Title: Setting Watches for Dartmouth
General Information about Item:
- Magic Superstition, sympathetic
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: United States
- Informant: SW
- Date Collected: 11-1-21
Informant Data:
- SW is a 20-year-old male Dartmouth student in the class of 2023. He was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. Seth is a member of the Varsity Cross Country team at Dartmouth. Seth’s father also ran Division I cross country at Duke University before going on to complete three marathons in his 40s. Seth has also spent time on the Varsity Track & Field team at Dartmouth. Seth is a Religion major who hopes to pursue consulting after graduation.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: Cross Country races are 8km for men, and 5km for women. All runners start at the same starting line, lined up by team. Because of this, they have ample opportunity for team bonding, last second words of encouragement and strategy all the way up until the starting gun.
- Social Context: This specific pre-race chant was the first thing Seth mentioned when talking about pre-race superstitions. Seth said this was a call and response chant – the captain would issue a call, to which the rest of the team would shout the response in unison for good luck into their race.
Item:
- Captain: “Men of Dartmouth set a watch!”
- Team: “Lest the old traditions fail.”
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript:
- “Men of Dartmouth set a watch, lest the old traditions fail is the last thing we say to each other before the gun. This photo is taken moments after the call and response, right before we are taking off. I like the chant, it reminds me where I am, to be proud of what I have accomplished, and to go out and make the history of Dartmouth and former Dartmouth runners proud”
Informant’s Comments:
- I love it. It reminds me that I am part of something much bigger than myself. This has been a Cross Country team staple for decades.
Collector’s Comments:
- I found this pre-race chant to be very interesting, especially after my informant told me that it makes him feel special to be a part of something much larger than himself, and bringing him into hallowed history of Dartmouth athletics.
Collector’s Name:
Jack Cameron
Dartmouth College
Russ013 21F
Prof. Apresyan and Prof. Gronas