“TOUCHDOWN!” The first SMU touchdown of the SMU vs Syracuse game is scored. Fans yell while wiping their sweat-drenched faces, Peruna sprints across the field and cups are raised.
Suddenly, splash. Half a cup of beer is slung over my shoulder. Students cheer, but I am drenched again.
I had taken a year-long break from attending SMU football games after a cup of beer was poured down my back at the 2024 SMU vs. TCU game. Now, I had mustered up the courage and excitement to try again.
When asked about beer showers, students say they believe it’s simply part of a football game and part of the overall college experience. Dedman student Ruxing Fitzgerald appreciates this energy.
“I mean, it’s kind of vibes, I’m not going to lie. So it’s kind of good and bad,” Fitzgerald said.
According to Forbes magazine, SMU is a new class of “vibe school.” However, for a school that represents a new class of vibe schools, not everyone on campus seems to be catching the same vibe as others.
At the game, the smell of alcohol and marijuana mixed with the vulgar language of my peers was making me reconsider my decision to return to Ford Stadium again.
Bill O’Brien, head football coach at Boston College, made remarks in a weekly podcast with Jon Meterparel about SMU’s student section following the football game against Boston in 2024.
“I’m just going to tell you, their fans behind our bench… they were atrocious. The worst,” O’Brien said.
Where some fans see unity and fun, others find annoyance. SMU Meadows student Daniel Seo experienced this feeling.
“I get why students decide to do it [throw beer], because it’s fun. It brings energy to the games,” Seo said. “But at the same time, it’s pretty obnoxious and a lot of the people that do it, I feel like they’re just doing it to fit in or be cool or try to be cool.”
To many, it is part of the experience and a celebration of school spirit. The sense of harmony in standing and shouting while yes, throwing beer.
This isn’t about sucking all of the fun out of college football, banning beer and asking everyone to sit down politely and clap when our team scores. It is about recognizing that some of our “traditions” might be pushing or scaring others away from an experience.
Although some are “trying to beat the crowd” at the end of a game, maybe there are other reasons that the student section is half-empty before halftime.
Extra security could reduce the amount of drinks flung during celebrations, and covered stadiums like Syracuse University’s JMA Wireless Dome, along with a distribution of water and liquid IVs for purchase, could encourage more fans to stay and actually enjoy the game instead of trying to beat the heat that most complain about.
Not everything can be fixed, but there’s room to start somewhere and to have fun without turning the SMU Stampede student section into a splash zone.
