Sprite Step Off

[Iceman]

Wow, this thread was like 2 or 3 pages the last time I was here…

I’m extra, extra late on this one so I’m sure most of this has already been spoke on. But I thought the AKA’s clearly deserved to win this one. That’s not to say that the ZTA ladies didn’t perform well, because they did IMO, whether there was shady business going on or not. But along with everything else we look for in step show performances, I thought the K’s brought some innovation, passion, and a certain style & charisma (which I thought was absent from the ZTA’s show) with their performance that should have earned them the Win. That being said, if it was only flawed judging alone that got the ZTA’s the victory, that would be one thing….

But that fact that the initial rules were a little shaky to begin with and that none of the judges were Greek (who would be able to understand some of the finer nuances of our BGLO’s individual traits and customs implemented in a show) leaves a lot to be questioned. But then, things look eerily suspect with the quick turnaround time of changing the results due to a “scoring discrepancy”….LOL - Are they ever gonna explain the details or nature of this “scoring discrepancy” ? Hmmm…I think Sprite and company may have caught wind of the storm that was beginning to brew via discussions, water cooler talk, blogs, radio programs, etc and decided to pull their “band-aid” out before things got out of hand. I could be wrong though….

What’s really messed up though is that the K’s becoming co-winners will be viewed by many as a negative afterthought. Even if so many of us thought they really won (And I’m not stressing the “race” aspect here at all because it was Sprite’s contest, they invited who they wanted, and our National Org’s still agreed to their rules), many will view the 100K given to the K’s simply as a consolation prize just to make us happy and keep quiet. But in reality, Sprite is just being forced (to an extent) to right a wrong that shouldn’t have happened in the first place. Although 100K is still 100K, im sure the "co-winner" title given to the Tau chapter after the fact, is still somewhat of a bittersweet feeling for the Sisters.

Still, at the end of the day though , I’m happy that my young Brothers and Sisters (in all of the D9) were able to win a generous amount of Scholarship money for their education by doing what they love to do on a platform this large. But I think if there is another competition of this capacity in the future, it needs a complete overhaul from its planning stages, who will be on its planning commitee, the rules, the judges, the judging criteria, on down to its final execution. It's safe to say, this one didn't go so smoothly...

[FatalDST]

Feb 26, 2010 15:42:42 GMT -5 Iceman said:

Wow, this thread was like 2 or 3 pages the last time I was here…I’m extra, extra late on this one so I’m sure most of this has already been spoke on. But I thought the AKA’s clearly deserved to win this one. That’s not to say that the ZTA ladies didn’t perform well, because they did IMO, whether there was shady business going on or not. But along with everything else we look for in step show performances, I thought the K’s brought some innovation, passion, and a certain style & charisma (which I thought was absent from the ZTA’s show) with their performance that should have earned them the Win. That being said, if it was only flawed judging alone that got the ZTA’s the victory, that would be one thing….

But that fact that the initial rules were a little shaky to begin with and that none of the judges were Greek (who would be able to understand some of the finer nuances of our BGLO’s individual traits and customs implemented in a show) leaves a lot to be questioned. But then, things look eerily suspect with the quick turnaround time of changing the results due to a “scoring discrepancy”….LOL - Are they ever gonna explain the details or nature of this “scoring discrepancy” ? Hmmm…I think Sprite and company may have caught wind of the storm that was beginning to brew via discussions, water cooler talk, blogs, radio programs, etc and decided to pull their “band-aid” out before things got out of hand. I could be wrong though….

What’s really messed up though is that the K’s becoming co-winners will be viewed by many as a negative afterthought. Even if so many of us thought they really won (And I’m not stressing the “race” aspect here at all because it was Sprite’s contest, they invited who they wanted, and our National Org’s still agreed to their rules), many will view the 100K given to the K’s simply as a consolation prize just to make us happy and keep quiet. But in reality, Sprite is just being forced (to an extent) to right a wrong that shouldn’t have happened in the first place. Although 100K is still 100K, im sure the "co-winner" title given to the Tau chapter after the fact, is still somewhat of a bittersweet feeling for the Sisters.

Still, at the end of the day though , I’m happy that my young Brothers and Sisters (in all of the D9) were able to win a generous amount of Scholarship money for their education by doing what they love to do on a platform this large. But I think if there is another competition of this capacity in the future, it needs a complete overhaul from its planning stages, who will be on its planning commitee, the rules, the judges, the judging criteria, on down to its final execution. It's safe to say, this one didn't go so smoothly...

and posts/replies like this ^^^ are why its so long now!

