Sports Folklore on Dartmouth Campus

Informants and Interpretation

Title: Dartmouth Football – Rashaad Cooper

General Information about Item:

  • Football Lore, Sayings and traditions
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Rashaad Cooper
  • Date Collected: 5/10/19

Informant Data:

  • Rashaad Cooper is a male Dartmouth student in the class of 2019.  He was born and raised in Tracey, California but has strong family ties to Los Angeles, California. During his time here at Dartmouth, Rashaad was a member of the varsity football team and an integral member of the Student and Presidential Committee on Sexual Assault. He is also a member of the Gamma Delta Chi (GDX) fraternity. Rashaad’s post-Dartmouth plans include playing football and getting his MBA at Birmingham University in the U.K. and pursing a professional football career.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Dartmouth football, and Ivy League football as well, have been woven into the fabric of the Ivy league for over 100 years. The Ivy League, matter of fact, is often known as the birthplace of modern American football. Dartmouth football has dominated the Ivy League since the 1960s. Over the decades, vernacular, rituals and traditions have been handed down and embedded into the roots of Dartmouth College Football.
  • Social Context: Dartmouth College football lore has established its own “social norms.” Rashaad’s experience with the types of phrases, traditions and rituals that he discusses in his video were learned over years of interactions between he and his teammates in the context of being a student-athlete at an Ivy League institution.

Items:

  • Storr’s Pond: Rashaad discussed the team tradition of attending Storr’s Pond during one of the team off-days during pre-season camp. He spoke about some of the activities that teammates found themselves engaging in, such as canoeing, playing cards, playing dominoes and playing beach volleyball. Rashaad understood this event to be an annual attempt to bolster team bonding and unity in preparation for the up-coming season. Moreover, he felt as though it was a way to introduce the incoming freshman to many of their teammates.
  • Freshman project: Rashaad illustrated how, every year, upperclassmen require the incoming freshman to present to them an ex-member of the Dartmouth Football team. He stated that the purpose of this activity is twofold: to have the younger members “open up” and to have them engage with their older teammates. Rashaad also noted that this practice is solely promoted and executed by the players and NOT the coaches. It is a tradition that has been passed down, via experience, from class to class.
  • Player sayings: He also discussed some of his favorite sayings of the team. This adage, “show up or hoe up” was one that was used to provide an ultimatum to players before a game. Rashaad explained that it meant that, prior to a game, each player has to come to the internal decision to either “come ready to play” or cower to their competition. Another was “its in you, not on you” which is used to verbalize the notion that what is “in” a player (i.e. his confidence, determination, grit, etc.) is enough to lead to victory.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file): Dartmouth Football Lore, Rashaad Cooper

Transcripts:

  • Storrs’ Pond: “On one of our off-days we go to the lake nearby, I forget what it’s called…Storr’s Pond and play dominoes, go canoeing, play spades, I mean I don’t know how to play spades, but its good because that environment is good for team bonding.”
  • Freshman project: “Preseason, upperclassmen also give the underclassman in their position group projects. The project would be to do research, which is talking to older players on the team, and they find all the stories that they can about the recent graduates of that position group. [The purpose of the tradition] is kind of to teach the underclassman about the team culture. Its more on the rowdy side of the team culture. Like the funny, crazy stories which are a part of the college experience and team bonding.”
  • Player sayings: “One of the ones that I liked, that I kind of adopted, and that is passed around the team was ‘show up or hoe up.’ If you’re playing in a game, you have two options. You can play to the fullest and give all of your effort or you can play timid and kind of wait back and lose. So, when situations come up, you have two options, there are two ways that you can react. We also say, as players, ‘its in you not on you.’ The fabric that we are cut from, we believe that our values and what we have inside of us are enough to push us through more than our competition.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • Dartmouth has definitely showed me things that I will continue to use and think about in all aspects of my life.

Collector’s Comments:

  • Being a member of the football team myself, I an attest to Rashaad’s experiences. Given that we played the same position, many of the same sayings and on-the-field experiences that he had, I had as well.

Collector’s Name: Matthew Shearin

Tags/Keywords:

  • Sports Lore
  • Dartmouth Football
  • Traditions
  • Sayings
  • Unity

 

Title: Dartmouth Football – Matthew Shearin

General Information about Item:

  • Sports Lore, Phrases, songs, traditions
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Matthew Shearin
  • Date Collected: 5/10/19

Informant Data:

  • Matthew Shearin is a male Dartmouth student in the class of 2019.  He was born in Yuma, Arizona and raised in San Diego, California. During his time here at Dartmouth, Matt was a member of the varsity football team and founded an investment banking preparation service called, Student Banking Prep. Matt’s post-Dartmouth plans include working on Wall Street as an investment banking analyst.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Football is a “tough” sport and is projected as such. The cultural norms of the sport state that only “tough men” with an active ability to control and deliberately place their aggression in a certain place can play football. Dartmouth College Football, historically, has been known as a “tough” team. Therefore, our team continuously seeks to continue this notion and the culture of tough, “edgey” and distinct from our competition.
  • Social Context: Dartmouth College football lore has established its own “social norms.” Matt’s experience with the types of phrases, traditions and rituals that he discusses in his video were learned over years of interactions between he and his teammates in the context of being a student-athlete at an Ivy League institution.

Items:

  • “Edge:” Matt describe the use and purpose of a common saying, “edge” of the Dartmouth Football team. In doing so, he explained how the word is used generally to conclude team wide events, such as meetings, practices and games. Dartmouth Football has been known for its tough and physical style of play. According to Matt, the team’s head coach feels that it is imperative for the team to remember to play with an “edge.” This means playing with something – internally – that differentiates you from your opposition. Having this mindset will then affect how one trains and prepares, which will then affect the overall outcome of football games.
  • “Playing in the high red:” Matt discussed how, in the locker room, there is a color spectrum that goes from white, to yellow, to orange, to red, to dark red and finally to black. An adage on the team is “be in the high red,” meaning that one ought to be in the middle of the color spectrum. Too far in the white alludes to one being too relaxed and almost nonchalant. Being too far in the black means that one is too focused and “over hyped” to the point where they may lose control of their ability to think and react accurately. Therefore, it is best to be in the “high red” or in the middle which represents one that is not too calm and not too “wired,” but that is precisely focused.
  • The D: In terms of superstition, Matt discussed how the “D” that is present in the middle of the locker room is sacred ground. If anyone steps on it, either knowingly or unknowingly, they must stop, get on hands and knees and kiss the “D.” Doing so erases the potential of bad luck and disrespect to the “D,” and Dartmouth Football as an extension, given that someone stepped on it.
  • The Dartmouth Alma Mater: After every game, win or lose, Matt stated that the football team will gather arm in arm and face their crowd to sing the Dartmouth Alma Mater. This happens after every game and has been for as long as anyone can remember.
  • As the Backs go Tearing By!: Matt sang this song and described it as a song that was only sung after victories. By doing so, the football team attempted to verbalize their jubilation in their collective victory against their opponent.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file): Dartmouth Football Lore, Matt Shearin

