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| (above) Former DU AD Dianne Murphy and the Columbia University band don't see eye to eye |
by Trevor Cohen
"We all were winners at the start, but four years has taught us all the value of just giving up, cause we really suck, why are we even trying? We always lose, lose, lose but we take solace in our booze."
-Improvised Columbia lyrics sung by the band last Saturday at Cornell
This is no way to drum up support.
Columbia University Athletic Director M. Dianne Murphy banned Columbia's marching band from the final home football game Saturday after it performed a parody of the school's fight song.
Murphy has been busy since she departed from the University of Denver in 2005. Under her stewardship Columbia has become the worst college football program in the country averaging just two wins a season. This season is even worse than usual with the Lions off to a 0-9-0 start.
The Columbia University Marching Band, long known for controversial and provocative humor, crossed a line at last Saturday’s football game in Ithaca, N.Y. As a result, Murphy has banned the band from playing at this weekend’s season finale against Brown at Baker Field.
The decision came after she took offense to a parody of “Roar, Lion, Roar” the band sang as the football team exited the field following its ninth loss of the season in as many games.
“The Athletics Program welcomes the band to our football games to promote school spirit and provide fan entertainment,” the athletic department said in a statement. “We believe the actions of the band on Saturday, Nov. 12, were inappropriate and embarrassed our student-athletes, coaches, parents, and fans.”
After the final whistle blew on a 62-41 Cornell win—a game that got away from Columbia after it finished the first half with a six-point lead—the Lions walked to the locker rooms past the band, which was seated in the front row of the bleachers.
Rather than singing the traditional lyrics to Columbia’s century-old fight song, many members instead belted an original verse that reflected the losing ways of Lions football—one of a variety of alternative verses that, according to one band member, are meant only for the band bus and Orgo Night, one of the band’s most notable traditions. The first two lines say it all: “We always lose, lose, lose; by a lot, and sometimes by a little.”
On Tuesday, the band was told that it would not be welcome at Columbia’s final game against Brown.
“Our football players, coaches, alumni, [and] parents are extremely hurt, disappointed, and angry by the band’s behavior at Cornell,” Murphy said. “Because of the band’s disrespect for the feelings and efforts of their classmates and fellow Columbians, we believe that allowing the band the opportunity to perform at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium on Saturday undermines the University’s institutional support for our football team.”