[Cambist]

Folks are still talking about this......

Co-championship cop-out
By Dana D. Kelley


LITTLE ROCK — The nation is missing a teachable moment about race, sportsmanship and common courtesy.

When the Coca-Cola Co. decided to sponsor what it dubbed “The Largest National Step Competition in History,” it probably wasn’t thinking about controversy. The Sprite Step Off, like other public-relations events, was merely aimed at building a promotion around an event to increase the consumption of soft drinks by a certain demographic.

It was, in all likelihood, conceived as a win-win project: The competition would give step-dance teams a national stage plus raise scholarship money for the participating teams’ schools. With any luck, Sprite sales would spike, too.

For those unfamiliar with stepdancing, Wikipedia defines it as “a form of percussive dance in which the participant’s entire body is used as an instrument to produce complex rhythms and sounds through a mixture of footsteps, spoken word, and hand claps.”

“Step” is said to have its roots in school-yard song-and-dance rituals practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities. However, on Feb. 20, the all-white Zeta Tau Alpha sorority from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville shocked everyone by winning the national championship event at the Sprite Step Off.

A celebration of diversity it wasn’t. At the announcement of their victory, the Arkansas ZTAs were booed loudly by the predominantly black audience. The jeers and thumbs-down gestures were so pronounced and prolonged that it prompted the emcee, black entertainer Ludacris, to remind the audience that the results were the judges’ scores and had been “doublechecked.” One all-black team walked off the stage.

Within hours, the Internet was overrun with racially motivated comments ranging from rants about “cultural theft” to slurs aimed at the whiteZTA sisters from Arkansas and even the judges, four of whom are black. (One is an Albanian.)

A member of the runner-up team, the all-black Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority from Indiana University, used her Facebook page to opine that the competition was “rigged.”

Caught unawares in a storm of racial backlash, Coca-Cola caved and, a full five days after the event, decided that the only win-win option left for the Sprite Step Off was for there to be two winners, one white and one black. In a press release, the company made a vague reference to “scoring discrepancies” and proclaimed the Arkansas ZTAs and the Indiana AKAs cochampions, allowing each to receive $100,000 in scholarship funds.

Here’s what I wish would have happened.

Right after Ludacris, obviously surprised by the boos, had stammered through announcing the winning ZTA team, I wish a Coca-Cola executive with a booming voice and a big Sprite badge had grabbed the mike and yelled at them to stop it.

“Stop it now! Stop booing these young girls! These white girls have worked as hard as anybody to get to this final. They’ve won qualifying and preliminary competitions fair and square, and they have just won the national competition the same way by the judges’ score.

“Y’all were loudly cheering this ZTA team on just a little while ago when they performed their routine. Why are you booing them now? Because they won? Or because they’re white?

“Listen up, this thing isn’t about race, and there was never any guarantee that a black team was going to win. This should be a moment of colorblind celebration. Don’t you all realize that it was the Arkansas AKA chapter that helped mentor the ZTA teams beginning 16 years ago?

“When you boo these ZTA ladies because they’re white, you’re also booing the black ladies of AKA who helped teach them how to step. And you know what the event there in Arkansas that sparked the ZTAs’ interest in step is called? Unity. You’re booing that, too.

“There have always been pageants where the best contestant didn’t win, even Olympic events where the best figure skaters didn’t win. Sometimes judges may make mistakes, and sometimes we may just disagree, but what we never should do is boo a competitor for winning, or worse, for being the wrong color.

“Competitions can cause heated emotions, but at the end of the day that’s never an excuse for lowering standards or regressing to race-based injustice. Let’s start this winner announcement over, and everybody please join me in applauding the Arkansas ZTAs for being this year’s champion!”

Even if a corporate bureaucrat really had enough courage to try, he or she might not have been able to calm the crowd and convert those boos to applause. But had that happened, that speech is what would have been all over YouTube for the past two weeks, getting a half-million views and a national ovation from everyone interested in fairness.

Instead, embarrassing, racially intolerant booing is caught on tape for posterity, Coca-Cola looks like a wimp and we have the ridiculous precedent of two winners-separate but equal?-in the Sprite Step Off.

Anyone for a 7UP?

Dana D. Kelley is a free-lance writer from Jonesboro.

This article was published today at 4:26 a.m.
Editorial, Pages 17 on 03/05/2010

[Bunny Hop]

LOL at "stepdancing."


But this is America where we are all winners!!!