Transcripts:

  • “Edge;” “Our head coach loves to say “edge.” That we must play with an edge. A lot of times we will break down – by breaking down I mean end a meeting or end a practice – with a collective edge on a count of three. So, coach will go “1,2,3” and the whole team will yell “edge!” What he means by it is essentially playing with a sense of grit, playing with a sense of passion and purpose that is above and beyond that of our competitors. In order to do so and be successful in playing football, grit or having an edge as something that differentiates you from other people is really something that is very important.”
  • “Playing in the high red:” “There is another thing that we do, and it’s called “being in the red” or playing in the “high red.” At both entrances of the locker room there are color spectrums with white on the left-hand side and black on the right-hand side. The spectrum gradually increases from white to yellow to orange, red, darker red and then black. The principal behind it is that all the way on the left, is kind of like pure white which means that you’re kind of like very mellow, almost non-engaged. Completely on the right, on the opposite extreme, being in the black, means that you’re kind of too wired and just too attached to where you kind of get reckless with your actions. So he always says that we want to be in the middle or the high red, meaning that you want to be laser focused to the point where you’re locked in knowing what you need to do on and off the field, but also relaxed and kind of comfortable and not tense, I guess, in doing so because that can also lead to mistakes. That’s something that we kind of lean on a lot.”
  • The “D” in the middle of the locker room: “One locker room tradition that we have that is huge is that in the middle of the locker room there’s a big D, for Dartmouth. You’re not allowed to touch it, step on it, touch it with your hands, anything. I made the mistake during my first visit, even though nobody told me, of stepping on it and everybody made a huge commotion. Guys were coming out of everywhere, yelling and screaming. They started chanting ‘kiss the D, Kiss the D, Kiss the D!’ So when you touch the D, as we call it, you’re required to kiss it – literally get down on hands and knees and kiss it. I guess stepping on it just brings bad luck. In the process of a 10-game season, in which victory is the collective goal, any type of bad luck is something that is not wanted. So that’s a really big locker room tradition.”
  • Dartmouth Alma Mater: “After every game, we’ll stand facing our home side, whether its away or home, it doesn’t matter, we’ll stand facing our home side, arm-in-arm and sing the Alma Mater. And it goes:

Dear old Dartmouth Give a’rouse,

For the college on the hill

For the lone pine above her,

And the loyal ones who love her,

Give a’rouse, give a’rouse with a Will!

For the sons of old Dartmouth, the daughters of Dartmouth

Around the girdled earth they roam, her spell on them remains!

They have the still north in their hears, the hill winds in their veins!

And the granite of New Hampshire, in their muscles and their brains!

And the granite of New Hampshire, in their muscles and their brains!

So, we usually sing that after every game, facing our home crowd, win or lose. Obviously, when we win, it’s a lot more enthusiastic. When we lose, less so.” 

  • As the Backs go Tearing By!: “After wins, we’ll go into our field house or our locker room wherever we are and we’ll sing As the Backs go Tearing By which is kind of like a commemorative song that we [sing] to kind of build moral or kind of commemorate the fact that we just won. It goes:

As the backs go tearing by,

On their way to do or die,

Many sighs, many cheers mingle with the Harvard tears

As the backs go tearing by!

Making gain on steady gain,

And the swells of sweet refrain,

Dartmouth’s gonna win today, bet your ass we’ll win today,

As the backs go tearing by!

Glory to Dartmouth,

Loyal we sing,

Now all together, let the echoes ring for Dartmouth!

Our team’s a winner, we’ve got the stuff,

We wear the Dartmouth green and that’s enough!

Dartmouth, Dartmouth green!

And then we’ll count however many points we scored that day to win.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “Edge:” Coach Teevans started this saying around Matt’s sophomore year. He still uses it to this day despite Matt thinking it to be extremely corny.
  • “Playing in the high red:” Matt tends to use this mentality both in and outside of sports. He feels as though it’s a great way to go about attacking any task – never be too lax, yet never be too amped.
  • The “D” in the locker room: Matt said that after a while, you simply learn to just avoid the D.
  • The Dartmouth Alma Mater: According to Matt, this song has come to mean a lot to him and his Dartmouth career. He vividly remembers the smiles of happiness and tears of sorrow after numerous games as they sang the Alma Mater in front of the Dartmouth crowd.
  • As the Backs go Tearing By: This song is solely associated with Matt’s memory of victory and celebration as it was only sung following a win.

Collector’s Comments:

  • See informant’s comments.

Collector’s Name: Matthew Shearin

Tags/Keywords:

  • Sports Lore
  • Dartmouth Football
  • Language
  • Songs
  • Traditions
  • Alma Mater
  • Phrases

 

Title: Dartmouth Football – Robert “Bun” Stratton III

General Information about Item:

  • Sports Lore, Phrases, rituals
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Robert “Bun” Stratton III
  • Date Collected: 5/10/19

Informant Data:

  • Bun Stratton is a male Dartmouth student in the class of 2019.  He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. During his time here at Dartmouth, Bun was a member of the varsity football team and the Gamma Delta Chi (GDX) fraternity. Bun’s post-Dartmouth plans include working in Boston, MA for a recruiting firm.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Given that Bun is a defensive player – they do the majority of the tackling in football – the notion is that he must be a tough-minded player. Thus, much of the culture surrounding Dartmouth defensive players describes a gritty and tough-minded band of brothers.
  • Social Context: Dartmouth College football lore has established its own “social norms.” Bun’s experience with the types of phrases, traditions and rituals that he discusses in his video were learned over years of interactions between he and his teammates in the context of being a student-athlete at an Ivy League institution.

Items:

  • “Find a way, make a way:” Bun explained that this saying is specific to his position group meaning that it is not shared by the majority of the team. He also explained that it is something that has stuck with him over his time here.
  • Pre-game rituals: Bun explained, as did Matt, how he must take a nap before a game to help him relax. He also noted how he writes two different phrases on his wrists prior to the game in order to remind him why he plays the game of football.
  • Tank time: This practice is a post-game ritual and is specific to defensive players only. Bun stated that after every game and practice, the defense will huddle up and do burpees to show that, despite spending the previous hours practicing or playing, they still have “juice” left in the tank and the ability to keep going.
  • Shower games: This is yet another post-game ritual that is relative to the entire team. Bun explained that after big wins, certain members of the team, while naked, will put on a football helmet, apply a large amount of soap on the floor of the showers and slide through it as though they were on a slip-n-slide.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file): Dartmouth Football Lore, Bun Stratton

Transcripts:

