Monthly Archives: November 2016

Don’t drink and root

Item:

Don’t drink and root.

General Information about Item:

  • Oral Folklore: Proverb
  • English
  • USA

Informant Data:

Azhar Hussain is a CS/Econ Double Major in the Class of 2019 from Dallas, TX.

Contextual Data:

Root mode allows you to have administrator privileges in Linux, an operating system. This means that you have access to every single file on the computer and can delete any file freely. 

Transcript of Associated File:

Don’t drink and root

Informant’s Comments:

Don’t be drunk when you are in root mode because you can accidentally delete your home directory in console. This has happened to many a programmer, even seasoned ones, and is very hard to recover from.

Collector’s Comments:

These could be classified as proverbs because they are providing advice to novice programmers who may not know about the pitfalls of root mode. “With great power comes great responsibility” is the often mentioned saying that expresses the same idea as “Don’t drink and root”. 

Collector’s Name: Weiliang (Michael) Li

Tags/Keywords:

  • drink, root, linux, administrator, delete

“Offensive Coordinator in the bathroom story”

Title: “Offensive Coordinator in the bathroom story”

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and Sub Genre
    • Verbal Folklore: Joke
  • Language: English
  • United States of America

Informant Data:

Name: Alexander Agadjanian

  • Dartmouth Class of 2018
  • Residence: Hanover, New Hampshire (During the school year), Tempe Arizona (During off-terms)
  • Years of association with The Dartmouth: 3rd year
  • Age: 20 years old
  • Affiliation with Dartmouth Football: Writer for The Dartmouth (Campus Newspaper)

Contextual Data:

  • In many college football stadiums, and especially at Dartmouth, the writer’s room is adjacent to the defensive and offensive coordinator’s room and all three parties share the same facilities and bathrooms. As a result, the three parties often interact more often than not, and funny stories that are consistently told throughout the press box are born.

Item:

Verbal Jokes : “Offensive Coordinator in the bathroom story”

  • There are several funny jokes that are told every so often in the Dartmouth press box (which is shared by student journalists and local journalists), but one memorable one that is told around the writer’s room is when the Offensive Coordinator is in the bathroom and the team scored a touchdown pass and the assistant coach ran over to the bathroom and knocked on the door to tell the head offensive coach that they have possession of the ball.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Interview with Alexander

Transcript of Associated File:

“So we have press row behind us and there’s a short flight of stairs that takes us to the bathrooms and we actually share those facilities and bathrooms with the team coordinators. At some point, it must have been an offensive coordinator who went to go to the bathroom and a few seconds after he went to the bathroom, his own team got an interception on defense. So the offensive coordinator who is calling all the plays is in the bathroom and his team is back on defense as he just left. So you hear his assistant sprint over to the bathroom and knock on the door and say, “Hey Coach, we just got the ball back, what do you want to call?” and he called a run play as basic as possible and sprinted out. Funny things like that come up every so often.

Once you contextualize all of these different rituals that I mentioned before in this school, obviously this is a school that really values its traditions and rituals and things that are passed on from generation to each new class and you can tell that it is just as meaningful, if not more meaningful, in the context that tradition is really valued.”

Collector’s Comments: 

  • Alexander has some memorable interactions with defensive and offensive coordinators that is shared throughout the press box and to new writers. These are told as long story telling jokes to other new writers who may not have heard of it or may not have been in the press box when the situation unfolded. Most of the journalists, regardless of age, maintain very close relationships with one another and engage in conversations throughout the season, allowing for such jokes to be shared from person to person.

Collector’s Name:

Kang Min Daniel Lee

Tags/Keywords:

  • Joke
  • Verbal Folklore
  • Football
  • Dartmouth

Picture of the Field and Organization

Title: Picture of the Field and Organization

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and Sub Genre
    • Customary Folklore: Custom
  • Language: English
  • United States of America

Informant Data:

Name: Alexander Agadjanian

  • Dartmouth Class of 2018
  • Residence: Hanover, New Hampshire (During the school year), Tempe Arizona (During off-terms)
  • Years of association with The Dartmouth: 3rd year
  • Age: 20 years old
  • Affiliation with Dartmouth Football: Writer for The Dartmouth (Campus Newspaper)

Contextual Data:

  • Writers, both from the area and around the country have access to the press box and they arrive early to prepare for the long game ahead of them. Whether it’s organizational customs or methods of relaxation, each writer has his/her unique approach before the start of every game.

