The costs of the “Eat Shit, Fuck You” chant outweigh the benefits.
Before you spam my email inbox with death threats, at least hear me out.
This is my fifth and final year at University of Wisconsin. It’s also my fifth and final year as a student-section, season-ticket holder, and I consider myself lucky to be able to say that.
During my college career, Badger game days have been the source of some of my favorite memories. I feel there are very few experiences that can top the excitement of Saturday football games, so I’m not surprised that the NCAA recently ranked Madison as the best college football town in the country.
The trouble is there are still people who question our right to that title. When I talk to fans, alumni or others outside the student body, I’m often shocked that some fail to mention how much fun Badger game days are because they’re fixated on their memory of the “Eat Shit, Fuck You” chant, which is something we rarely discuss as students.
People from the university have tried to talk to us about the chant before, but they’re so out of touch with what it’s like to be a student that they completely miss the point. Of course university officials want the chant to end; they’re the ones who actually have to deal with the complaints.
I’ve heard countless arguments from former chancellors and people like Barry Alvarez that essentially boil down to “Think of the children!” But what I have yet to hear is students talk about how the chant can affect us personally.
I think it’s fairly self-explanatory that the main reason we participate in the chant is because it’s fun. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that college students enjoy being a little rebellious, especially when most of us are at least four beers over the legal limit. From our perspective, the chant is such a tiny fraction of our daily lives that we don’t think it’s worth getting worked up about.
What a fan sees, though, is a different story. When they attend a football game, that’s one of the few interactions they have with students. They don’t get to see all the awesome things we do on a day-to-day basis, and they don’t understand what it’s like to be a part of the student section. All they see is a single event in our college career and sometimes they draw conclusions based on that. I’m not saying that’s always the case, but I do think it can dramatically change how we’re viewed and how we’re treated.
To give you an example, I asked UW Athletics for all the feedback they had on file and read through every comment submitted last fall. Here’s one I found particularly interesting:
“Not sure why the student section does the swearing back and forth at each other. Makes them look unintelligent to outsiders.”
That quote is pretty mild compared to the one that implied we’re the spawn of Satan, but I think it demonstrates how the chant can alter a fan’s perception of us.
But, these comments aren’t just anecdotal. According to a survey at the end of last year, 35 percent of season ticket holders said the student section disrupted their experience in some way. Expanded to the entire stadium, that means roughly 23,000 fans each game, or more than 100,000 people each year, are inclined to view us less favorably.
Based on what I’ve seen and heard during my last five years here, I think the chant is one of the primary factors contributing to this negative perception of us.
It’s not hard to imagine an out-of-state employer forming a negative first impression of us because she went to one Badger football game and now thinks we don’t understand social norms. Also it’s not unrealistic to assume that the citizens who already think we’re a waste of their taxpayer dollars see the chant as justification for their views.
Similarly, it’s possible some alumni have second-guessed their decision to establish scholarship funds because they think we’re an embarrassment.
I admit I’ve participated in the chant before, so I’m not saying we should judge those who still do. I’m also not suggesting we need to be some squeaky-clean student body that does exactly what the university wants. Anyone who suggests we stop pregaming on Breese Terrace or stop chanting “Asshole” at the opposing team’s fans when they’re in our student section shouldn’t be taken seriously.
What I am saying is the costs of the ESFU chant outweigh the benefits. I would argue we have more clever chants. Hell, even the “Shoot him like a horse” chant at least makes sense in the context of the game.
It’s also not like the chant is some long-standing tradition either. The earliest acknowledgement of the chant I could find was from 2003, which means it’s only been around for a little over 10 years. Unless we’re talking about our winning streak against Minnesota, I don’t think many would say 10 years is very long at all.
So I challenge you to ask yourself why the next time you hear the chant and decide on your own if you want to join in.
Samuel Schmitt ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in industrial engineering.
