OUR VIEW: Oh say does that ‘A’ shine blue

School pride boils down to one color: blue. Aggie Blue to be precise.

No, really, it does.

USU has many traditions that exemplify school pride. But of all these, none is so important as the lighting of the ‘A’ atop Old Main. Like the Bat Signal shining as a clarion call for the protection of Gotham, when the ‘A’ is blue, it signals to all Aggies the triumphs of their fellow students in the athletic program. While it may not be a sign of protection – Logan’s a pretty safe place – it’s enough to protect any sane Aggie sports fan’s sanity.

For those not up to date on Aggie traditions, the ‘A’ is turned from its standard white to blue whenever an Aggie athletic team wins a game. When the ‘A’ is blue, it can clearly be seen throughout the valley, even when students come out of Sardine Canyon after a weekend away. The blue light is strong and stands as a symbol for the strengths of the student athletes.

In previous years, the changing of the ‘A’ from white to blue has been sporadic at best. But not this year. The ‘A’ has been turned blue for every USU sports team victory. This effort should be applauded. Sure it’s a simple token, but that’s the case with most traditions. The important thing is that it is being done. When the standards of traditions begin to slacken, those traditions are on their way to dying out, and when traditions die, a part of school pride does as well.

But not only is it important that a tradition is kept alive, the lighting of the ‘A’ shows respect for athletes who put themselves on the line each week to bring respect to the school. So what if the football team is struggling right now? Does it make those players any less talented? You’d be hard pressed to find a better wide receiver and kick returner than Kevin Robinson.

While the football and basketball teams may seem to get all the attention, there are many other teams at USU that go unnoticed, for which the blue ‘A’ shines just as brightly. For instance, the men’s cross country team claimed its third consecutive Western Athletic Conference title. That’s three titles in three years in the new conference. While some may consider cross country somewhat of a fringe sport, the athletes on both the men’s and women’s side are talented runners that bring pride and recognition to USU, which is one important purpose athletic programs serve on campus.

The ‘A’ then, becomes a unifying theme and symbol for students at USU. Very few students get to play collegiate athletics but every student is part of the USU student body, and as such can rally under the common banner of Aggie Blue and Fighting White and be proud of the athletics programs on campus.

So next time a USU team plays, pause for a moment and take a look at the ‘A.’ Chances are, it will be blue.