Item:

Custom: Picture of the Field and Organization

  • Alexander makes sure to take a photo of the press box and the field, both at home and at away games, before the start of every game to make sure that he is enjoying every moment. He is also especially meticulous and organized before games so that he is prepared to take notes throughout the game so that he can write the most comprehensive articles. He is focused throughout the game, ensuring that he does not miss a single play or detail.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Interview with Alexander

Transcript of Associated File:

“I really try to keep rituals for organizing myself and do something to capture the moment. Before the games, I try to take a picture of the press box view and take pregame notes before the game starts. In terms of close games, I’m focused on observing everything that I can and writing as many notes as possible, but you definitely see the tension in the press box.”

Collector’s Comments: 

  • Customs and Rituals during games are not only exclusive to fans, players, and coaches, but also to the writers who could also have a vested emotional interest for a specific team. They may believe in superstitions themselves, which is similar to fans that watch the games from the stands. Alexander shows that although his articles are unbiased, an important element in objective sports journalism, his behavior is altered to improve his performance and ensure that he is enjoying every moment in the press box.

Collector’s Name:

Kang Min Daniel Lee

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary Folklore
  • Journalism
  • Football
  • Dartmouth

“Religious Prayers”

Title: “Religious Players”

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and Sub Genre
    • Customary Folklore: Custom and Belief
  • Language: English
  • United States of America

Informant Data:

Name: Alexander Agadjanian

  • Dartmouth Class of 2018
  • Residence: Hanover, New Hampshire (During the school year), Tempe Arizona (During off-terms)
  • Years of association with The Dartmouth: 3rd year
  • Age: 20 years old
  • Affiliation with Dartmouth Football: Writer for The Dartmouth (Campus Newspaper)

Contextual Data:

  • Religious faith has always played an important role throughout sports, both in professional and amateur leagues. Many players can be observed praying, meditating, closing their eyes, etc. mainly before games, helping them stay calm and find strength through their faith.

Item:

Customs and Beliefs: “Religious Prayers”:

  • Around 1/2 – 2/3 of all players have been observed to run onto the field and the religious players can be observed kneeling down and praying before the start of every game. Some of them hold their hands in prayer and are silent and immobile from several seconds to several minutes. They are in deep thought and undisturbed and likely practicing their religious faith.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Interview with Alexander

Transcript of Associated File:

“Another minor one that’s more common in college football is after their entrance onto the field, their final entrance right before the game, the more religious players sprint out to the opposite end zone and kneel and just say a prayer. A good ⅔ to a ¾ all go to the opposite end zone and say a prayer.”

Collector’s Comments: 

  • Alexander sheds a unique perspective into Dartmouth’s football games that many fans who do not show up early enough may not be able to observe. He sees this custom performed across the board in the world of sports and agrees that such beliefs are inseparable from the actions of the players. It is clear that there is a mental effect praying has before games.

Collector’s Name:

Kang Min Daniel Lee

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary Folklore
  • Custom
  • Praying
  • Football
  • Dartmouth

“Arms around each other and Alma Mater”- writer

Title: “Arms around each other and Alma Mater”

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and Sub Genre (Combination)
    • Customary Folklore: Festival
    • Verbal Folklore: Song
  • Language: English
  • United States of America

Informant Data:

Name: Alexander Agadjanian

  • Dartmouth Class of 2018
  • Residence: Hanover, New Hampshire (During the school year), Tempe Arizona (During off-terms)
  • Years of association with The Dartmouth: 3rd year
  • Age: 20 years old
  • Affiliation with Dartmouth Football: Writer for The Dartmouth (Campus Newspaper)

Contextual Data:

  • Sports teams have long performed certain rituals and customs throughout games and practices. However, it is uncommon to see football teams sing and perform a ritual and custom regardless of whether the team is able to earn a victory or not, and for that reason, the Dartmouth football team is unique.

Item:

Festival and Song  (“Arms around each other and Alma Mater”):

  • Whether the football team wins or loses, all the players on the team put their arms around one another at the end of the game and start singing the Alma Mater facing the home crowd. For this item specifically, it is important to note that the Alma Mater itself is not a folklore (it is a piece of literature), but the performance is a festival and a song is involved. This custom has been performed for decades with its origins unknown.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Interview with Alexander

Transcript of Associated File:

“By far the most visible ritual that you see when you go to a Dartmouth football game is the one that takes place after the game. They all join together hand in hand and sing the alma mater, facing the home crowd, so that obviously carries a lot of significance especially coming after the game. These games take such a physical and mental toll these games take, and at the end win or loss they all join together and sing. You can tell sometimes obviously after losses, the singing is a little less spirited, but it’s really hard to tell any dejection because they want to carry through this important ritual. Not only does it tie the players to each other, in terms of them singing together and physically joined arm and arm, but it also ties them to the history of the school and the history of the football program because I’m sure this has carried on for decades”

Collector’s Comments: 

  • Alexander sheds a unique perspective into Dartmouth’s football games as he discusses his point of view as a writer in the press box, covering every single football game throughout the season. While he is finishing writing his notes for the game, he always sees the entire team get together and partake in this custom and sing the Alma Mater regardless of a win or loss, which goes to show how much Dartmouth values its traditions.

