Cal Poly fans should show support for Isla Vista

UCSB’s Harder stadium will be the site of today’s memorial service for those lost in the Isla Vista shootings. By Mike Godwin (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

The Blue-Green rivalry between Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara is nothing if not intense. In every sport, the only two Division I schools for a span of over 350 miles of California’s Central Coast battle for regional bragging rights.

This weekend, Cal Poly and its fans will get to showcase their stadium, program, and university as the baseball team hosts its first regional. At the selection show yesterday, UCSB was the odd-man-out from the Big West, though their being left out is barely a footnote this week in Isla Vista. They are dealing with bigger things than baseball — their community making national news for all the wrong reasons.

For as much fun as the Blue-Green rivalry is for both teams, Cal Poly players and fans have an opportunity to do something to show support to their Central Coast brothers. I don’t know exactly what it is, but in the midst of hosting their first regional, some kind of nod to Isla Vista would be really appropriate.

For mother’s day, Cal Poly pitcher Casey Bloomquist wore pink shoelaces. How about some blue ones on Friday? Pink sweatbands were also worn that day and I bet if you looked, you could find some blue ones down at Big 5.

If we don’t want to encumber the players with anything different, what about a blank blue banner somewhere in the outfield? I’m sure a moment of silence before the game is an easy thing to do. How about Taylor Chris preps the mound with some kind of tribute — the guy is an artist with that rake.

I’m not saying Cal Poly should do anything that would be a distraction. I’m not saying they should hold a press conference or have a media release about it. But when they take the field against Sacramento State on Friday night, someone should be able to tell that something’s a little different aside from the lack of Krukow’s Klubhouse and the fact that San Luis Obispo is hosting a regional for the first time. Neither this city nor the community here in SLO should act like it’s unaffected by the UCSB tragedy. Cal Poly has offered help to UCSB in the wake of the shootings.

All Cal Poly fans will be rooting for Big West schools this week in their respective regionals, but I’m rooting the hardest for the team that didn’t make the tournament. Gaucho nation — we’re all rooting for you this week. Frankly, some things are a little bigger than baseball.