[Alc 06]

Mar 5, 2010 10:07:12 GMT -5 Bunny Hop said:

LOL at "stepdancing."


But this is America where we are all winners!!!

Yup is the sissification of America. It's gonna get worse with all these youth leagues where there are no winners or losers, or where the rules are slanted so that the talent is balanced. (like Upward basketball, where a kid can only guard another kid if they have matching wristbands). I know i'm going off on a tangent here, but kids need to learn that 1)life isn't always fair and balanced, and 2)there are winners and losers, and chances are that they're gonna lose OFTEN

[T-Rex91]

^^^What Alc said.

[icebraka]

BAM! DAMIE SAID IT A LONG TIME AGO THAT THIS WAS GONNA BE A MESS! AND A MESS IT WAS!!!!

Sept 11, 2009 7:33:50 GMT -5 DamieQue™ said:

Okay so maybe I'm looking at this too closely - but I'm beginning to think this is a VERY bad idea. Here's why:

1. I am having a hard time thinking of one thing that started off as a cultural phenomena that hasn't been completely a$$ @#$%@# by going commercial. Prime Example: Hip Hop.

2. We aren't the only one that have step teams. For an exec looking to expand into other markets - what is the incentive for keeping (for example) Latino Greek Letter Organizations out of the contest?

3. The rules are crazy
secure.spritestepoff.com/eligibility

Especially #7 and #8...

4. They are doing it by region, instead of by organization - 6 best teams in the finals. You could conceptually end up with some orgs not represented at all - in the finals.

5. By limiting it to current undergrads you can't even capitalize on the undergrads that just came into grad, who would have the time and energy to dedicate to putting together a really good show.

6. What difference does it make if members come from different chapters?

7. Who gets the prize money? When it's just $1000 here, or $500 there - it's no big deal. When it's 1.5 million in scholarship money - who controls it? The chapter? The org? The university?

8. They explain how they do the finals. They broadcast it live, and allow viewers to text in votes. This by far is probably the WORST idea ever. This $h!t is not American Idol.

All things considered, for once I have to agree with VP. It's not the commercialism that makes it coonish - it's the fact that we are doing OUR THING by THEIR rules. WE should be setting the rules and allowing THEM to be a part of it if THEY want to. Not the other way around. Think about it. Alot of us have been to numerous step shows. Even if we aren't experts we know how to appreciate nuances of stepping that first time viewers will not. There are people who don't know that within the D9 the orgs have carved out their own niches in what is collectively called step. How can they be trusted to judge it, if they don't know what it is? Do they know Ques don't do clap patterns? Will they be offended by the Ape Walk (assuming it's even allowed)? Will they understand that the Kappas aren't using canes as props - that's just their thing? I mean we all have some understanding for this stuff but even we are "fuzzy" on it sometimes - how will THEY get it right?

[DamieQue™]

Mar 5, 2010 8:07:31 GMT -5 Cambist said:

Folks are still talking about this......

Co-championship cop-out
By Dana D. Kelley


LITTLE ROCK — The nation is missing a teachable moment about race, sportsmanship and common courtesy.

When the Coca-Cola Co. decided to sponsor what it dubbed “The Largest National Step Competition in History,” it probably wasn’t thinking about controversy. The Sprite Step Off, like other public-relations events, was merely aimed at building a promotion around an event to increase the consumption of soft drinks by a certain demographic.

It was, in all likelihood, conceived as a win-win project: The competition would give step-dance teams a national stage plus raise scholarship money for the participating teams’ schools. With any luck, Sprite sales would spike, too.

For those unfamiliar with stepdancing, Wikipedia defines it as “a form of percussive dance in which the participant’s entire body is used as an instrument to produce complex rhythms and sounds through a mixture of footsteps, spoken word, and hand claps.”

“Step” is said to have its roots in school-yard song-and-dance rituals practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities. However, on Feb. 20, the all-white Zeta Tau Alpha sorority from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville shocked everyone by winning the national championship event at the Sprite Step Off.

A celebration of diversity it wasn’t. At the announcement of their victory, the Arkansas ZTAs were booed loudly by the predominantly black audience. The jeers and thumbs-down gestures were so pronounced and prolonged that it prompted the emcee, black entertainer Ludacris, to remind the audience that the results were the judges’ scores and had been “doublechecked.” One all-black team walked off the stage.

Within hours, the Internet was overrun with racially motivated comments ranging from rants about “cultural theft” to slurs aimed at the whiteZTA sisters from Arkansas and even the judges, four of whom are black. (One is an Albanian.)