  • “Find a way, make a way” “Coach McCorkle, the defensive backs coach, has this ‘find a way, make a way’ saying. So that’s one that’s really stuck with me over the last four years after hearing it so many times.”
  • Pre-game rituals: “I always take a nap after I eat. That’s something that I have to do. Also, on my wrists, I write ‘FOE’ for ‘family over everything’ and then 808. And on the other side, I write ‘CFL’ which stands for ‘comradeship, faith in one another and loyalty to Dartmouth.’ I do that to remind me who I’m playing for and give me more purpose besides just playing the game. There’s more to it than just that.
  • Tank time: “We do this thing called tank time to show that we have juice left in our bodies and that we can still keep playing even after an entire game. We’ll do maybe like 8-10 burpees after the game as a defense.”
  • Shower games: “Usually after a big win, we’ll start the showers and then some of the boys throw on helmets while their naked. We then soap up the floor and slide across the entirety of the bathroom and shower.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “Find a way, make a way:” This has been a saying that Bun has come to adore in his time here at Dartmouth. He mentions that he often will notice that he will say it to himself randomly.
  • Pre-game rituals: Bun noted that these rituals are things that he MUST do before each and every game in order to feel prepared for “battle.”
  • Tank time: Bun stated that although doing burpees after a 2-hour long game may “suck,” it really teaches you to continue to push forward regardless of how tired you may be.
  • Shower games: Bun noted that only a select number of guys on the team commit themselves to shower games after a big win. He’s one of them.

Collector’s Comments:

  • “Find a way, make a way:” As a player, I often heard the defense yell this on many occasions. Those guys are pretty insane, so I guess this is one of the ways that they verbalize it.
  • Pre-game rituals: I can attest to Bun’s pre-game rituals. Many players on the team have very similar practices. I tend to nap before a game as I feel that it calms me down.
  • Tank time: Once again, the guys on defense are pretty crazy. Doing more physical activity after a grueling 2-hour game is very much indicative of their tough-mindedness as a group.
  • Shower games: I have not ever engaged in a round of shower games.

Collector’s Name: Matthew Shearin

Tags/Keywords:

  • Sports Lore
  • Dartmouth Football
  • Language
  • Traditions
  • Defense
  • Rituals
  • Tough

 

Title: Dartmouth Football – Andrew “Drew” Hunnicutt

General Information about Item:

  • Sports Lore, Phrases
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Andrew “Drew” Hunnicutt
  • Date Collected: 5/10/19

Informant Data:

  • Drew Hunnicutt is a male Dartmouth student in the class of 2019.  He was born in Dallas, Texas. During his time here at Dartmouth, Drew was a member of the varsity football team and the Gamma Delta Chi (GDX) fraternity. After graduation, Drew will return to Texas to work in Real Estate.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Drew, like Matt and Rashaad, is an offensive player (wide receiver). Rather than having a “tough minded” attitude like a defensive player would, the culture surrounding wide receivers is one of “swagger.”
  • Social Context: Dartmouth College football lore has established its own “social norms.” Bun’s experience with the types of phrases, traditions and rituals that he discusses in his video were learned over years of interactions between he and his teammates in the context of being a student-athlete at an Ivy League institution.

Items:

  • “Protect your brother:” Drew talked through the wide receiver specific motto of “protect your brother” which is meant to remind the team’s wide receivers that, at the end of the day, they are their own tight-knit brotherhood and that they are all responsible for the protection of their brothers both on and off the field.
  • “War time, let’s take it to the field:” As a collective unit prior to a game, the team will huddle up on the sideline and chant “war time, let’s take it to the field!” Drew noted that this is used to get the team mentally prepared to go to “battle.”

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file): Dartmouth Football Lore, Drew Hunnicutt

Transcripts:

  • “Protect your brother” “We have one in the receiver room, ‘protect your brothers.’ Essentially that means at the end of the day we’re competing and all trying to be on the field, but we also are a little tight-knit family and so we want to make sure that everyone is thriving, everyone is being pushed to their best in a healthy environment to do so.”
  • “War time let’s take it to the field:” “War time, lets take it to the field. We just say that over and over. It seems pretty simple, but I think that when everyone is kind of chanting that and getting into it, it really pumps up the team.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “Protect your brother:” Drew stated that this saying has really helped him come to understand the relationships that he has made with his teammates off the football field.
  • “War time lets take it to the field:” Drew noted that this chant, time and time again, has gotten him “ready” to go to “battle” with his teammates in order to win a game.

Collector’s Comments:

  • “Protect your brother:” Being a fellow offensive player, I have heard the wide receivers on the team “break down” their meetings or a practice on this phrase. I think they really embody the adage.
  • “War time lets take it to the field:” Is a saying that I have enjoyed and participated in myself. It has, over and over again, gotten me mentally prepared to join my teammates to win a football game.

Collector’s Name: Matthew Shearin

Tags/Keywords:

  • Sports Lore
  • Dartmouth Football
  • Phrases
  • Offense
  • Brother
  • War

 

Title: Dartmouth Rugby – Reed Kuivila

General Information about Item:

  • Sports Lore, Phrases, rituals
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Reed Kuivila
  • Date Collected: 5/9/19

Informant Data:

  • Geoff Weber is a male Dartmouth student in the class of 2019. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. During his time at Dartmouth, Geoff was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity and the Dartmouth Dodecaphonics a cappella group.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Reed is from Chagrin Falls Ohio and has played Rugby at Dartmouth since freshman fall so all 4 years as he is a Senior. He started playing Rugby the spring of his senior year of high-school. He fell in love with the Dartmouth campus and Walked on and joined the team here.
  • Social Context: Dartmouth College Rugby has established its own norms. Reed has learned certain phrase and traditions through his specific social experience on the Dartmouth Rugby team.

Items:

  • “They may be bigger than us but we’re slower.” Reed explained that this is a saying the Dartmouth Rugby tem likes to say to remind themselves of their common underdog status.
  • “Dartmouth, Dartmouth, Team.” Reed explained that the Rugby team chants this after each game.
  • Locker room tradition: The most recently graduated captain of the previous team will write a message to the new team in the locker room reminding them to enjoy their time on the team.
  • Locker room tradition: Listen to reggae exclusively in the locker room
  • Language Tradition: “Sue.” Reed explained that when there are two players of the same name on the team one will be refered to as “Sue.” This is a tradition that is handed down by an older player who was also called “Sue.”

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file): Dartmouth Rugby Lore, Reed Kuivila

Transcripts:

  • “We like to use the saying they may be bigger than us but we’re slower. Just because we are seen as the underdog sometimes.”
  • “Our cheer at the end of the game is Dartmouth, Dartmouth, Team.”
  • “Usually the captain who has just graduated writes a message to the underclass man on the white board saying enjoy your time here…. We also listen to reggae in the locker room exclusively that’s a locker room tradition that we have.”
  • “In 2003 or something there were two people on the team both named Max and they played very similar positions, they were both centers. The coach kept confusing them because when he would say Max they would both respond, so started calling one of them “Sue”. This tradition has been maintained and passed down and now every time a player called “Sue” graduates he gives the name to an underclassman who shares the same name with someone.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “We like to use the saying they may be bigger than us but we’re slower:” Reed referred to this saying as a fun one to do.
  • “Dartmouth, Dartmouth, Team:” Reed didn’t elaborate on this chant he only noted that it is consistently don’t after every game.
  • Captain’s note: Reed did note that this “usually” happens, so it doesn’t always.
  • “Sue:” Reed talked at length about this specific language tradition.