Collector’s Name:

Kang Min Daniel Lee

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary Folklore
  • Verbal Folklore
  • Song
  • Festival
  • Football
  • Dartmouth

“Heightened Karma”

Title: “Heightened Karma”

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and Sub Genre
    • Customary Folklore: Superstition
  • Language: English
  • United States of America

Informant Data:

Name: Joshua Davis

  • Dartmouth Class of 2018
  • Residence: Hanover, New Hampshire (During the school year) Los Angeles, California (during off-terms)
  • Age: 20 years
  • Jersey Number: 18
  • Years of playing experience: 3rd year (Junior)

Contextual Data:

  • Superstitions are very commonplace in the world of sports. Many players believe that the laws of magic apply to them throughout their lives, but specifically so during game days and they adjust their behaviors and actions accordingly.

Item:

Superstition:  “Heightened Karma”

  • Joshua already believes in the superstition of Karma, but thinks it is much more relevant during game days. This superstition benefits those around Joshua and he has an even stronger urge to help those around him during game days so that good karma is directed back at him. Furthermore, because karma is heightened, there is also a belief to not take shortcuts because everything will clearly reflect in his performance.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Interview with Joshua Davis

Transcript of Associated File:

“For myself, I believe this is superstitious. I try to do everything right. Say if I go to eat a meal and I’m coming out of a door, I hold the door for people coming in. I feel like I need to do the things that have really good manners for this day. Just doing the right things, I feel like that will translate over to the football field. It just feels like I need to do those things. If somebody drops something, I need to hurry up and pick it up for them. Definitely karma is heightened and I have to keep good karma on my side. I don’t split poles, I don’t split poles in the bases anyways, but I go out of my way to make sure I don’t split poles and make sure people don’t split poles around me.”

Collector’s Comments: 

Joshua shares with us several important rituals that he individually partakes in, along with the rituals that he does with his entire team, both during practice and games. He opens up and shares his emotions that occur before games and how he uses various types of folklore to cope with those emotions. Furthermore, we are able to fully understand how such folklores are embedded into the culture of Dartmouth and the football program and how such folklores influence a player’s experience and performance.

Collector’s Name:

Kang Min Daniel Lee

Tags/Keywords:

Customary Folklore, Superstition, Football, Dartmouth

“Juice Check”

Title: “Juice Check”

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and Sub Genre
    • Customary Folklore: Custom
  • Language: English
  • United States of America

Informant Data:

Name: Joshua Davis

  • Dartmouth Class of 2018
  • Residence: Hanover, New Hampshire (During the school year) Los Angeles, California (during off-terms)
  • Age: 20 years
  • Jersey Number: 18
  • Years of playing experience: 3rd year (Junior)

Contextual Data:

  • Anyone watching a football game will certainly observe customs and rituals that every player on the team performs before and during games. These customs and rituals not only serve as a way for team building and maintaining team synergy, but also individually affect players positively.

Item:

Charms – “Juice Check”

  • During certain timeouts during the game, the defense comes together and works towards building up the intensity. Everyone repeats after the person yelling out “juice” and the level of noise is increased and maintained as the chant goes on. This custom happens at every game and ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Interview with Joshua Davis

Transcript of Associated File:

“As for team wise for Dartmouth College, we have certain periods during practice where we come together as a defense and we do this thing called a juice check. A juice check is pretty much building up the intensity [and seeing] how much intensity you have. We just come together and repeat after the person that’s yelling out juice so it’s a back and forth, just riling each other up”

Collector’s Comments: 

Joshua explains an important custom that occurs during games that helps improve everyone’s focus. This specific ritual explains the reasoning behind a frequent custom and it is clear that this ensures unity and improves both individual and team performance.

Collector’s Name:

Kang Min Daniel Lee

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary Folklore
  • Chant
  • Football
  • Dartmouth

“Hand Signs: Peace to the Ground”

Title: “Juice Check”

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and Sub Genre
    • Customary Folklore: Custom
  • Language: English
  • United States of America

Informant Data:

Name: Joshua Davis

  • Dartmouth Class of 2018
  • Residence: Hanover, New Hampshire (During the school year) Los Angeles, California (during off-terms)
  • Age: 20 years
  • Jersey Number: 18
  • Years of playing experience: 3rd year (Junior)

Contextual Data:

Joshua started playing football in high school at a very young age and he has carried through many of his customs and rituals into Dartmouth. Joshua and a few teammates from high school created several customs and rituals that are performed throughout the game several years ago and they remind him and his friends before every game to stay humble and reflect. He tells himself not to be worried about other things going on in life and to just focus on football during this moment.

