Author Archives: Donald Carty

Faith and Honor Held High (Donald Carty

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Title: Faith and Honor Held High

General Information about Item:

  • Verbal Lore; Pre-Game Prayer
  • Place of Origin: Dallas, TX
  • Informant: Ben Taber

Informant Data:

  • Ben Taber is a 22-year-old male. He is currently a member of the class of 2022 at Colorado State University. Ben is from Dallas, Texas, where he played football at the Episcopal School of Dallas (ESD).

Contextual Data:

  • ESD is a religious school that tries to instill Episcopalian values in their students. Students at ESD attend chapel services daily. These religious values extend beyond the chapel services, they are also present in the classroom and on the athletic fields. Coaches at ESD make sure their athletes compete with faith, honor, and sportsmanship in mind.

Item:

  • In the locker room, immediately before every game, the players at ESD say a prayer together, led by one of the team captains. The text of the prayer is as follows:

Lord as we walk through the Valley of Life

We ask for a chance that it’s fair

A chance to do the right

A chance to do or dare

And if we should win

Let it be by the code

With Faith and Honor held high

And if we should lose

Let us stand by the road

And watch as the winners walk by

(*Voices escalate to a yell*)

A TEAM THAT CAN’T BE BEAT

WON’T BE BEAT

CAN’T HIT, CAN’T WIN

AMEN

  • This prayer is meant to bring the players closer to God, remind them of the values of the school they are representing, and get them excited to compete. The author of this prayer is unknown, and this tradition has been in place at ESD for at least 10 years.

Collector’s Name: Donald Carty

Tags/Keywords:

  • Verbal Lore
  • Prayer
  • Locker Room Traditions
  • Football

White Boy Wednesday (Donald Carty)

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Title: White Boy Wednesday

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Lore
  • Place of Origin: Hanover, NH
  • Informant: Luke Gagnon ‘23

Informant Data:

  • Luke Gagnon is a 21-year-old male. He is a member of the class of 2023 at Dartmouth College, where he is a member of the football team. Luke is from Charlotte, North Carolina, where he played football at Charlotte Catholic High School.

Contextual Data:

  • Dartmouth football has a relatively diverse roster, both racial/ethnic diversity and geographic diversity. One way people share their cultures with the team is by playing their music on the locker room speakers. The locker room speakers are usually playing rap music, except for one notable day every week.

Item:

  • Every Wednesday, after practice or lift, the team has what is called “White Boy Wednesday.” Whoever plays the music in the locker room as the team changes plays what is stereotypically thought of as “white people music”. This usually consists of rock, pop, and country favorites from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. Some of the favorite artists that Gagnon mentioned were Smash Mouth, NSYNC, Vanilla Ice, and Oasis. This tradition serves to foster camaraderie in the locker room as well as share musical favorites across cultures.

Informant’s Comments:

  • “It is super fun having a day where the whole team jams out to music that some people may not normally listen to. One of the best moments of the season so far was when the whole team was screaming the words to “I Want it That Way” by the Backstreet Boys. It really just brings the team together.”

Collector’s Name: Donald Carty

Tags/Keywords

  • Customary Lore
  • Music
  • Locker Room Traditions
  • Football

Battle of the Shoes (Donald Carty)

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Title: Battle of the Shoes

General Information about Item:

  • Verbal/Customary Lore
  • Place of origin: Los Angeles, California
  • Informant: Wesley Banks
  • Date Collected: October 30, 2021

Informant Data:

Wesley Banks is a 21-year-old male. He was born in Los Angeles, California, and moved to Dallas, Texas during his childhood. He grew up playing football in Texas, and he went on to play Division 3 football at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Wesley is in his fourth season with the Occidental football team.

Contextual Data:

Occidental Football has an ongoing rivalry with Whittier College that dates back to 1939. This rivalry is known as the “Battle of the Shoes” or the “Shoes Game”. The rivalry began when Occidental Football players stole 1940 Whittier graduate Myron Claxton’s cleats the night before the game was meant to be played. This forced Claxton to play the whole game in his work boots. Despite this Whittier won the game, and Claxton retrieved his cleats. After this game, Claxton’s stolen cleats were bronzed and turned into a trophy that Occidental and Whittier compete for every year.

Item:

Throughout the week leading up to this rivalry game, senior football players on Occidental’s team attempt to steal cleats from younger players’ lockers. The thefts are blamed on a mysterious ghost named “Hector”, the man who supposedly stole Myron Claxton’s cleats in 1939. As the week of practice comes to an end, an alumnus of the team that is “old enough that most people on the team don’t know who he is,” enters the locker room dressed in football pads and work boots. He is meant to play the role of Hector, and he gives the players a speech to remind them of the meaning of the rivalry and motivate them to perform well. Both the stealing of cleats and the motivational speech serve to remind players on Occidental’s team of the history behind the rivalry with Whittier. This tradition outdates Wesley’s time at Occidental, and the origin is unknown.

Informant’s Comments: “If you’re a freshman you have no idea who this Hector guy is, but he gives this motivational speech and you learn the history of this rivalry.”

Collector’s Name: Donald Carty

Tags/Keywords:

  • Verbal/customary Lore
  • Rivalry
  • Locker Room Traditions
  • Football

Don’t Step on the D (Donald Carty)

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Title: Don’t Step on the D

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Lore: Conversion Superstition
  • Place of Origin: Hanover, NH
  • Informant: Myself (Donald Carty)

Informant Data:

Donald (Donny) J. Carty was born in Dallas, Texas, on May 16, 1999. While he embraces Texas as his home, he is the only Texan in his family. His father, also named Donald J. Carty, moved to Dallas from Montreal, and his mother’s family immigrated from Mexico to St. Louis. Donny is a member of the class of 2021 at Dartmouth college, where he is a member of the football team.

Contextual Data:

In the Dartmouth locker room, there is one superstition that the whole team subscribes to. Emblazoned in the middle of the locker room floor is a large Dartmouth “D” Logo. Among the players, coaches, and support staff it is known that you are not to step on this D. Doing so is thought to bring bad luck to the team for the coming season.

Item:

Every fall, without fail, a freshman unknowingly steps on the logo, resulting in immediate uproar and scolding from the upperclassmen on the team. Anyone who steps on the D is forced to stop what they are doing, get on the ground, and kiss it to ward off the bad luck their mistake may have caused. It’s unknown how long this tradition has existed, but it long predates Donald’s time on the Dartmouth Football Team.

Collectors Name: Donald Carty (Myself)

Tags/Keywords:

  • Customary Lore
  • Superstition
  • Locker room traditions
  • Football