A member of the runner-up team, the all-black Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority from Indiana University, used her Facebook page to opine that the competition was “rigged.”

Caught unawares in a storm of racial backlash, Coca-Cola caved and, a full five days after the event, decided that the only win-win option left for the Sprite Step Off was for there to be two winners, one white and one black. In a press release, the company made a vague reference to “scoring discrepancies” and proclaimed the Arkansas ZTAs and the Indiana AKAs cochampions, allowing each to receive $100,000 in scholarship funds.

Here’s what I wish would have happened.

Right after Ludacris, obviously surprised by the boos, had stammered through announcing the winning ZTA team, I wish a Coca-Cola executive with a booming voice and a big Sprite badge had grabbed the mike and yelled at them to stop it.

“Stop it now! Stop booing these young girls! These white girls have worked as hard as anybody to get to this final. They’ve won qualifying and preliminary competitions fair and square, and they have just won the national competition the same way by the judges’ score.

“Y’all were loudly cheering this ZTA team on just a little while ago when they performed their routine. Why are you booing them now? Because they won? Or because they’re white?

“Listen up, this thing isn’t about race, and there was never any guarantee that a black team was going to win. This should be a moment of colorblind celebration. Don’t you all realize that it was the Arkansas AKA chapter that helped mentor the ZTA teams beginning 16 years ago?

“When you boo these ZTA ladies because they’re white, you’re also booing the black ladies of AKA who helped teach them how to step. And you know what the event there in Arkansas that sparked the ZTAs’ interest in step is called? Unity. You’re booing that, too.

“There have always been pageants where the best contestant didn’t win, even Olympic events where the best figure skaters didn’t win. Sometimes judges may make mistakes, and sometimes we may just disagree, but what we never should do is boo a competitor for winning, or worse, for being the wrong color.

“Competitions can cause heated emotions, but at the end of the day that’s never an excuse for lowering standards or regressing to race-based injustice. Let’s start this winner announcement over, and everybody please join me in applauding the Arkansas ZTAs for being this year’s champion!”

Even if a corporate bureaucrat really had enough courage to try, he or she might not have been able to calm the crowd and convert those boos to applause. But had that happened, that speech is what would have been all over YouTube for the past two weeks, getting a half-million views and a national ovation from everyone interested in fairness.

Instead, embarrassing, racially intolerant booing is caught on tape for posterity, Coca-Cola looks like a wimp and we have the ridiculous precedent of two winners-separate but equal?-in the Sprite Step Off.

Anyone for a 7UP?

Dana D. Kelley is a free-lance writer from Jonesboro.

This article was published today at 4:26 a.m.
Editorial, Pages 17 on 03/05/2010

Dear Dana,

I know this might shock you but perhaps, just perhaps they booed because they felt the AKAs actually won. I know I know I know, why should the actual performance matter? The "judges" score card forms it's own truth. So even if ZTA didn't "win", they did "win" - and we should just accept that as well mannered darkies so as not to upset the diversity whore mongers who leap at every chance to praise every other culture for their attempts to mimic ours.

Since you are familiar with step-dancing (FAIL) I'm sure you know that it's not altogether unheard of for a team that was not perceived to have won to get booed. Actually it's not unheard of for a Step Team to get booed during a performance... but that didn't happen to ZTA did it? Strange... one might expect that from a intolerant crowd, but I digress. Maybe you're right. Maybe they only booed the results because they're white...

Here's what I'm wondering though. You noted that the crowd cheered them on during their performance. Is this truly to be believed if this crowd is as intolerant and hostile as you depict them? How about you try answering your own question instead of skating around gaping holes in your logic? If this isn't about race, why else might they be booing them now?

Step outside of your FAIL-ter for a moment and check the weather would ya?

[icebraka]

WHOOMP THERE IT IS!!!!!! THANK YA VODOU!!!!

Feb 24, 2010 11:46:03 GMT -5 Vudu_Prince said:

Feb 23, 2010 19:13:50 GMT -5 juschill said:

I just dont get why BGLO's are to "blame"? Are we blaming them for participating, or are we blaming them because they lost?....i feel like if they woulda won, nobody would give a damn, and some chapter (and prolly some of yall on here) woulda been rejoicin at the fact that yall just struck gold with this trillion dollar prize.

this competition wasnt about "who's traditions meant the most to XYZ and how it transcends through the art of stepping". it was about who stepped the best.

so no matter who the heck the judges were, why should ANY of the judging criteria be based on "how/why stepping was founded?"

if i enter a cooking contest with 5 other italians and make a mean pasta better than ALL 5 of them, why should ANY of them win based on the fact that the dish is traditionally italian? that wasnt what the competition was about...

