre-game run-ons have been tradition for years.\nI suppose long ago when IU abandoned cream and crimson, fans felt the way we feel today. So why go through this change twice? Mr. Clapacs, please restore the same traditions that we had last year when both our men's basketball and soccer teams made NCAA Final Four appearances. Take us back to a time when students could attend 10 home basketball games, a time when we could sing the IU fight song believing crimson was a synonym for red, and a time when we could shout "Go Big Red!" without seeming confused in our maroon clothing. Does anyone know Nike's return policy for new uniforms?