A CMS-PP basketball game (courtesy of Pomona-Pitzer Athletics)
Last semester, before the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps vs. Pomona-Pitzer football game, the CMS Athletic Department banned CMS supporters from sporting “Puck Fomona” tank tops. The department has grown tired of the Sixth Street Rivalry devolving into hateful and profanity-laden shouting matches between PP and CMS fan sections.
While the athletic department attempted to douse the flames in the heated rivalry, the Port Side reported that the creators of the tanks thought they were “just meant in good, playful fun.” They also complained that PP fans wear similar “F**K CMS” tank tops that have not been banned.
Looking forward to tonight’s basketball matchup between the Stags and Sagehens at Pomona, CMS Athletic Director Mike Sutton is continuing his crusade against the tanks. This week, Sutton urged all CMS coaches to discourage their athletes from wearing them and to set an example of sportsmanship.
The following is A.D. Sutton’s email to coaches:
The first PP/CMS men’s basketball game is Wednesday night. I would like you to send an email to your teams asking them to refrain from wearing their “Puck Fomona” shirts to the game and to see if they could be leaders of positive cheering rather than allowing the crowd to devolve into the usual profanity. The vocal part may be unstoppable, but at least we can remind them of our expectations with regard to the shirts.
We obviously cannot control our opposition’s behavior but could change the way we impact the atmosphere. With your encouragement we may have a chance.
Loud, Proud, and Positive can still be raucous!
If behavior from past CMS-PP games repeats itself, Sutton’s hopes for cordial cheering will likely not be realized. Even if CMS fans show up without the tanks, there will be no stopping of the nastiness between the opposing fan bases. Even without provocation by the tank tops, PP fans will surely chant “Safety School!” and “Suck our Sagecocks!” at Stags supporters. Wearing the tanks or not, CMS fans have animosity toward PP, and will respond in kind.
Both basketball teams head into the game undefeated in SCIAC play. The Stags are undefeated and currently ranked 12th in the nation. The action on the court should be intense and competitive. Hopefully, the action in the bleachers will not end up being the story of the night.
POST-GAME UPDATE
It’s safe to say that the CMS Athletics Department’s efforts to tone down behavior in the stands failed. The game on the court was incredibly close and competitive, with both teams in it until the end. The Stags won on a game-winning lay-up in the closing seconds, but that was not the only story of the night.
Throughout the game, loud chants of “F**k Pomona!” rang out, to the dismay of a CMS coach policing the stands. PP fans were not any classier, flipping off the CMS fans and at one point almost getting in an altercation with a CMS player. There were plenty of “Puck Fomona” and “F**k CMS” tanks adorning fans in the bleachers.
At the end of the game, the courtside action really turned ugly. Fans on both sides erupted in multiple melées that spilled out into the middle of the court. With 0.5 seconds on the clock, PP and CMS fans stormed the court and collided with each other. Punches were thrown and a mosh pit of men pushed each other around.
Two PP fans were ejected by the referees. The second ejected fan stole the ball from the ref and dribbled it across the court on his way out, all to a chorus of boos.
After the final buzzer, CMS fans ran on to the court in celebration and were met by disappointed and disgruntled PP supporters. Another fight began, and officials from both programs had to run in to break up the brawlers. It took a while for the madness to die down.
Both teams on the court played a great game with admirable effort. Either side could have been a deserving victor. The Stags can relish in their sweet and well-earned victory over their cross-street rivals. They are still undefeated and in the longest win streak in program history.
It’s pretty sad that because of some immature and classless fans, their accomplishment on the hardwood won’t be the only thing that people remember.
UPDATE (1/19):
CMS Athletic Director Mike Sutton sent an email to the Claremont McKenna student body this morning thanking them for positive behavior. From the email:
You all looked great in the new CMS “6″ shirts – a sea of burgundy and
gold (thank you Jeff Huang and the CMC Dean of students team) and you
were terrifically loud and positive. I really appreciate the way you
all supported our team and left out the “P-F” chants. Thank you!Best wishes for a great start to the semester. Please continue to be
strong supporters, enthusiastic fans exhibiting positive sportsmanship
will be great compliment to the efforts of all of our teams striving to
perform at their best.
