Title: Taking a knee

General Information about Item:

• Genre and Sub Genre
  • Customary Folklore: custom

• Language: English

• United States of America

Informant Data:

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

Contextual Data:

• Social Context
  • Before practices the defence of the team will take a knee at center field.
  • Before games all players will take a knee in the opposite end zone and also take a knee.
• Cultural Context
  • This custom is also known among players and staff. They all understand that this custom will happen before every practice and game.  Different players may either pray, think about what they are going to do well that time out on the field, or just tie their shoes.
  • They basically just appreciate what they have with Dartmouth Football.
  • Unclear to Kyran of when this custom started

Item:

Custom: Taking a knee

• The items involved are the “D” at center field and the opposite end zone.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30JV0yUpSbU

Transcript of Associated File:

Uh… So before every practice we run on to the center of the field where the giant block D is and everyone just takes a knee there. Some people pray, some people you know ties their shoes, just get ready for practice. Uh… basically the important thing is you know we just take a second to appreciate what we have, uh… our teammates, our coaches, uh… just basically the family of Dartmouth football and how we are thankful for you know being able to do what we can do every day.

Collector’s Name:

Hailey Noronha

Tags/Keywords:

Customary Folklore, Football, Dartmouth

Title: Material Accessories

General Information about Item:

• Genre and Sub Genre
  • Customary Folklore: Superstition

• 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 type of superstition is known to every player on the team. The superstition stays the same but the material accessories are specific to each individual player.
• Cultural Context
  • Each individual prefers to wear different items for different reasons. However, the superstition remains the same. They wear these accessories because they believe that if they do, they or the team will have a great game

Item:

Superstition: Material Accessories

• Eye Black
• Arm bands
• Ties on cleats (called “Spatting”)
• Towels
• Different gloves

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

https://youtu.be/83CXQSBazss

Transcript of Associated File:

Informant: Uhh.. yeah, couple of common ones, are, probably the most common ones are eye black. um.. i know a lot of guys that won’t go out on the field  on gamed without their eye black on. umm…

Collector: What’s eye black?

Informant: Eye black is just a little paint stick, umm… and you put, you draw some lines under your eyes. Some people do designs, people do, you know, their number, certain things like that. Um… it’s actually kind of an issue cause, sometimes it’s like we need to get out there and everybody is scrambling, struggling to get their eye black on because everybody, you have to have your eye black on, if that’s your superstition. Um… my personal one is I spat my cleats, which means I put tape umm… around the, my cleats, my ankles. It kinda gives a little bit of support, but it’s really just to look cool, the idea, you look good, feel good, play good. um.. basically a lot of guys do it in different ways. I do the spat, some people do arm bands different gloves, um… towels anything like that.

Collector’s Name:

Hailey Noronha

Tags/Keywords:

Customary Folklore, Superstition, Football, Dartmouth

Title: “You’re an oar or an anchor… You affect or you infect”

General Information about Item:

• Verbal Folklore: Proverbs
• English
• United States of America

Informant Data:

• Name: Buddy Teevens
  • Dartmouth YG: 1979
  • Residence: Hanover, New Hampshire
  • Years of experience coaching: 26 years
  • Current position: Head Coach of Dartmouth Football

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context:
  • These proverbs create a culture of handwork and accountability towards one’s work ethic in the name of Dartmouth football.
• Social Context:
  • These proverbs are said very frequently by the coaches to the team to get them to think about their behavior and how hard they work.

Item:

• Proverbs: “You’re an oar or an anchor… You affect or you infect”
  • These proverbs are said very frequently by the coaches to the team to get them to think about their behavior and how hard they work.

Transcript of Associated File:

Coach Teevens: The other thing I toss out is I say “You’re an oar, or an anchor.” Pulling us forward or are you holding us back. And it’s attitude, it’s performance, its commentary. The guys that are, you know, disillusioned, “Ah this is awful this is, we shouldn’t have to do this.” That’s negative leadership. “You affect or infect.” And that’s basically it. Maybe it’s not going the way you want, “Hey man, we’re getting better keep going”. Yeah you feel bad for yourself, but again, the team. We try to have guys think broadly about that.

Collector’s Name: Kristen Maiorano

Tags/Keywords:

Verbal Folklore, proverbs, football

Title: Pre-game Meals

General Information about Item:

• Verbal Folklore: Custom
• English
• United States of America

Informant Data:

• Name: Buddy Teevens
  • Dartmouth YG: 1979
  • Residence: Hanover, New Hampshire
  • Years of experience coaching: 26 years
  • Current position: Head Coach of Dartmouth Football

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context:
  • This custom helps to bring the team closer together and get them pumped up before an away game.
• Social Context:
  • This is a custom that occurs before very away game where the team gets together to eat with one another.

Item:

• Custom: Pre-game meals
  • This is a custom that occurs before very away game where the team gets together to eat with one another. It is a custom that unifies the entire team.

