Title: Rushing Memorial Field on Homecoming

Informant info:

Franklin Goldzer is from Rye, New York and is in the class of 2020 at Dartmouth College. He is currently undecided on his major and is finishing his first term at Dartmouth. Franklin was interviewed in Hanover, NH after Homecoming weekend.

General Information:

• Customary Lore: Tradition/Ritual
• English
• U.S.

Social / Cultural Context:

Franklin has an older brother who witnessed the field being rushed by the student body after the football game on homecoming weekend during his freshman year. Franklin heard about this tradition from his brother and recounted what he heard and how it effected him this year on Homecoming weekend.

Item/Transcript:

“When my older brother was a Freshman at Dartmouth, I was still in middle school. He came home for winter break and told me about some of his best experiences from the fall. He told me about Homecoming weekend and how he rushed the field after the football game. I don’t remember who Dartmouth was playing that year because he told me so long ago, but I remember that they won. My brother told me that as Homecoming weekend was approaching, he heard from older students that everyone should storm the field if the football team wins their game because it is a tradition that happens at Dartmouth. He said that as the final seconds ticked off the clock, the student section got ready to jump the fence and swarm the team. He said it was one of the best experiences he had that year, so when I got to Dartmouth, I told my friends that we should do the same thing. Sadly, Dartmouth lost the game this year, so we couldn’t rush the field.”

Informant’s comments:

“My brother also told me that the rushing of the field has not happened since he was a freshman. When I told my friends about it, they were hesitant because they were worried about getting in trouble with Safety and Security, so maybe that is the reason this tradition has faded out over the years.”

Collector’s comments:

I have not seen this tradition happen in my two fall terms at Dartmouth. I agree with Franklin that the cause of this is due to kids being worried about getting in trouble. My friends and I talked about it last year and some people had the same concerns as Franklin’s friends.

Collector’s name: Will Randell

Tags/Keywords:  Customary Lore, Tradition, Ritual, Homecoming, Rushing the Field, Football