Collector’s Comments:

  • “We like to use the saying they may be bigger than us but we’re slower:” It is interesting that the team leans into their sometimes underdog status. I would venture to say that this allows them to go into each game with a little extra fight in them.
  • “Dartmouth, Dartmouth, Team:” This consistent chant seems to tie the team to the school and allow them to play with pride for it Dartmouth.
  • Captain’s note: This tradition ties the old to the new and remind the current players to be thankful for what they have being a part of the team.
  • Reggae: This likely allows the team to calm their minds before and after games and allow them to enjoy their time in the locker room.
  • “Sue:” This is a funny but also useful tradition.

Collector’s Name: Geoff Weber

Tags/Keywords:

  • Dartmouth Rugby
  • Language
  • Tradition

 

Title: Dartmouth Rugby – Marwan Zelmat & Tendo Mutema

General Information about Item:

  • Sports Lore, Phrases, rituals
  • Language: English
  • Countries of Origin: Morocco & Uganda
  • Informants: Marwan Zelmat & Tendo Mutema
  • Date Collected: 5/9/19

Informant Data:

  • Geoff Weber is a male Dartmouth student in the class of 2019. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. During his time at Dartmouth, Geoff was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity and the Dartmouth Dodecaphonics a cappella group.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Marwan is from Houston but was born in France to French Moroccan parents and lived there a good portion of his life. He knew about rugby because of his French heritage but had never played so joined to make more friends his first term at Dartmouth. He played all 4 years. Tendo lives in Cincinnati but is Ugandan and spends a lot of time in both places. He played varsity sports in high-school and wanted another team to be a part of in college. He joined Dartmouth Rugby and played for 2 years.
  • Social Context: Dartmouth College Rugby has established its own norms. Marwan and Tendo have learned certain phrases and traditions through their specific social experiences on the Dartmouth Rugby team.

Items:

  • “Rugby docks.” The docks on the river on the outskirts of campus near the rugby fields are referred to as the Rugby docks even though the team doesn’t own them in anyway. The team will swim off the docks after preseason practices together after every preseason practice.
  • “Do it for those that came before you.” Marwan explains that the Dartmouth Rugby team is big on history and tradition.
  • “Fashion Fridays.” Marwan and Tendo explain the tradition of Fashion Fridays where individual team members will come dressed up to practice in cool rugby clothes, often clothes that have been passed down by older players. At the end of fashion Friday the captain or team picks best dressed.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file): Dartmouth Rugby Lore, Marwan Zelmat & Tendo Mutema

Transcripts:

  • “Rugby docks.” “We have this location by the river referred to by most of campus as the rugby docks now even though we don’t own them. It’s where the Rugby team goes and swims every day after preseason practice during hot august.”
  • “Do it for those that came before you.” “Dartmouth Rugby is big on heritage and its history. We often talk about playing for the people who came before you and the people who allowed you to be where you are now.”
  • “Fashion Fridays.” “The day before a game we do a captain’s run practice. We have a bunch of cool rugby pieces and it’s called fashion Fridays and you can come dressed up in rugby clothing and show off what you have and what you’ve been passed down.” “At the end of it all someone is picked best dressed.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “Rugby docks.” Marwan and Tendo seem to talk fondly about this tradition and say they do this after pretty much every preseason practice.
  • “Do it for those that came before you.” Marwan comments that tradition and history are big defining factors and guides for Dartmouth Rugby.
  • “Fashion Fridays.” Marwan and Tendo both elaborate for a while on fashion Fridays. Tendo notes that picking a winner at the end adds an element of competitiveness to it and Marwan says it’s a pretty cool tradition.

Collector’s Comments:

  • “Rugby docks.” It is interesting that the team has become so associated with the docs by the river that they are now referred to as the “rugby docks”. This is likely due to the docs close proximity to the rugby fields but also shows the consistence of their tradition of swimming there and there physical association with the docks.
  • “Do it for those that came before you.” Marwan makes clear in his comment on this saying that tradition matters deeply to Dartmouth rugby. One can really see that in these words.
  • “Fashion Fridays.” This is a funny casual tradition with elements of competitiveness and fun, allowing the guys to be goofy and have a nice time while maintaining competitive spirit.

Collector’s Name: Geoff Weber

Tags/Keywords:

  • Dartmouth Rugby
  • Language
  • Tradition
  • Heritage

Additional Dartmouth Rugby Interview: 

Rafa Brantley Interview

 

Title: Dartmouth Women’s Swim and Dive Team (DWSD) – Caroline Poleway

General Information About This Item:

  • Swimming Lore – Superstitions, Traditions, Sayings
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Caroline Poleway
  • Date Collected: 5/20/19

Informant Data:

Caroline Poleway is a member of the Dartmouth Women’s Swim and Dive Team (DWSD) and member of the Dartmouth College Class of 2019.  Caroline is from Westchester, New York, and has been swimming for over sixteen years.  During her time at Dartmouth, Caroline was a four-time varsity letter recipient and regularly qualified to swim at the Ivy League Championship. Caroline was a member of the 400-medley relay team at the 2019 Ivy League Championship that broke the Dartmouth College school record.  Caroline was the captain of Dartmouth Women’s Swim and Dive Team her senior year. Caroline has officially retired from swimming and will be living in New York City after her graduating from Dartmouth in June 2019.

Contextual Data:

Dartmouth Women’s Swim and Dive Team (DWSD) is and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 team competing in the Ivy League.  The team is comprised of 30 athletes: 26 swimmers and 4 divers.  Last season (2018-2019), DWSD placed sixth out of eight teams at the end of season Ivy League Championship.  The team practices at Dartmouth College in the Karl Michael Pool and travels in the winter season across the East coast to compete.  The team is coached by head swim coach James Holder, head diving coach Chris Hamilton and assistant coaches Milana Socha and Helaina Sacco

https://dartmouthsports.com/roster.aspx?roster=549&path=wswim

Items:

Team Dinners: As a way to get to know each other and introduce the freshman to the team, DWSD has team bonding dinners.  These dinners frequently consist of 4:30pm Class of 1953 Common’s (FOCO), where the athletes play ice breaker games such as rose and thorn or two truths and one lie.  The purpose of these games is to get to know teammates outside of the pool setting as individuals rather than competitors.

Team Mottos: A common catchphrase that can be heard on the pool deck is “fire it up”.  Caroline was not sure where is phrase originated.  This saying is used before hard practices or meets to motivate teammates to try their hardest.