Yeah... your post FAILS. Lets look at your analogy..... If you entered a cooking contest and you make a mean Pasta better than 5 Italians but the chit was judged by redneck truckers would you think you're win would be legit? Exactly gump. What the fuck do they know about Pasta that you probably made out of generic tomato sauce and boiled then fried oodles and noodles.

[icebraka]

PLEASE SEND THIS TO DANA!

Mar 5, 2010 10:58:54 GMT -5 DamieQue™ said:

Mar 5, 2010 8:07:31 GMT -5 Cambist said:

Folks are still talking about this......

Co-championship cop-out
By Dana D. Kelley


LITTLE ROCK — The nation is missing a teachable moment about race, sportsmanship and common courtesy.

When the Coca-Cola Co. decided to sponsor what it dubbed “The Largest National Step Competition in History,” it probably wasn’t thinking about controversy. The Sprite Step Off, like other public-relations events, was merely aimed at building a promotion around an event to increase the consumption of soft drinks by a certain demographic.

It was, in all likelihood, conceived as a win-win project: The competition would give step-dance teams a national stage plus raise scholarship money for the participating teams’ schools. With any luck, Sprite sales would spike, too.

For those unfamiliar with stepdancing, Wikipedia defines it as “a form of percussive dance in which the participant’s entire body is used as an instrument to produce complex rhythms and sounds through a mixture of footsteps, spoken word, and hand claps.”

“Step” is said to have its roots in school-yard song-and-dance rituals practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities. However, on Feb. 20, the all-white Zeta Tau Alpha sorority from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville shocked everyone by winning the national championship event at the Sprite Step Off.

A celebration of diversity it wasn’t. At the announcement of their victory, the Arkansas ZTAs were booed loudly by the predominantly black audience. The jeers and thumbs-down gestures were so pronounced and prolonged that it prompted the emcee, black entertainer Ludacris, to remind the audience that the results were the judges’ scores and had been “doublechecked.” One all-black team walked off the stage.

Within hours, the Internet was overrun with racially motivated comments ranging from rants about “cultural theft” to slurs aimed at the whiteZTA sisters from Arkansas and even the judges, four of whom are black. (One is an Albanian.)

A member of the runner-up team, the all-black Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority from Indiana University, used her Facebook page to opine that the competition was “rigged.”

Caught unawares in a storm of racial backlash, Coca-Cola caved and, a full five days after the event, decided that the only win-win option left for the Sprite Step Off was for there to be two winners, one white and one black. In a press release, the company made a vague reference to “scoring discrepancies” and proclaimed the Arkansas ZTAs and the Indiana AKAs cochampions, allowing each to receive $100,000 in scholarship funds.

Here’s what I wish would have happened.

Right after Ludacris, obviously surprised by the boos, had stammered through announcing the winning ZTA team, I wish a Coca-Cola executive with a booming voice and a big Sprite badge had grabbed the mike and yelled at them to stop it.

“Stop it now! Stop booing these young girls! These white girls have worked as hard as anybody to get to this final. They’ve won qualifying and preliminary competitions fair and square, and they have just won the national competition the same way by the judges’ score.

“Y’all were loudly cheering this ZTA team on just a little while ago when they performed their routine. Why are you booing them now? Because they won? Or because they’re white?

“Listen up, this thing isn’t about race, and there was never any guarantee that a black team was going to win. This should be a moment of colorblind celebration. Don’t you all realize that it was the Arkansas AKA chapter that helped mentor the ZTA teams beginning 16 years ago?

“When you boo these ZTA ladies because they’re white, you’re also booing the black ladies of AKA who helped teach them how to step. And you know what the event there in Arkansas that sparked the ZTAs’ interest in step is called? Unity. You’re booing that, too.

“There have always been pageants where the best contestant didn’t win, even Olympic events where the best figure skaters didn’t win. Sometimes judges may make mistakes, and sometimes we may just disagree, but what we never should do is boo a competitor for winning, or worse, for being the wrong color.

“Competitions can cause heated emotions, but at the end of the day that’s never an excuse for lowering standards or regressing to race-based injustice. Let’s start this winner announcement over, and everybody please join me in applauding the Arkansas ZTAs for being this year’s champion!”

Even if a corporate bureaucrat really had enough courage to try, he or she might not have been able to calm the crowd and convert those boos to applause. But had that happened, that speech is what would have been all over YouTube for the past two weeks, getting a half-million views and a national ovation from everyone interested in fairness.

