Title: The Excuser
General Information About Item:
- Ritual folklore, Superstition, Verbal Lore
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: United States
- Informant: Catherine Trevors
- Date Collected: 11/8/19
Informant Data:
- Catherine Trevors is a freshman here at Dartmouth College in Hanover. She was born in Oakville, Ontario and grew up with an older brother and younger sister. She attended Appleby College for high school and played for The Etobicoke Dolphins.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: Catherine Trevors was bequeathed this job from a Sophmore Lotti Odnoga, who had this job when she was a freshman. It is passed down to a new freshman every year by the choice of the person who had it previously. It is an important and funny tradition to make sure the team is on the same page prior to game time and puts a freshman on the spot.
- Social Context: Although Trevors wasn’t too pleased to receive this job in the beginning, she has learned to enjoy it. She learned it has been a tradition for many years and learned to grow in her public speaking skills, while also getting more comfortable with the team.
Item:
- At any pre-game meal, either on a road trip, a home game or even breakfast game day morning, Catherine is required to ask our head coach if we are allowed to “be excused”. The coach will answer if she says no we will continue to eat and chat but if she says yes, Catherine is then required to inform the team as a whole. She states, where we have to be next and when and any other person on the team is allowed to ask her questions.
Transcript:
- “The job of the “excused” has been passed down to me from Lotti. For this job, I have to ask the coaching staff if we can be excused from the pre-game meal. This job has helped me gain confidence in talking in front of my team, and made me feel like I have a role in traditions.”
Informant’s Comments:
- This ritual allows the team to be on the same page prior to game time.
Collector’s Comments:
- As a freshman too, I was pleased to see Catherine receive this job because she is outgoing and funny so this allowed her to shine and let loose a little bit before the game. I feel this tradition really shows how respectable our team is and shows other people eating around us during meals that we are mature and grown.
Collector’s name: CC Bowlby
Tags/Keywords:
- The Excuser
- Superstition
- Ritual