Locker Room Name Tags: As a “get to know you” activity, all members of DWSD complete a name tag before each season.  These name tags are full of fun facts and information about the athletes and hang on the lockers of the athletes.  The name tags serve as both decoration for the locker room and help teammates get to know each other better (see attached image below)

Individual Pre-Meet Rituals: Caroline has a very specific meal that she eats before every meet.  Caroline’s pre-meet breakfast consists of toast, banana, Emergen-c, coffee.  Caroline referred to this as “ridiculous”, but she gets nervous before meets if she doesn’t eat exactly this meal.

Team Post-Season Ritual: After competing at the Ivy League Championship meet, DSWD has a tradition of celebrating with a large team dinner and “letting loose” with champagne for those that are over the age of 21.  This dinner is meant to celebrate the success of the season and to relax with teammates after many long months of training.

Varsity Sweater Superstition: After completing their first season on DWSD athletes earn a varsity letter and receive a varsity sweater.  It is considered bad luck on both the Men’s and Women’s teams to wear your varsity sweater before you graduate.  It is believed that if you wear your sweater before you graduate, you will swim slow or quit swimming.

Team Language: Caroline notes that there are specific nicknames and abbreviations among the Swim Team.  For example, Caroline is frequently referred to as “CP” by her teammates.  No one outside of the Swim Team calls her this.  Additionally, there are phrases such as “SOS”, which stands for “Swimmers on Saturday”, that are specific to swim.  Swimmers on Saturday are combined Men’s and Women’s team dinner.

Associated File:

Caroline’s Interview

Caroline’s Roster Photo

Locker Room Name Tag Photo

 Informant’s Comments:

Team Dinners: “The Women’s team will do a team dinner where we get to know each other and we’ll play silly little bonding games, like rose and thorn of the day, or even three truths and a lie, and that a lot of fun.  Sometimes we go on camping trips or rent a cabin we’ll all hang out and go there for a night, which is super nice.”

Team Mottos: “Our team always says, ‘fire it up’.  I am not sure if that is a motto or a saying but that is one thing that is a catchphrase that has stuck on that we use.”

Locker Room Name Tags: “Every year we have the freshman fill out these questions about themselves and then we make posters to put on their locker, which is nice.  We normally try to clean it [the locker room] out.”

Individual Pre-Meet Rituals: “I have to eat certain things before I swim, and I have to eat the same exact thing.  Before I swim, I will always eat a piece of toast, a banana, I have to drink Emergen-c, but I also have to drink a coffee. It kind of gets ridiculous but if I don’t eat that I get super nervous.”

Team Post-Season Ritual: “At the end of the year, the Women’s team has a big dinner and celebrates with a little champagne, which is fun, and getting together and letting loose.”

Varsity Sweater Superstition: “There is one weird superstition. After your freshman year you get a varsity letter sweater.  The team believes that if you wear the sweater before you are done swimming you’ll quit.  So, you have to wait until you are done swimming before you can wear it.”

Team Language: “We have nicknames that are a little specific to the team.  People all me CP, but people outside the team don’t call me CP.  We have a few other acronyms that are specific to the team.  Like, we say swimmers on Saturday, which is SOS.  On some Saturdays we will have a huge team dinner which is super fun but like no one [not on the Swim Team] would ever know what it meant.” 

Collector’s Comments: Caroline’s mention of the varsity sweater superstition was something that came up in multiple interviews with both the Men’s and Women’s Swim Team members.

Collector’s Name: Sam Norton

Tag’s/Keywords:

  • Dartmouth Swimming
  • Superstitions
  • Traditions
  • Sayings

 

Title: Dartmouth Women’s Swim and Dive Team (DWSD) – Eleanor Zwart

General Information About This Item:

  • Swimming Lore – Team Language, Tradition, Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Eleanor Zwart
  • Date Collected: 5/12/19

 Informant Data:

Eleanor is a member of the Dartmouth Women’s Swim and Dive Team (DWSD) and member of the Dartmouth College Class of 2022.  Eleanor is from Durham, New Hampshire and has been swimming since she was five years old.  The past 2018-2019 swim season was Eleanor’s first season competing at the collegiate level. Outside of DSWD, Eleanor is actively involved in Camp Kesem, a summer camp for children whose parent or guardian had or has cancer.

Contextual Data:

Dartmouth Women’s Swim and Dive Team (DWSD) is and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 team competing in the Ivy League.  The team is comprised of 30 athletes: 26 swimmers and 4 divers.  Last season (2018-2019), DWSD placed 6th out of eight teams at the end of season Ivy League Championship.  The team practices at Dartmouth College in the Karl Michael Pool and travels in the winter season across the East coast to compete.  The team is coached by head swim coach James Holder and head diving coach Chris Hamilton and assistant coaches Milana Socha and Helaina Sacco

https://dartmouthsports.com/roster.aspx?roster=549&path=wswim

Items:

Team Language: DWSD has its own unique language comprised of inside jokes and associations that non-swimmer would not understand.  Eleanor could not think of any specific examples during her interview.

Secret Psycher: Before swim meets, DWSD participates in secret psycher.  Secret psycher is comparable to secret Santa and consists of the athletes getting anonymously paired with each other and getting each other gifts in preparation for swim meets.

Individual Pre-Meet Rituals: Eleanor has a specific pre-meet ritual which consists of a stretching pattern.  She does the same stretching pattern before every race.

Superstition: Eleanor notes that there are superstitions in swimming.  She struggled to think of any specific examples during her interview but said, “don’t do weird things before meets or races because that would be bad luck.”

Associated File:

Eleanor’s Interview

 Informant’s Comments:

Team Language: “There is sort of a lingo or language that you develop that other people might not understand.  Like we have our team cheers that we do before meets or before races.”

“There will be references It’s not so much [swim] language but inside jokes.  If someone says a word people will all be thinking the same thing but someone else who is not on the team would not understand.”

Secret Psycher: “Our team does secret psycher.  Before meets and stuff you will get assigned someone else and you will a little gift, but you won’t tell them who it is.  You will make them fun posters or something or sending them fun blitzes like psyching them up for the meet and getting them hyped.  Get them a small gift of food or random things that you know they like.”

Individual Pre-Meet Rituals: “Right before I race, I have stretching patterns that I do that have be the same before each race and I will talk to my teammates right before [a race] and they help me get hyped up.”

 Superstition: “Don’t do weird things before meets or races because that would be bad luck.”

 Collector’s Comments: Multiple members of DWSD mentioned secret psycher in their interviews.

 Collector’s Name: Sam Norton

 Tag’s/Keywords:

  • Dartmouth Swimming
  • Team Language
  • Tradition
  • Superstition

 

Title: Dartmouth Men’s Swim and Dive Team (DMSD) – Ethan Moon

General Information About This Item:

  • Swimming Lore – Tradition, Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Ethan Moon
  • Date Collected: 5/20/19

 Informant Data:

Ethan Moon is a member of the Dartmouth Men’s Swim and Dive Team (DMSD) and member of the Dartmouth College Class of 2022.  Ethan is from Dunwoody, Georgia, and has been swimming for over eight years.  Ethan studies sociology and music at Dartmouth.  Ethan also writes for the College paper, The Dartmouth.

