Tiger Cup boosts school spirit for athletic teams

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Author: Ryan Whalen

With the 2013-2014 athletic season underway, Occidental sports teams are working hard to solidify themselves as legitimate contenders in the SCIAC conference. However, this year presents an internal challenge for varsity squads, as they will each vie for the opportunity to hoist the inaugural Tiger Cup.

The Tiger Cup challenge is an inter-college competition that pits various Occidental varsity teams against each other. In order to achieve success in the challenge, teams will be evaluated based on four different categories: Academic Excellence, Community Service, Occidental Pride and Athletic Excellence. The scoring system allows for all teams to get in on the contest regardless of size and ability level. Additionally, the points system solidifies that the goal of the Tiger Cup extends far beyond simply naming a winner.

“The Tiger Cup is a friendly competition between each of the Tiger athletic teams,” the challenges’ mission statement says. “The goal of the competition is to promote leadership growth and team collaboration while rewarding the achievements of all Occidental Student-athletes.”

The creation of the Tiger Cup came in lieu of several lackluster years for Occidental Athletics and a growing lack of fan support for under-performing teams. With the added level of friendly competition, the Tiger Cup looks to reignite the competitiveness and enthusiasm of varsity athletics and the fans who support black and orange teams.

“The [Tiger] Cup is helping to generate a binding camaraderie and support structure between the Occidental teams, and it also acts as a challenge for both athletes and students to re-energize their school spirit,” basketball guard Ryan Chong (junior) said.

Only four weeks into the competition, there are already several teams showing a great deal of determination to claim the title of Tiger Cup champion. The Occidental volleyball team (9-4 overall, 3-2 SCIAC) is well on its way to achieving athletic success, owning one of the best records among Tiger sports teams. Meanwhile, the football team looks to utilize the leadership of the loud and rowdy “Zoo Crew” to tackle some points from the Occidental Pride portion of the scoring system. But these athletes recognize that the Tiger Cup is more than just a fun competition among teams.

“The [football] team has the pride portion on lock, but hopefully our enthusiasm has spilled over to encourage other athletes and students to attend games and cheer on the Tigers,” Zoo Crew member and defensive back Shay Mueller (sophomore) said.

Teams that have not started their seasons are also getting into the competition. The men’s basketball team has already earned some Community Service points by hosting a basketball camp earlier this season.

“The basketball has not started yet, but our guys are already looking for ways to get ahead in the Tiger Cup points total, aside from the basketball camp a lot of players have been attending various sporting events throughout Occidental,” Chong said.

In its inaugural year, the Tiger Cup may have already sparked improvement
in school spirit. Crowds at various events are growing substantially, with the first home football game notably having close to 2,000 fans in attendance.

With numbers on the rise, the Tiger Cup challenge may play a role in black and orange spirit in the future.

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