Instead, embarrassing, racially intolerant booing is caught on tape for posterity, Coca-Cola looks like a wimp and we have the ridiculous precedent of two winners-separate but equal?-in the Sprite Step Off.

Anyone for a 7UP?

Dana D. Kelley is a free-lance writer from Jonesboro.

This article was published today at 4:26 a.m.
Editorial, Pages 17 on 03/05/2010

Dear Dana,

I know this might shock you but perhaps, just perhaps they booed because they felt the AKAs actually won. I know I know I know, why should the actual performance matter? The "judges" score card forms it's own truth. So even if ZTA didn't "win", they did "win" - and we should just accept that as well mannered darkies so as not to upset the diversity whore mongers who leap at every chance to praise every other culture for their attempts to mimic ours.

Since you are familiar with step-dancing (FAIL) I'm sure you know that it's not altogether unheard of for a team that was not perceived to have won to get booed. Actually it's not unheard of for a Step Team to get booed during a performance... but that didn't happen to ZTA did it? Strange... one might expect that from a intolerant crowd, but I digress. Maybe you're right. Maybe they only booed the results because they're white...

Here's what I'm wondering though. You noted that the crowd cheered them on during their performance. Is this truly to be believed if this crowd is as intolerant and hostile as you depict them? How about you try answering your own question instead of skating around gaping holes in your logic? If this isn't about race, why else might they be booing them now?

Step outside of your FAIL-ter for a moment and check the weather would ya?

[DamieQue™]

3 out of the 4 current comments in response to Dana's editorial.

www.arkansasonline.com/news/2010/mar/05/co-championship-cop-out-20100305/#comments

JIMBOB47 says...
Typical... Whites are racists if they pulled something like this. Blacks are downtrodden when they don't get their way, but their NOT racists. Right.

PeteW says...
What else would you expect from certain blacks that do not get their way?

kat1 says...
Some people don't actually want this to be a color-blind society; then they wouldn't be able to use the race card at their convenience. The person that performs the best wins, the person with the best job performance gets the promotion....at least this is the way it should be. NOT based on minority status.

[Julie Art]

Damie, bet you won't post what you listed in this forum. Do it, do it, do it!

[T-Rex91]

I'm not interested in a color blind society. I really hate that term. It's not even realistic. I'm interested in my differences being acknowledged and respected, not ignored. For me, it's not a race issue, I would have had the same objections if any non-D9 entity won.

[DamieQue™]

Mar 5, 2010 12:09:04 GMT -5 Julie Art said:

Damie, bet you won't post what you listed in this forum. Do it, do it, do it!

If I could register from work to post it I would... but I can't.

[Julie Art]

Mar 5, 2010 12:27:06 GMT -5 T-Rex91 said:

I'm not interested in a color blind society. I really hate that term. It's not even realistic. I'm interested in my differences being acknowledged and respected, not ignored. For me, it's not a race issue, I would have had the same objections if any non-D9 entity won.

Exhalt.

[Cambist]

Then we should refuse to participate.....

[Oren Ishii]

Damie: Preach, my Brother. I love you for your rebuttal.

Let's be real: YES, a Black team should have won from the jump...and, NO, I'm not making this a race issue.

Sprite/CocaCola Co. garnered an insane amount of PR, viral social media, and (let's face it), MONEY off our backs by marketing this as a Divine9 step show. NOT ONCE did I see TriDelt or ZTA featured in any marketing materials.
Soft drink execs weren't cozying up to their Natl. or Intl. officials to get backing.

That said, it should have been a D9 only show. WE were the draw; our own supported it.

They pulled that same ish they always do, making money & gaining notoriety off the sweat/creativity of our people, then playing us. It happens EVERY TIME.

SPRITE made it a race issue when they marketed it the way they did.
SPRITE made it a race issue by courting us & forming partnerships with our individual Directorates, and
SPRITE confirmed it as a race issue with their bullchyt "scoring error" press release once the shyt hit the fan & they experienced backlash all over the social media sphere.

Through the internet, the power is now in the hands of the consumer. Sprite, I hope your corporate mother learned a VALUABLE lesson from this.


STOP PLAYING.

*Aside: I sincerely hope that we choose to bow out of this next year...but I SERIOUSLY doubt it. *

[Julie Art]

Mar 5, 2010 14:53:30 GMT -5 @nsync said:

It's ironic that Sprite speaks of win-win when this is such an unfortunate situation for everyone involved from all angles one approaches it.