Contextual Data:

Dartmouth Men’s Swim and Dive Team (DMSD) is and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 team competing in the Ivy League.  The team is comprised of 27 athletes: 24 swimmers and 3 divers.  Last season (2018-2019), DMSD placed eighth out of eight teams at the end of season Ivy League Championship.  The team practices at Dartmouth College in the Karl Michael Pool and travels in the winter season across the East coast to compete.  The team is coached by head swim coach James Holder and head diving coach Chris Hamilton and assistant coaches Milana Socha and Helaina Sacco

https://dartmouthsports.com/roster.aspx?path=mswim

 Items:

 Team Pre-Season Team Bonding Activities: One of the memorable team bonding activities Ethan recalled was “Spauldo”, a wilderness expedition lead by Dartmouth Peak Performance Assistant Athletic Director Steven Spaulding.  This activity consisted of both the Men’s and Women’s teams carrying canoes on their backs for roughly three miles through the wilderness.  The team then had to use string to form a large raft and glided to the center of a pond before singing the Dartmouth College alma mater.

Back Pool Tradition: The Karl Michael Pool where DMSD practices has two main practice pools, the Karl Michael Pool and Spaulding Pool.  The Spaulding Pool was first constructed in 1919 and still contains its original mosaic tiling.  The athletes refer to Spaulding Pool as the “back pool”.  During his interview, Ethan says that the Men’s swim team loves the back pool, specifically the logo that was built into the original tiling.

Individual Pre-Meet Rituals: Ethan never eats before swim meets.  This is not typical for swimmers, as most swimmers eat high calorie meals in preparation for racing.

Team Pre-Meet Ritual: – DMSD always does a cheer before meets.  Ethan claims that without doing the cheer, he gets in his head.

Back Pool Superstition:  DMSD believes that the water in the Spaulding Pool (back pool) is magical.  The swimmers find that they always swim faster in Spaulding Pool in comparison to Karl Michael Pool.

 Associated File:

 Ethan’s Interview

Spaulding Pool Logo

Transcripts:

Team Pre-Season Team Bonding Activities: “We do Spauldo, which was an event where we took canoes and we had to carry them for like three miles to this lake, or really it was more of a pond, and we built this ganky platform with canoes and string.  We had to float to the middle and sing the alma mater. Then we had to take it all back.”

 Back Pool Tradition: “A big tradition that we do partake in is the back pool.  We just love the back pool.  The logo in particular – it’s cool.”

Individual Pre-Meet Rituals: “I never eat before swim meets, which people tell me is bizarre, because you have to eat compete, but I never eat before I swim.”

Team Pre-Meet Ritual: “We always do a cheer together, something simple, just like spelling out Dartmouth.  The coaches will give us a little break down.  I feel like if we don’t go through this whole process, as dumb as it seems, it gets in your head.  You need to do it.”

Back Pool Superstition: “There is a superstition that the back pool water is magical.  We always swim well in the back pool.  That is why we love the back pool.”

 Collector’s Comments: The Spaulding Pool tradition is unique to DMSD.  The Women’s Swim Team does not partake in this tradition.

Collector’s Name: Sam Norton

 Tag’s/Keywords:

  • Dartmouth Swimming
  • Tradition
  • Superstition

 

Additional Dartmouth Swimming Interviews: 

Connor LaMastra – Dartmouth College Men’s Swimming (part 1)

Connor LaMastra – Dartmouth College Men’s Swimming (part 2)

Hugh McKenzie – Dartmouth College Men’s Swimming

Mia Newkirk – Dartmouth College Women’s Swimming

 

Title: Dartmouth Women’s Rugby (DWR) – Alex Conway

General Information About This Item: 

  • Rugby Lore – Superstitions, Traditions, Sayings
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Alex Conway
  • Date Collected: 5/6/19

Informant Data: 

Alex Conway is a member of the Dartmouth Women’s Rugby Team (DWR) and a member of the Dartmouth College Class of 2020. Alex is from Potomac, Maryland, and has been playing rugby for two and a half years. During her time at Dartmouth, Alex and her team have won two Ivy League Championships and one national championship. In addition, Alex was awarded the “Team First Award” her freshman year. 

Contextual Data: 

Dartmouth Women’s Rugby Team (DWR) is a Division 1 National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) team competing in the Ivy League. The team is comprised of 37 athletes. In 2016 and 2017, DWR has won the Ivy League Championship for women’s rugby. The team practices on Brophy Field at the Corey Ford Rugby Clubhouse. The team is coached by head rugby coach Katie Dowty and assistant rugby coaches Stacey Bridges and Kelley Sullivan.

DWR Roster

Items: 

Team Mottos: A motto used before games is “Family.” Alex was not sure where this phrase originated. This saying is used before games in order to pump up the team and remind them that they are all in the game together, or like family. “Win the race” is a motto used to promote hustling and putting in the effort.

Other mottos the team uses are “Up Up Big Green,” “Big dog’s gotta eat,” and “DWR.” Alex was not sure where they originated. They are all used to pump up the team and to create comradery among the players.

Locker Room Tradition: For 15s, which is a game with 15 players per team, there is a traditional song sung before the game in the locker room. Alex is the keeper of the song, which means she is the song caller. The song is passed down each year to the next song caller. It is a call and response song, and the volume the song changes throughout the song. She describes it as a “tribal and hype song.” The attached video clip has the song.

Alex Conway Song

Individual Pre-Game Rituals: Alex goes to Yuri, the trainer, to make sure she is all taped up. She listens to music to hype her up, and after warming up, she comes back to the locker room to “jersey up.” She then prepares to be the song caller because that is her job. She also tightens her ponytail a lot. She does these actions to make sure she is prepared for the game.

Team Pre-Game Ritual: The team goes to Foco together before heading to warmup. In addition, herself and her teammates take a lot of pride in doing their own field setup for the game. Setting up their own field is a long-standing DWR tradition. They do this to prepare for the game and to come together as a team before the game actually starts.

Personal Post-Game Rituals: Alex uses ice bags right away after the game.

Team Post-Game Ritual: After every game, there is a potluck dinner with the opposing team. This is a way to show comradery. They do “Player of the Match,” where the Dartmouth team picks the best player of the match from the other school, and the other school does likewise. The player is awarded a DWR T-shirt. This is a DWR tradition that has been going on for an unspecified number of years. This is done to show that they can be cordial and even friendly with the opposing team, even though they are competitors. This shows their good sportsmanship.

White Jersey Superstition: The team has both green jerseys and white jerseys. Alex says the team feels more “legit” in the white jerseys. She is not sure where this superstition originated.

