Columbia Band banned from final game

It's been a long football season on the Upper West Side. The Lions are yet to win a game going into the final weekend, in which they'll take on second-place Brown. Things got so bad that half-way through the season, the student paper called for coach Norries Wilson's ouster once the season ended.

And now this: University officials have banned the school's marching band from playing at the final game, after the band mocked the team's poor performance last week, as reported in the Spectator:

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.”

The Columbia Athletics Department didn't think the joke was too funny. Also from the Spec:

“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.”

Deadspin quickly picked up on the story, as did the Associated Press, which reported that the band's manager Jose Delgado said he "accept the consequences" and want to continue contributed to school spirit.

To top it all off with just a hint of irony, the story broke yesterday, which was American Censorship Day, which aims to protect free speech.