I am not a member of D9, but I am very protective of black institutions in general. They have been a driving force in our upward mobility as a people. Therefore, sometimes I get stingy with these institutions even if I don't belong to all of them. I'm like, no! Mine...ours. Leave us be! You took almost everything away from us and in Mr. Fuentes' voice from Fools Rush In "but you CAN NOT take away our culture(s)"!

And I stand firmly behind that notion no matter how many times Cam calls me a bigot. lol

But you know what? Despite coming from that perspective I STILL don't think they should have doubled back and announced co-winners. It makes them look suspect (which I am sure they were from the gate). If there is no fault then why correct that which is not broken?

When I first was alerted to this, I saw the ZTA video and the DST video. I didn't think they did any better than the Delta's IMO. However, I noticed I kept thinking that's pretty good for a white sorority. So I am sure novelty was a big part of it. However that is the way the cookie crumbles.

People get judged unfairly and unscrupulously all the time and it sucks and it sucks again. This type of behavior should be brought to the public and it should be frowned upon, but the solution should not be co-winners. There should be sacrifice in bringing about justice.

ALso, I do not see those who voiced their opinions and concerns as whiners . For every action their is an equal and opposite reaction. Just like those who did not come in first intially should deal with their "loss" others should deal with any backlash that may result from what they perceive as unfair decision.

Lastly, (takes a deep breath), I understand there will be various perspectives on this topic based on our own personal world views and our associations to the topic matter. However, I just can't understand how anyone can post here there or anywhere in a fashion where they are belittling others and taking a haha, them white folks sure did won... and for some reason that's seen as hilarious** attitude.

Who are you ha ha-ing? Who are you spiting? Who is receiving the true short stick of this situation?

All answer point to yourselves. There is no I without WE. You are nit picking at your own and it's disgusting.

exxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx-freaking-halt!

[Cambist]

I predicted this shitstorm from the beginning.....

I have no problem with us choosing to participate in the competition but if we do, we should accept the ruling of the judges.

Coca-Cola didn't change their minds because of Black folk.... Black folk wont boycott Coke. Hell, Coca-Cola sponsors more Black chit than a little bit.

This is all about publicity for Sprite/Coke and MTV.

Giving away our culture? That boat already sailed. We authenticated this event...even blessed it....with no control over it.

So, if next year the AKA's win and then Sprite decides to make Delta Delta Delta a co-winner...how do you complain?

We celebrate the power of persuasion but let's see how it works when "they" are doing the persuading.

Talk all you want about how this is "our" culture and how we should protect it but we cannot have it both ways.

Riddle me this....why would Sprite/Coke/MTV sponsor a step contest where $100,000 was the grand prize if they weren't looking for an angle?

So....whatever.....if you get in the contest...you accept the results.

[Julie Art]

Hey Outtie! I'm ok. And girl, this has been discussed ad nausem, been said round and round fifty eleven times. Some folks see it one way, others don't. Some get it, others don't.

I say let be, for real, cause there really is no point anymore.

[Oren Ishii]

This whole discussion boils down to exactly this.

Mar 5, 2010 16:15:12 GMT -5 @nsync said:

Because I think there is a difference between OWNING(having agency) over your own cultural items while other explore them and letting someone else come in and define them for you.

[Oren Ishii]

*just saw this*

Just wanted to send a Skee-Phi to the Fly Phly Bros. of Alpha Phi!!! Miss y'all & Congrats (not your fault I hated the competition LOL)!!!

Feb 22, 2010 11:18:34 GMT -5 Robelite said:

LOL @ Cam!

Naaa, fool...the brothers from Central State won, and the brothers from Clark-Atlanta won second. I need to see the Delta Xi show, 'cause those Alpha Phi (CAU) brothers have been puttin' it down here in Alpha South for the past 4-5 years or so. At our regional conventions, the question hasn't been who's gonna win the step show, but who will come in second to Alpha Phi Chapter? LOL!

[Bunny Hop]

Mar 5, 2010 15:40:37 GMT -5 Cambist said:

So, if next year the AKA's win and then Sprite decides to make Delta Delta Delta a co-winner...how do you complain?

You already know folks will complain. It'll be Tri-Delta should never have been there (even though they were there throughout the entire competition), it'll be the same stuff about theft of culture, art form, or whatever, there will be something about "we can't have nothing," and there will be folks saying Tri Delta's show was not all that good (even if it was).

I will complain that Sprite looked like some punks and should have stood by their decision....again.