Team Language: There are certain calls for formations. Some of the calls are named “Superman,” “Hulk,” and “Flash.” These calls are specific to the DWR team. They have been around for a while, as they are the calls that have been used for an unspecified number of years. In addition, there are calls for contesting rucks, such as “Fire” and “Ice.” This is language that is specific to the DWR team and that is a bonding factor for the team.

Associated Files:

Alex Conway Interview

Alex Conway Roster

Informant’s Comments: 

Team Mottos: “We’re really big into breaking out with the word ‘Family.’ ‘Family on 3, 1-2-3, Family!’ ‘Up Up Big Green’ is a big one, ‘DWR.’ We have a saying called, ‘Win the race,’ which is just about hustling, like even when you know that you have more time to get back in line on defense, like ‘Win the race.’ Putting in the effort even though it might not be quote on quote needed. ‘Big dog’s gotta eat’ is something we’ll say in the scrum that’s kinda catching on.”

Locker Room Tradition: “So for 15s, we have like a pre-game song…the games are only 14 minutes long. But for 15s, in the locker room we have this song. I’m actually the keeper of the song, or the song caller, which is something I’ll get to pass down when I graduate…(See video for song) and so then, you start quiet. And I start it at like a whisper, and then slowly we build up to where we’re screaming…we’re like screaming this. And then after you get like really loud, you go back to really quiet, and then you go right back to really loud like without the escalation. So it’s just like a really cool like tribally like hype song. And then after that, like after the last chorus verse, whatever, then we’re like ‘Let’s go Dartmouth!’ and then we like high-five and people like scream a little bit.”

Individual Pre-Game Rituals: “I don’t do anything too special. I’ll go to Yuri, who’s our trainer, and I’ll make sure like I’m all taped up. I’ve got like an ankle problem that’s pretty persistent, so like I’ll make sure I’m taped. Sometimes I’ll listen to some music, like no specific song, but just like something to get me hyped. And then we do like, we go out, we warm up, and then we come back in to like “jersey up” and put on our jerseys. And usually when we jersey up, like for me because I’m the song caller, like then that’s kinda part of my pre-game ritual, and I’ll get to start that. Oh, I’ll like tighten my ponytail a lot.”

Team Pre-Game Rituals: “We all go to Foco before we go over for practice, or for like warmup. And then also one thing we take a lot of pride in is doing our own field setup. Like Dartmouth obviously is like a D-1 Ivy League institution, and like if we really wanted to, we could probably ask facilities to help us do the field setup, like move the benches, but that’s like something that we like to do ourselves. So we’ll go do the field setup…”

Personal Post-Game Rituals: “Ice bags…immediately, wherever I need them. Usually my ankle needs an ice bag pretty soon.”

Team Post-Game Ritual: “There is a big culture of comradery between the teams. Instead of like a ‘we hate them,’ there’s usually like a potluck after, and you eat with the other team and try to intermingle with them. It’s really great. So then you like head upstairs in the locker room, like if we’re at a home game. And we’ll have like pizza, or like some salads, or like maybe the parents have made food. And then we do something called ‘Player of the Match’ where we call everyone together, and one person from our team stands up and is like ‘Hey, Middlebury! We really enjoyed playing you guys. We’d like to recognize player #10 as your Player of the Match,’ and we give them a Dartmouth Women’s Rugby T-shirt as an exchange in that way.”

White Jersey Superstition: “We like to wear white outfits. We have like a green on green and then like a white on white. It feels more legit in white.”

Team Language: “We have certain calls for things, so there’s this thing called a line out in rugby, which is the way that you get the ball back into play once it’s gone out of bounds. To name our different formations for the line out, we’ll say like ‘Superman,’ ‘Hulk,’ ‘Flash,’ so there’s like a superhero theme for that…Yeah, that’s specific to us. Yeah, it’s kind of like in football when you hear people going ’42-29-10.’ I don’t know what I’m talking about. So we’ll have like those kinds of names. Besides that, secret language…oh yeah, like just our calls for ‘Fire, ice, and the ruck,’ like whether you want to contest a ruck or not contest a ruck. It’s like secret calls for universal rugby principles and plays.” 

Collector’s Comments: Alex’s mention of the pre-game song and the team pre-game rituals were also brought up in other interviews with other members of DWR team.

Collector’s Name: Josie Pearce

Tag’s/Keywords:

  • Dartmouth Women’s Rugby
  • Superstitions
  • Traditions
  • Sayings

Additional Dartmouth Women’s Rugby Interviews:

Allison Tong Interview

Marin Pennel Interview

 

Title: Dartmouth International Students – Katarina Nesic

General Information About This Item: 

  • International Sports Lore – Superstitions, Traditions, Sayings
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: Serbia
  • Informant: Katarina Nesic
  • Date Collected: 5/10/19

Informant Data: 

Katarina Nesic is a member of the Dartmouth College Class of 2020. She is an international student from Serbia who played volleyball in her home country.

Contextual Data: 

Katarina is from Serbia, and she played volleyball for ten years. She started playing club volleyball and then played professionally until she was injured in high school. She played volleyball from first grade through sophomore year of high school. During her time at Dartmouth, Katarina has played intramural volleyball briefly and just for fun.

Items: 

Pre-Season Team Bonding Activities: There was a team scavenger hunt in the park next to her school. This was a tradition practiced for an unspecified number of years. This tradition was done as a team bonding activity before the volleyball season started.

Individual Pre-Game Rituals: Katarina would make sure that her socks were put on a certain way. She would always do her left foot and then her right foot. She would also make sure the emblem on the sock was in the exact right spot. She did this because it helped her feel in control before the game, and it gave her something to focus on.

Team Pre-Game Ritual: The captain and coach would speak, preparing the team for the game. There were also chants that created a stronger team bond before important games. The chants were mostly of the team name. These rituals happened yearly and were continued because of the importance they served to the team bond and energy before the game.

Team Post-Game Ritual: If the team won, they would all meet up in the locker room after the game. They would talk about what could have gone better and what went well. They would also get a meal after the game. This provided an opportunity for the team to reflect, celebrate, and grow closer as a team.

Jersey Superstition: Every time they wore a green and white jersey, they would think they were going to lose. They had a red jersey that they won every game in when they wore it, so the team preferred to wear that jersey. If the team wore the red jersey, they had a superstition they would win.

Team Language: The team members had nicknames. Her nickname was based off of her last name, but it is actually a guy’s name in her native language. However, she liked the nickname. Many other players had nicknames, as well. Nicknames create a sense of team cohesion and exclusivity.

Associated Files:

Katarina Nesic Interview

Informant’s Comments: 

Pre-Season Team Bonding Activities: “Yes, we did. So, we have like this park that was near the school that we played in. So, we would just like do a scavenger hunt.”

Individual Pre-Game Rituals: “I would make sure that my socks are like, that I put my socks a certain way. So I would always do my left foot first and then my right, and then there was a sign on the socks that I would make sure was in the exact spot I wanted it to be.”