Transcript of Associated File:

Coach Teevens: When we travel, pregame meals. It’s one area that I do have the seniority process; the seniors eat first, then the juniors, then the sophomores, then the freshmen.

Collector’s Name: Kristen Maiorano

Tags/Keywords:

Verbal Folklore, custom, football, pre-game meals

Title: Banners/Photos

General Information about Item:

• Verbal Folklore: Material
• English
• United States of America

Informant Data:

• Name: Curt Oberg
  • Dartmouth YG: 1978
  • Residence: Hanover, New Hampshire
  • Years of association with Dartmouth Football as an assistant coach: 3
  • Current position: Special Assistant to the Head Coach

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context:
  • These relics exist in the Dartmouth football office and alongside the football field as a reminder of the program’s history.
• Social Context:
  • These relics exist in the Dartmouth football office and alongside the football field as a reminder of the program’s history.

Item:

• Material: Banners/Photos
  • These relics exist in the Dartmouth football office and alongside the football field as a reminder of the program’s history. Past and present players enjoy viewing these mementos and remembering Dartmouth history.

Transcript of Associated File:

Coach Oberg: And there are some signs of history in the program all in the area here you can see the first team All-Ivy dating back to when the Ivy League was founded and then all the championship teams are on the wall, and if you go into the lounge you’ll see some old artifacts, relics of days gone by, pictures on the wall and stars and what not so there is a little bit of historical relevance for some of the kids if they’re interested. Especially for alumni if thy come back and they do, it’s amazing how many children of alumni who have passed away wanna see their dad or their uncle or their grandfather or somebody who played football for Dartmouth they go into the computer room in there and look at it on the screen and see a picture of them in their uniform.

Collector’s Name: Kristen Maiorano

Tags/Keywords:

Verbal Folklore, material, football, banners, photos

Title: ‘D’ in the Locker room

General Information about Item:

• Verbal Folklore: Material
• English
• United States of America

Informant Data:

• Name: Buddy Teevens
  • Dartmouth YG: 1979
  • Residence: Hanover, New Hampshire
  • Years of experience coaching: 26 years
  • Current position: Head Coach of Dartmouth Football

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context:
  • This D on the locker room floor commands respect from the players and instills pride in being a Dartmouth football player.
• Social Context:
  • This letter exists on the floor of the Dartmouth football locker room and it is socially unacceptable to step on this “D”.

Item:

• Material: ‘D’ in the Locker room
  • This letter exists on the floor of the Dartmouth football locker room and it is socially unacceptable to step on this “D”. Players will push or tackle you off of the D if you step on it as a sign of respect for Dartmouth football and its long tradition.

Transcript of Associated File:

Coach Teevens: There’s a D there and it’s one thing that you never step on the D, and it’s kind of just a sign of respect. And if somebody’s in there, guys will tackle someone off and you get shoved off, and it’s kind of a subtle respect for the place and the history and the tradition and the fact that it goes back a long, long way a hundred plus years of football, and the number of people that have played…

Collector’s Name: Kristen Maiorano

Tags/Keywords:

Verbal Folklore, material, football, D

Title: Color Chart

General Information about Item:

• Verbal Folklore: material
• English
• United States of America

Informant Data:

• Name: Buddy Teevens
  • Dartmouth YG: 1979
  • Residence: Hanover, New Hampshire
  • Years of experience coaching: 26 years
  • Current position: Head Coach of Dartmouth Football

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context:
  • This chart fosters a desire among the Dartmouth football players to maintain a certain level of focus. They speak about this chart in regards to their mindset frequently.
• Social Context:
  • The coaches created a color wheel so that they can discuss the mindset that players are in, or should be in, while they are on the field.

Item:

• Material: ‘D’ in the Locker room
  • This D on the locker room floor commands respect from the players and instills pride in being a Dartmouth football player.

Transcript of Associated File:

Coach Teevens: With preparation and focus, you mentioned the chart down there. We talk about going into the black, if you haven’t seen it, it’s white, yellow, its just a spectrum. It’s white, yellow, orange, red, black. And the deal is, I actually got this from a special ops guy, he came back from his tour in Afghanistan and he was on campus, and he said it kind of tells you this mental awareness. If you know white is kind of like a California mindset, sometimes we refer to it as. Oblivious to one thing, not really focused. Black is the other extreme where you’re so hyped you just you can’t react, you can’t think you can’t function. You can’t make a pass, so those are the two areas you can’t be in. If we got a two and a half hour practice you can’t be in what we term the high red. We want to be in the upper edge right on the cusp of going into the black but not going in. So you’re still in control, you’re lazered in, and how do you get to that point and you’re not there all the time. So often you’re on the field you want to go into the high red, you don’t want to go into the white or the yellow or the orange, but you can’t be up in the high red at that point so you got to drift back and then you get back up and that’s really a skill to be able to focus your attention when it’s most needed. And then you get a varied group on our team you got sophomores juniors seniors all in a group, and they all have gotta be lazered in together.

