The Crosstown Shootout has marred the Xavier University 2011-12 academic year. The year will always
be fraught with discussion of the fight, the appropriate response from the administration, the role of the
students regarding the brawl, and “reflection sessions.” Here at the Newswire, we can’t recall how many times
we were forced to explain the brawl to family members or high school friends at Christmas gatherings or
New Year’s events. Each day, a new apology letter accumulated in our inboxes until they had reached capacity.
But it seems the University has given the Newswire a second chance at covering this story. Last night, a
reflection meeting was held allowing for discussion about sportsmanship within the bounds of the Jesuit
identity. We at the Newswire hope that the reflection meeting helps to bond together Xavier students and
teach them more productive, responsible and mature means of handling taunting from opposing teams. But
those of us who watched the game from the comfort of Buffalo Wild Wings or didn’t watch it at all are sick
of hearing about it. Seriously, broken records died out in the ‘80’s.
But if we insist on making mountains out of molehills, we at the Newswire have but one question: what
is the correct level of intensity you wish us to bring, University? Each year we build this rivalry bigger and
bigger and are proud to do so. We camp out for tickets. We make t-shirts. We call all our friends at U.C. and
talk trash. Each year we proclaim that, when filled with the spirit of a young, painted Xavier student crowd,
Cintas Center is one of the most intimidating home courts in college basketball. Each year we condone this
behavior as a form of Muskie pride. In our minds, we’re defending our honor. If our sportsmanship is a
problem now, then it has been a problem since Cintas Center first opened in 2000. If the University wishes
us to be more sportsmanlike, they should not so heavily promote the rivalry and glorify the dedicated Xavier
fan. What do you expect us to do? And let’s be real, the Crosstown “brawl” is not the first fight to occurr on
a college basketball court (or any sporting venue, for that matter) nor will it be the last.
Sure, we appreciate and admire the administration for their relentless efforts to remind us of the importance
of sportsmanship and Jesuit values, but at some point, enough is enough. The only people still talking
about the fight are the ones sending e-mails to Xavier students apologizing for actions that weren’t even
theirs. We chose to come to Xavier for a reason, and for a lot of us, that reason probably has something
to do with the Jesuit values that Xavier promotes, both on and off the basketball court. Witnessing such
unsportsmanlike conduct at Xavier is rare, and thus barely affects the nation’s perceptions of our University
and its values. Students need to remember to embody the values of the University in all that they do, but to
keep bringing up the issue is only annoying students and publicly embarrassing the University even more
than the brawl did. Watch SportsCenter. The only mentions Cincinnati gets are about Jerome Simpson’s
touchdown tuck. The point is, ESPN moved on, why can’t Xavier?