[Julie Art]

OK, I just watched the Sprite Step Off Finale, and they completely cut out what was actually done when announcing for the sororities for the grand prize and they had a voice override talking about the scoring decrespencies and how ZTA and AKA are co-winners and both getting $100,000. If I didn't know all the info behind that, in all honesty I would have never known there was a problem. Since I do, I laughed so hard!

[Mrs. Eyes]

I'm kinda glad that I didn't waste an hour's worth of gas going to that bullmalarky.

[Julie Art]

Yeah Hyp. Today was my first time watching anything related to it.

[Southie]

Mar 7, 2010 15:49:46 GMT -5 Julie Art said:

OK, I just watched the Sprite Step Off Finale, and they completely cut out what was actually done when announcing for the sororities for the grand prize and they had a voice override talking about the scoring decrespencies and how ZTA and AKA are co-winners and both getting $100,000. If I didn't know all the info behind that, in all honesty I would have never known there was a problem. Since I do, I laughed so hard!

Now see that is not right. Just show what actually happened, and not play the phony. Not cool.

[Cambist]

It's a multinational corporation. They are setting up the competition for next year. It will be "Bring It On 2: The ZTA-AKA Faceoff"

Marketing....

[DamieQue™]

Youtube has been immensely helpful to seeing the full spectrum of what's gone on here.

For example, youtube shows video when the results were announced. And what is obvious to any observation is that the crowd begins booing the moment the AKAs are announced as 2nd place winners (shame on you Dana Kelley). The comments have been eye opening too. It's exactly what I said it would be, now THEY are telling US what is and isn't step, and what is and isn't relevant. Suddenly they are authorities on the matter.

What is tragic if not humerous however is listening to these newcomers to "step" saying how tradition and culture are irrelevant all the while praising those who mimic it without knowledge or understanding (the brace, the march, the tail setting it owt, I could go on and on). No matter though.

Having watched footage of the ZTAs and their previous shows one thing becomes obvious... tradition and culture are actually PARAMOUNT to stepping. So much so that if the AKAs really are doing this reality show with the ZTAs I am actually glad for it. Let them step against each other again. In addition to whatever they create, the AKA team will have a wealth of knowledge in excess of 100+ years across hundreds of chapters to pull from to put together their show. The ZTAs? Well they won't be able to recycle their last 2 years of step shows as they did for this competition will they? I wonder what happens when they actually have to create their own steps? Pehaps novelty is exposed as novelty then isn't it? Perhaps mimicry and lack of originality becomes painfully obvious then.

I'd be surprised if they weren't downloading every NPHC probate they can get their hands on for help.

[Cambist]

Mar 8, 2010 9:54:40 GMT -5 DamieQue™ said:

It's exactly what I said it would be, now THEY are telling US what is and isn't step, and what is and isn't relevant. Suddenly they are authorities on the matter.

[/color]

Yep, and God forbid they win even second place again.

Mar 8, 2010 9:54:40 GMT -5 DamieQue™ said:

Having watched footage of the ZTAs and their previous shows one thing becomes obvious... tradition and culture are actually PARAMOUNT to stepping. So much so that if the AKAs really are doing this reality show with the ZTAs I am actually glad for it.

[/color]

I agree 100%. To show stepping for what it truly is will give perspective to those who are new to it. What it could also do is give perspective to those wishing to compete...thereby giving them some insight needed to make their show better. Maybe.

Mar 8, 2010 9:54:40 GMT -5 DamieQue™ said:

Let them step against each other again. In addition to whatever they create, the AKA team will have a wealth of knowledge in excess of 100+ years across hundreds of chapters to pull from to put together their show. The ZTAs? Well they won't be able to recycle their last 2 years of step shows as they did for this competition will they? I wonder what happens when they actually have to create their own steps? Pehaps novelty is exposed as novelty then isn't it? Perhaps mimicry and lack of originality becomes painfully obvious then.

[/color]

But do you really want to tempt fate? Either we enter these competitions with the expectation of actually competing with anyone that enters or we decline on principle. Novelty never kept a team from winning a step show and it didn't in this competition (Especially since there is soo much money and it is just one big advertisment for Coke/Sprite).

Mar 8, 2010 9:54:40 GMT -5 DamieQue™ said:

I'd be surprised if they weren't downloading every NPHC probate they can get their hands on for help.

You think they aint? They probably hired members from every D9 organization at their school to teach them steps and come up with their own steps. If they are really smart, they would have used some steps of groups like KKPsi. LOL!