Oxford, OH + cornfields - a city + Miami University + Redhawks Football - a solid fan base = time for a serious change. In the attempt to attract fans to Miami University's football games this fall, President Hodge, Miami's outgoing President after his service of 10 years to our campus, granted the permission for Yager Stadium to obtain the appropriate license to sell beer during home games this season. While we are all sitting here wondering what took Miami so long, it's better to be late to the party than to not show up at all.
It is no secret to the school's students that our football program is in the midst of making a lot of changes. If you know anything about or have kept any tabs on Miami athletics, you know that the football program has new facilities, a lot of young talent, and the hope to make strides in the right direction. But how is a program supposed to stay motivated when its largest target population of fans–the students–are the least informed, and the least interested?
I went to my first Miami football game of the season three weekends ago. For a school that thrives off of "love and honor" and "rising up," there was anything but that in the stadiums during the Redhawk's game against Western Kentucky. It's time for the student body to take the initiative in meeting our school in the middle after it met us half way with its changes to the drinking policy at games on Saturdays.
Miami's current season lies at 0-5 and with the five previous seasons all recorded with more losses than wins, it is no surprise that their fan base has dwindled to parents/family, die-hard Miami alum, and the occasional few who trickle down from Uptown after giving up on a day of binge drinking. So, what better way to attract students to the field than giving a comfortable environment to select from several different kinds of beers and watch a game of good-ole-American football? President Hodge explained this opportunity "would provide an appropriate alternative for students of legal age to the excessive drinking uptown, and, importantly, also model responsible consumption of alcohol.”
Ultimately, it all comes down to school spirit, community, and for the love of the sport and our players. Change doesn't happen overnight, but it can happen over a season. It's time to head Miami into the direction it's allowing us with supporting the football program. The doors are open, we just have to walk through them.
The Redhawks still have half of a season left to go, so grab your student IDs, and come on down to Yager for the next home game (next Saturday, October 15th, versus Kent State). There's beer to be drank, football to be watched, and fun to be had.
Love and Honor, baby.