While Sutton’s sentiments are nice, his observations do not quite capture the truth. There were plenty of visible “Puck Fomona” tanks in the Rains Center last night. And in the bleachers, nearly every time a PP player shot free throws, clearly audible chants of “F**k Pomona!” came from the CMS side.
Sure the “CMS 6″ shirts were positive, but they did not prevent what the program was afraid of: clashes between PP and CMS fans. If Sutton is serious about trying to change the way students act at games, he needs to acknowledge the actual problems and not focus on mere changes of clothing.
Seriously? “Puck Fomona” is a tradition! We don’t mind it, because “safety school” is a better chant anyway.
PIIIITZERRR, PIIIITZERRR
I have to agree with you. I don’t think “Puck Fomona” is that ridiculous or offensive. And it’s not like we are the only college that makes shirts like these. Harvard students make “Yuck Fale” shirts. Penn students make “Puck Frinceton” shirts. While I believe the CMS Athletic Department may be right in trying to create a more respectful atmosphere, I’m not convinced banning the tank tops is going to be effective.
I think a more effective policy would be to have the CMS and P-P students on opposite sides of the gym and to guide them to different exits. Instead of this, it looked like Pomona made the two sides of the gym to be “standing” and sitting,” so that there were CMS diehards right next to P-P diehards the entire game. Of course, the area between them was where the first fights happened. This doesn’t justify any fighting, but c’mon, do the obvious.
Report what happened.
Nobody said “F**k Pomona” they said “Fuck Pomona.” Nobody wore shirts that said “F**K CMS.” Even if you wanted to censor yourself (why?) the shirts said “FUK CMS.” No punches were thrown during the altercation at the end of the game, although there was pushing and shoving. You attribute emotions (i.e. dismayed) to coaches who you do not quote. In fact, it looks like you didn’t bother to interview the players (including the one who suffered chants of “super senior” every time he took free throws), the coaches, the deans, or the fans at the game to see what they actually thought of the whole thing.
Why not celebrate the fact that a full house of fans came out last night for a well-played game that was ultimately won by the better team (and schools) and stop worrying about how people cheer?
Those Eligy… tank tops do spell out “Fuck CMS,” and yes there were also “Fuk CMS” tank tops at the game. You are correct that CMS fans were chanting “Fuck Pomona.”
I personally saw punches thrown in the scrum among all of the pushing and shoving. I did not have a camera, and I regret that I didn’t get any video or photos, so my eyewitness account is all I have.
I guess I could have interviewed Chris Blees about the “super senior” chant, but I really don’t think that as a CGU student playing in his fifth year due to a medical redshirt he would really appreciate even acknowledging it.
Look, I’m thrilled with the turnout at the game. I’m a CMS athlete, and I love that both CMS and PP students came in large numbers to support their teams. That was great and led to an incredible atmosphere for a D3 basketball game. The game was awesome, and I don’t mean to cause any disrespect to the players who put on an amazing show for the fans.
But the actions of some of the fans (not most) was ridiculous and embarrassing. Are we really proud to have students showing up to games drunk and ready to fight with each other in the stands? Maybe you are, but I’m not.
I think the problem is that you are fixated on the few (probably drunk) knuckleheads who nobody is “proud” of but always make a spectacle of themselves at rivalry games. Absent a police state atmosphere, there is little either PP or CMS can do to completely prevent it. Like Klaus, I didn’t see any punches thrown, just pushing and shoving so I think calling it a “melee” grossly overstates what happened. Frankly, I thought the CMS athletic staff and CMC DOS did a great job of handling CMS students who were getting belligerent. PP seemed to have only one overwhelmed coach trying to handle their entire side and it showed with the two ejections. As for profane chants and t-shirts, every college rivalry has some of that and it a personal choice if you want to go that route.
Finally, storming the court is traditionally the privilege of fans of the winning team – PP fans should have stayed put. The few PP fans who headed out there were looking to fight, including the two that got tossed. All the players and the vast majority of fans acted with enthusiasm and class. After a fantastic game like that, I think it is disrespectful to not focus on them but rather on a few idiots and taking shots at Mike Sutton.
Hi. The 1980′s called. They want their typewriter back. Who the fuck still puts two spaces after a period?