Item:

Custom “Hand Signs: Peace to the Ground”

  • Joshua raises the “peace sign” (the index and middle fingers) upwards, then twirls his hand downwards before every practice and game to help him focus, reflect, and stay humbled. The exact performance can be seen through the interview performance.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Interview with Joshua

Transcript of Associated File:

“My name is Joshua Davis, I’m 20 years old and I’m Number 18 on the Dartmouth football team.

After we do some of our ritual stuff with the team, I like to do my own little thing during the game and during practice. It’s some funny thing that me and my friends started back in high school, it’s like peace, peace to the ground.

I don’t remember the last time I practiced without, so I can’t really tell you how it feels [not having done it]. As for doing it, it’s just a time to reflect because it is a moment I have to myself and where I remind myself to focus up and don’t be worried about other things going on in my life. For this one moment, be grounded in football.”

Collector’s Comments: 

Joshua shares with us an important ritual that he has individually partaken in since high school, demonstrating that many of such custom folklore begin long before athletes arrive to Dartmouth. He shares his emotions that occur before games and how he uses various types of folklore to cope with those emotions. He reminds himself of the importance of staying humble and this ritual helps him focus on playing at his best.

Collector’s Name:

Kang Min Daniel Lee

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary Folklore
  • Rituals
  • Football
  • Dartmouth

Victory Song

Title: Victory Song

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and Sub Genre
    • Verbal Folklore: Song
  • Language: English
  • United States of America

Informant Data:

  • Kyran McKinney-Crudden
    • Age: 20
    • Junior
    • Hometown: Glastonbury, Connecticut
    • Defensive Back #3

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context
    • Collective among only players in the locker room after every victory.
  • Cultural Context
    • Kyran is uncertain when this specific song became the victory song, therefore no one on the team knows when this ritual of celebrating to this specific song started.
    • Only played in locker room right after a win.

Item:

Song: Victory Song

  • A song that signifies a victory among the team. The team dances, sings, and chants while listening to the song. It is generally a very happy time amongst the players.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript of Associated File:

Collector:  umm.. and then what about any specific things that you do after a game. Like is there a specific song the team listens too, anything like that.

Informant: yeah so after every win, we listen to the same song, um.. it’s been played as long as Ive been year and I think even a couple years before that, and I’m sure it will be continued to be played for a couple more years until the next one comes along

Collector’s Name:

Hailey Noronha

Tags/Keywords:

Song, Victory, Verbal Folklore, Football, Dartmouth

Princeton Game- player

Title: Princeton Game

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and Sub Genre
    • Verbal Folklore: Tale
  • Language: English
  • United States of America

Informant Data:

  • Kyran McKinney-Crudden
    • Age: 20
    • Junior
    • Hometown: Glastonbury, Connecticut
    • Defensive Back #3

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context
    • This story is mostly known with the defence of the team, but the coaches and offence know it as well. This story telling can include the coach and whomever he wishes to share it with on the team.
  • Cultural Context
    • Used to teach players Dartmouth Football mentality and culture. It uses the importance of toughness and the mentality of “them and us.” This means that it doesn’t matter who they play, it only matters that they play Dartmouth Football.
    • This will most likely be told for years to come to solidify its meaning collectively among the team.

Item:

Tale: Princeton Game

  • A story of Princeton being one the best teams in the nation
  • Before the game began a blizzard started and whited out the sky.
  • In the end, Dartmouth won the football game and demonstrated what type of team they really were.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

https://youtu.be/nleNYG2PMyM

Transcript of Associated File:

Um… one story I especially like to focus on on Defense is uh…  a couple years ago, it was actually a year before I got here um… Princeton, it was the last game of the year and Princeton was undefeated um… had the best ranked uh… offense in the nation or in the league, one of the best in the nation. Umm… and… so they are going into the game, they’re thinking they are going you know to run us over have the Ivy League Championships themselves, um… basically go down in the history books as one of the best uh…  teams ever. Um… and all of a sudden right before the game starts there’s just this giant blizzard that just hits. Uh… They said snow is just falling from the sky, you could barely see anything. Umm… It was just a really hard fought game, really close game um… and we won on the last play but, they tried to throw a Hail Mary and our safety intercepted the ball, took a knee and everyone just everyone went wild, the crowd, the players, everything.

Collector’s Name:

Hailey Noronha

Tags/Keywords:

Tale, Game, Verbal Folklore, Football, Dartmouth