Very good soccer fans at Seattle U, glad they are recognized. I don't know how the magazine could put together a poll like this and leave out Cal Poly or Santa Barbara. Stands packed, kids screaming at the opposing team the entire match, tortillas flying in the air! It's crazy.
Really? Tortillas? In Santa Barbara at a soccer game?
It's a tradition that was taken from the basketball team that goes back to the late 80's. Back then, the Big West had teams like UNLV and New Mexico playing hoop in the same conference, and those were the heyday's of Runnin' Rebel basketball. During that time, UCSB had a run of three NCAA appearances in a row, and the school was basketball crazy. They play(ed) in a place called the Thunderdome, which Jim Valvano once said was the toughest place to play in the country, and he had to play at Cameron at Duke every year. Somewhere around the end of that run, tortillas would be thrown on the floor after the first Gaucho bucket of the game, and the tradition stuck.
As the Gauchos have developed the soccer program over the last 5-7 years, the tradition has carried over. What you have there is 20,000 students that live somewhat on an island in a town called Isla Vista just outside of Santa Barbara. The "town" is adjacent to campus, and most students live in one of the hundreds and hundreds of apartment complexes there. Not a lot of families, and even less responsible adults. It fosters a substantial party atmosphere, and it can become one large tailgate prior to games. Then, everyone stumbles to games/matches. It is quite the atmosphere to say the least. Of course, everyone is over 21.
Without a football team, and most of its' athletic prowess coming from the swimming and water polo teams, when a team gets good, the students flock to it, and really become the 12th or 6th man. But, you have to have success. I can tell you that the soccer matches were not like that before the success.
Any college campus tour should include a trip to Isla Vista. Needs to be seen to be believed. Be prepared, though, the academic standards are equal to that of Cal and UCLA. You have to be able to study as hard as you party.
Author
Topic: College Soccer Thread (Read 25588 times)