Forget avian bird flu - the biggest epidemic to hit America is the collegiate ‘whiteout’. You know the drill: The scourge started in the Big Ten at Penn State and Michigan State during the 2005 football season (Penn State has since copyrighted the phrase “White Out”). Since then, every school that hands out diplomas has held whiteouts — or, in some cases, blackouts — to generate excitement about a big game. No matter where you go, it’s an idea everyone can get behind. Except, according to the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, for Georgia Tech, even though Georgia Tech students were the ones who proposed their school have a whiteout in the first place.

(Fans enjoy a Georgia Tech whiteout)

Now Georgia Tech students and alumni have decided they’re too cool to jump on the bandwagon, with as few as 50 percent of the 49,000 ticket holders expected to wear white for tonight’s game against Miami in Atlanta. That, of course, would make the crowd completely normal, which might make Georgia Tech fans the most self-important — or fashion conscious — in the country.

Think about it: Yellow Jackets fans are saying they can’t be bothered to wear a white t-shirt or sweatshirt on top of whatever they were going to wear … even though they’re probably rolling around in a fitted American Apparel white t anyway. What are their reasons for shunning the school’s exhibition in collective action?

1. Some people don’t own white Georgia Tech sweatshirts (someone call UNICEF!)
2. The whiteout will “look foolish” if Tech loses (that’s the mentality of a winner!)
3. Having a whiteout will look like the school is trying to copy Georgia’s blackouts (which is true, except for the fact that Georgia and everyone else are all still copying Penn State)

Essentially, Georgia Tech is striking out against a plan to rally around their football team because it clashes with their style sense, current wardrobe and intense sense of football inferiority. There you go.

(Penn State: Home of real whiteouts)

Sympathy? Hard to come by when you’re talking about a failed whiteout. The people who do deserve sympathy are the football players, who have been using the whiteout as motivation during practice this week.

“I think it’s a cool idea,” defensive tackle Vance Walker said. “I think it will be good for national television, good exposure for recruits and just for the school in general.”

Maybe next time Georgia Tech can try a “goldout”? Those fans seem to like wearing shades of yellow a lot more. Failing that, Walker can always try to transfer to Penn State or Michigan State to experience a real whiteout. Or he can just check one out below.