Collector’s Name: Kristen Maiorano

Tags/Keywords:

Verbal Folklore, material, football, color chart

Title: Rings

General Information about Item:

• Verbal Folklore: Material
• English
• United States of America

Informant Data:

• Name: Buddy Teevens
  • Dartmouth YG: 1979
  • Residence: Hanover, New Hampshire
  • Years of experience coaching: 26 years
  • Current position: Head Coach of Dartmouth Football

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context:
  • This allows the Dartmouth football team to value their victory and hard work in a concrete way, by cherishing their matching rings.
• Social Context:
  • The Dartmouth football team players and coaches received matching rings for winning the Ivy League Championship.

Item:

• Material: Rings
  • The Dartmouth football team players and coaches received matching rings for winning the Ivy League Championship.

Transcript of Associated File:

Coach Teevens: We got rings is kind of a cute thing. Rings last year we won a championship and some of the young guys—I don’t call freshmen “freshmen” I don’t know if that’s tradition or not I call them young guys young guys and old guys. Young guys are the first year guys and the old guys is everybody after. Why because there’s a connotation with “freshmen”. “Hey freshman, grab the water bags… hey freshman take the bags off” you know we don’t do that. Coming in I wanted our best players to play and as I tell them you’re all division one athletes and so the best guys are gonna show up—and I lost my train of thought.

HAILEY: The rings.

Coach Teevens: The rings so, a couple of young guys came in and said “Coach, the ring thing do we get them?” I said, “Were you on the team?” “Yes, we didn’t play.” “You’re on the team, the team won. Congratulations”

Collector’s Name: Kristen Maiorano

Tags/Keywords:

Verbal Folklore, material, football, rings

Title: “Backs Go Tearing By”

General Information about Item:

• Verbal Folklore: Ritual
• English
• United States of America

Informant Data:

• Name: Buddy Teevens
  • Dartmouth YG: 1979
  • Residence: Hanover, New Hampshire
  • Years of experience coaching: 26 years
  • Current position: Head Coach of Dartmouth Football

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context:
  • The coaches encourage the team to be tough in everything that they do, particularly in practices and games.
• Social Context:
  • This song allows the Dartmouth football team to bask in their victory.

Item:

• Ritual: After a Dartmouth football victory at the home field, the players go into Leverone and sing this song together. This is an act of pride in their success and in the Dartmouth Spirit

Transcript of Associated File:

Coach Teevens: But in our little world that’s what we do. And after that after a win we go back into Leverone we get together and there’s the “Backs Go Tearing By” it’s the football medley is what it’s termed and you don’t hear it much anymore, it’s why you hear the band play it, I think a lot of people don’t know what it is. But with us we taught them that song just kind of culminates with the amount of points you beat the opponent by and then you count them off. You count them forty-something, fifty, you go “1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10.”

Collector’s Name: Kristen Maiorano

Tags/Keywords:

Verbal Folklore, ritual, football, backs go tearing by

Title: The Gauntlet

General Information about Item:

• Verbal Folklore: Ritual
• English
• United States of America

Informant Data:

• Name: Curt Oberg
  • Dartmouth YG: 1978
  • Residence: Hanover, New Hampshire
  • Years of association with Dartmouth Football as an assistant coach: 3
  • Current position: Special Assistant to the Head Coach

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context:
  • This is done by players to help the team get energized and prepared to play the game ahead.
• Social Context:
  • Before a Dartmouth football game there is a tradition of lining up outside the team’s locker room so that teammates could run through almost as if it is a tunnel.

Item:

• Ritual: Gauntlet
  • Before a Dartmouth football game there is a tradition of lining up in two tight lines outside the team’s locker room so that teammates could run through almost as if it is a tunnel. This energizes the team and pumps them up for the game

Transcript of Associated File:

Coach Oberg: There was still not a large number of women on campus so there was a lot of singing in fraternities and singing in the football program and so you know one of the things Coach T did was bring that back in terms of singing the alma matter and you know another thing that was a tradition when we played was which is sort of back in a different kind of format was when we came out of the locker room the entire freshman class would line up in a gauntlet coming out of the old Davis Varsity house and you as football players would run through the gauntlet all the way to the field all the way to the sideline so it was a really awesome tradition for us and then that was gone when Coach Teevens came back and you know there’s a little bit of that now when we come out of Leverone when we have the gauntlet coming out. But that gauntlet was really neat back then because you would literally walk in between, just people were really tight to you and there were like two or three people deep and you’d come through and you got chills up your spine when you were coming out of the locker room. It was a pretty neat tradition back then.

Collector’s Name: Kristen Maiorano

Tags/Keywords:

Verbal Folklore, ritual, football, gauntlet