Fall is my favorite time of the year to be on McNeese’s campus. Everyone is relaxed from the summer, we have our new freshmen settling in, and football season is right around the corner. Athletic events, especially Homecoming, are some of my favorite times, because everyone is proud to be a Poke. Our opening football game is especially exciting this year, because we get to make the trip to Death Valley. I’d like to assume everyone knows that, but you may have taken a nap after finals last spring, and are now just waking up.

I’ve seen many people celebrate this game in different ways. Some are grabbing a ticket for the bus trip ASAP, while others are planning a tailgate. I’ve noticed some people in our community are having conflicting feelings. They just aren’t sure who to cheer for. You may have seen someone update their Facebook profile picture to Rowdy, and their cover photo to Mike. Others are captioning their insta pics with purple, gold, and blue heart emojis and are searching for an outfit that shows support to both teams. As a proud McNeese student, allow me to present some reasons why you should leave the purple at home on Saturday.

1. Imagine telling a McNeese football player that you plan to wear LSU colors to the game. That boy has worked hard. Do you really want to see his reaction?

2. That school has enough support. Us Cowboys need to stick together.

3. You don’t even go there.

4. Even if you went there for a semester and transferred, it is important to bloom where you are planted. No one likes a wishy washy fan.

5. Blue and purple aren’t cute together, so that outfit you planned with both won’t look good.

6. Even though you feel the need to support LSU because your best friend’s uncle’s neighbor is there, your best friend’s uncle’s neighbor can cheer on their team, and you can cheer on yours.

7. We need to set the example for school pride. If McNeese students don’t have McNeese pride, who will?

I encourage McNeese students to leave the LSU clothing at home every day, and support our own campus. Let’s be a community that backs up our Cowboys first, and all other teams second.