Fight, Raiders, Fight (Cameron Baller)

Title: Fight, Raiders, Fight

General Information About Item:

Informant Data:

D.N. is a 33-year-old male. He was born and raised in Highland Village, Texas. He currently lives in Corinth, Texas. He has been a high school strength coach for four years and was a strength coach at the collegiate level before that. He played college football at the University of Texas Tech and was a defensive lineman from 2007-2011.

Contextual Data:

D.N. attended the University of Texas Tech which was established in 1923 and has deep roots in football especially being in Texas. Their fight song was written in 1930 as part of a contest sponsored by the school newspaper. The song represents the passion and pride that the player, coaches, and fans have for their school. Singing the song in the locker room is a way for the team to take ownership of the locker room and field and that it meant something to play for the university in front of their fans at home.

Item:

After games, the team would enter the locker room and sing the school fight song titled “Fight, Raiders, Fight” as seen below. The song is also known as “The Matador Song”. As the team finishes singing the song, the whole team would chant: “In the home of the…” and then give a big yell saying “Raiders!”.

Fight, matadors, for Tech,

Songs of love we sing to thee,

Bear our banners far and wide,

Ever will be our pride,

Fearless champions ever be,

Stand on heights of victory,

Strive for honor evermore,

Long live the Matadors!

“In the home of the…Raiders!”

Transcript:

“Post-game we would sing our school fight song as a team and then everybody would finish with the line “In the home of the…” and then everybody would yell “Raiders” really loud.”

Informant’s Comments:

“I think it was just a way to take ownership of our locker room and our field and that it meant something to play for the university and win football games at home in front of our home crowd.”

Collector’s Comments:

I found this fight song to also be a song of unity and togetherness for the team. It honors the university and allows those who sing it remind themselves of the commitment of those before them.

Collector’s Name: Cameron Baller

Tags/Keywords:

Dartmouth Folklore Archive