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What happened to all the Love and Honor?

Justin Maskulinski, Columnist

Love and honor to Miami

What exactly do these five words mean?

Simply put, the words "love" and "honor" are two words that should be expressed toward Miami University. This has been the case for many years, and will hopefully be the case for many years to come.

It's much more than five words arranged in a certain pattern though, and it ought to mean more than that to anyone lucky enough to be a part of this community.

This has been a rough year for some of Miami's bigger sports, but Miami is much more than what has been on display this year, and it can once again become much more. But it needs student support.

Our college old and grand

Now we're up to 10 words total, and with these next five words comes many years of greatness that have been forgotten or ignored by the current student body.

There is no doubt that Miami's academic greatness is celebrated and proudly displayed by its student body, but there can be a balance in celebrating athletic tradition in addition to academics.

Both are great reasons to be proud of Miami.

Miami has a rich tradition in athletics, but for brevity's sake, this column will focus on football.

Earl (Red) Blaik. Paul Brown. Woody Hayes. Ara Parseghian. Bo Schembechler.

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Those five coaches have at least two things in common: one, they won at least one national coach of the year award, and two, they are Miami graduates.

In a three-season stretch from 1973-75, Miami had a 32-1-1 record, losing only to Michigan State (the score was 14-13).

During that timeframe, the Redskins (now RedHawks) beat the following teams: Purdue, (one win, one tie), South Carolina (twice), Florida, Kentucky and Georgia.

To date, Miami has 15 Mid-American Conference Championships, four more than any other MAC school.

Heading into last season, Miami was 24th in the country on the all-time wins list.

Proudly we shall ever hail thee, over all the land

The tradition of Miami athletics is something to be proud of, there's no doubt about that.

To be at a school with not only academic greatness, but also athletic greatness is a unique opportunity that is taken for granted by many, myself included.

Four years ago, a high school junior was stuck between two colleges: Miami and Cincinnati. He went to a Miami hockey game, and you can guess which one he chose.

That high school junior is now a sophomore at Miami who sat in the Armstrong Center and observed the different college clothing walking around. Of the 27 people I saw representing a college, only 17 were representing Miami. On a larger scale, 63 percent does not look too good.

I stopped counting shortly after I saw an Ohio University shirt.

Being at a Miami hockey game is a fun time, but it's more than that. The hockey team is known as "The Brotherhood," and the same brotherhood, sisterhood and family feeling resonates in the student section.

This season, when the hockey team wasn't doing well, the student section shrunk.

There are loyal Miami students out there, but the fans became fair weathered during this stormy season.

Even when the teams aren't succeeding, they deserve support.

The athletes go to class just like the rest of us, and they put in a lot of work outside of class as well. Too much work to see people walking around campus with OSU, OU and UC shirts on.

Be proud of the tradition that is Miami Athletics: You chose to go here and might as well support where your (or your parent's) money is going.

Alma mater, now we praise thee, sing joyfully this lay

There are numerous Miami graduates who would do anything to be in the place of a current student. They love their alma mater and they want to see it succeed, not only in the field of academia, but also in athletics.

There are numerous donors who feed the athletic department with money in order to help and they attend events too.

What could they be thinking when they sit in Millett Hall and look up at the tarped-off seating, or as they sit in Yager Stadium and see the lack of student support?

There are countless opportunities to drink cheap beer in college. As the years fly by, so do the opportunities to watch a (free) sporting event as a student. You can beat the clock later; go watch a game.

Sports unite people. Only at a sporting event is it deemed acceptable to scream at the top of your lungs and aggressively high-five, or even hug, a stranger.

If someone would like to dis the MAC, my reply would be simple: go look at Ohio University.

Their student section is relentless and much better than ours, and it hurts me to say that.

Just the other week Ohio visited Millett Hall and the chants of "OU, Oh Yeah." were much louder than any Miami cheering. If even a miniscule percentage of the student body had attended the game, the Ohio travelers would have been quieted, or not loud enough.

Apologies to the students who do care and attend Miami athletic events, sorry you had to read that.

Apologies also go out to the Miami alumni who have to witness the lack of student support at Miami events.

Lastly, I apologize for falling into the trap. I don't even support my school as much as I should.

Hopefully all of us can turn things around, and once again confidently say:

Love and honor to Miami, forever and a day.