Tradition on the brink

Pride.\nIt's a wonderful time to be an Indiana sports fan. The Colts and the Pacers are each holding their own, respected forces in their professional leagues.\nAnd of course, there's Mike Davis and his Hoosiers.\nYet, is the IU student body ready for another year of success? Are we ready for possible failure? What will we do, sell our tickets, bet on UNC or Arizona in our tournament pools?\nYou see, I live out by the stadium, and the last two games played at Assembly Hall have been relative blowouts. I had tickets for neither, as IU cut down all season ticket orders to benefit the mass of students, giving everyone a chance to watch Coverdale drain a few three's.\nBut they weren't watching. \nIn fact, at halftime, I was appalled to see hoards of students leaving, simply because we were winning too soundly. It apparently wasn't exciting enough for them.\nThe University took a risk in taking tickets away from those who ordered them on time. For what? For people to misuse them, disrespect our players? This worries me. What will happen if we begin losing, if the students don't have enough devotion to our team and school to stay during a win? Will the seats be packed when we lose; will the sounds of our cheers still serve as a factor against the visiting team?\nIt seems that since last year, obviously the interest and connection to our Hoosiers has increased, but unfortunately, for many it seems quite shallow. We have a history of pride and dedication to basketball here at IU, but everywhere in this modern world, we see that history dies. Family traditions, ancestry, pride in who we are are fading as we all become a part of this fast paced, facts-first, results-oriented society. The Colts continually ponder leaving for L.A., abandoning tradition for economic realities, and it's no new news that families and ethnic customs are fading away into the television static and broadband cable hookup.\nHow do we beat this? \nDevotion, even when it's not fun.\nThere's a reason why Notre Dame has long been known for a tradition of mythic qualities, why Notre Dame's pride is so great that some may find it annoying.\nAt the Notre Dame home game against Rutgers, Notre Dame was leading 42-0 at the end of the game, and not a single student left the student section.\nThat's a home-field force to be reckoned with.\nThat's the same devotion we should be showing our boys in the candy-striped pants, our families and our traditions everywhere. These customs are fragile. While they might appear stronger than steel at their peaks, their lows are dangerous. They can sweep away tradition all together, leaving us with nothing to cheer for.\nIf a team, a custom, a piece of our history offers us excitement and brings us joy, then we owe it to those forces to support them in all circumstances. Exciting or not, poor or not, ancient or modern.\nNewt, AJ, Tom, Mike, Bracey, Hornsby and Leach are here now. They will leave someday. It's our job to make sure that when they go, everything is left behind them for the next to feed off of and create.