Team Pre-Game Ritual: “We would have a pep talk. Our captain would speak, and then our coach would speak…And chanting, that sounds weird and culty, but that would just like create a stronger bond between us I feel like. And we would do that before really really important games.”

Team Post-Game Ritual:  “If we won, it was more of a collective thing. We would all meet up at the locker room after and talk about what could’ve gone better and what went well. We would also get a meal right after.”

Jersey Superstition: “Every time we would wear like this green and white jersey, we felt like that we would lose, so we like avoided that one at all costs. We had a red one that we thought, like we won every single game in that red one so we kinda created a superstition that if we wore that one, we would win.”

Team Language: “We just had like nicknames based off of our own names. For me, my last name is Nesic in Serbian. People would just call me “Nesha,” which is like a guy’s name, and it’s super weird, but I kinda digged it.”

Collector’s Comments: Katarina’s individual pre-game rituals and the collective team talk before the game were common among international students. Other international students had personal superstitions/rituals that were not specific to the team.

Collector’s Name: Josie Pearce

Tags/Keywords:

  • Dartmouth International Students
  • Superstitions
  • Traditions
  • Sayings

 

Title: Dartmouth International Students – Cristoforo Coppola

General Information About This Item: 

  • International Sports Lore – Superstitions, Traditions, Sayings
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: Italy/Switzerland
  • Informant: Cristoforo Coppola
  • Date Collected: 5/7/19

Informant Data: 

Cristoforo Coppolais a member of the Dartmouth College Class of 2019. He is an international student from Italy who studied, played soccer, and skied in Switzerland. He was the captain of his soccer team for a few years.

Contextual Data: 

Cristoforo is from Italy, and he played soccer for as long as he can remember. He started skiing when he was six or seven years-old. He played soccer more often than he skied because there was not much snow where he lived. During his time at Dartmouth, he was on the club skiing team for some time. He was also on the club soccer team, but he had to quit due to a health issue.

Items: 

Team Mottos: The soccer team did a soldier chant that was translated into sports. It is the Spartan chant based on the story of 300 Spartans who go to fight the Persian Army. (See video clip) They would repeat the chant to pump up the team members for the game. This chant was a tradition for an unknown number of years in the soccer club.

Cristoforo Coppola Chant

Individual Pre-Game Rituals: For soccer, Cristoforo likes for things to be very organized, so he did not rush the process of getting ready for the game. He washed his face before the game to get his mind in the game.

For skiing, before races, there was a whole ritual to get to know the course. He would have to remember each important part of the course. He would go by himself or with someone else to go through the course in their minds. This helped him feel at peace with the course before he skied.

Team Pre-Game Ritual: Before the soccer match, there was a ritual of coming into the changing room and being respectful, such as allowing fellow teammates to concentrate. Before the match, the entire team would huddle, and the captain would say a few words to pump up the team for the game. This was done before every game, so it was a strong tradition that helped foster community among the players.

For skiing, before every big race, they had hot chocolate meetings. The captain and the coach would give speeches on how important it was for the specific weekend to do well in the race. This allowed the team to bond and for all of the skiers to get into the right mental space.

Team Post-Game Ritual: Every time after a soccer match, the team would have dinner together because the matches would end late. They would go for a treat, like pizza, after a really hard match. They would also receive feedback on the game. This was a good bonding experience for the team, and it became a tradition because they did it after every game.

With skiing, the post-game rituals also revolved around food. Because Cristoforo and his teammates were a bit older, the coach would allow them to grab a beer to celebrate if they did well.

Superstition: For soccer, he had a specific type of socks he liked to wear. He would wear two different types of socks, one on top of the other. He did not want to change it because that is how he had always done it, and he did not want to change his tradition.

Team Language: For soccer, they added “-iño” to the end of people’s names to make it a nickname. They made fun of the coach and imitated his accent because he was Swiss and very strict. This created inside jokes for the teammates.

Associated Files:

Cristoforo Coppola Interview

Informant’s Comments: 

Team Mottos:  “The Spartan chant was, because it’s the story of the 300 Spartans who go fight against the Persian Army. And they lose in the end, but there are 300 of them, and they do extremely well for a couple of days. They become these heroes for Sparta of like glory and courage. And the chant goes like…in the movie, it goes something along the lines, ‘Spartans, what is your profession?’ and all the Spartans shout like, ‘Ahou, Ahou.’ We’ll kill them basically, and we sort of repeated that in sports terms, obviously.”

Individual Pre-Game Rituals:

Soccer- “I like things to be very clean. I put my stuff first, very organized. I didn’t want to rush the process. I was more the quiet kind of guy. Some people started juggling in the middle of the changing room. Some people would have their headphones and things, but I was just trying to…I guess I wash my face before to…yeah, get in the game.”

Skiing- “Before races, there was a whole like ritual, actually much more important than football because you need to do what we call…it means getting to know the course of the piece. So we used to go down there, and there’s a whole like, you have to remember each sort of important part of the piece. That was what I would do when I go up, either by myself or with someone, ‘left turn, difficult, take it this way, right turn,’ you know, we would go through the piece together.”

Team Pre-Game Ritual:

Soccer- “Before the match, I guess there was a whole ritual of coming into the changing room and being respectful because some people wanted to concentrate, like no loud music, that kind of stuff. Before the match, we would like always huddle. Someone, the captain, would say…I was the captain for a few years. Someone would make a speech, you know, like why, the importance to motivate the players and we would go…”

Skiing- “And also another ritual with skiing is before every big race we would have this big like meeting with the whole team, Hot Chocolate Meeting. That’s what we used to call it. The captains of the team would give a speech, the coach would give a speech how important it is for the specific weekend to do well in the race and like what to make sure to bring all their stuff for the race.”

Team Post-Game Ritual:

Soccer- “Every time after a match, we definitely always have dinner together because the matches would end late. We would either go to McDonalds or like something just to treat ourselves after a really hard match, pizza or whatever, you know, something more light…The dinner is the most important ritual, like just feedback on the game, just laughing, getting to be together…”

Skiing- “With skiing, also it was just mainly around food. A couple of times when we were older, because in Switzerland you can drink at sixteen, the coach would be like ‘If you want to go out and have a beer tonight…” he would be very nice. He would go have a beer with us, only if we did well, though. If not, he didn’t want to see us.”

Superstition: “For soccer, I had specific socks that I like to wear, like type of socks. Like normally, you wear long songs on top of your shin guards and normally like the socks are all one sock, and I would buy this sock. I would basically put one small sock and then a bigger one on top which didn’t have the bottom end. So it’s like a very specific thing. And I would always do it just because that’s how I’ve always done it and I didn’t want to change it. So I guess you would call that a superstition.”

Team Language: “In soccer, we tended to take the name of someone and add like a “-iño” at the end, which makes you like Brazilian. My friend, Magid, we used to call him Magidiño. Inside jokes…I mean, we made fun of the coach outside training grounds to imitate his accent. He’s very Swiss, very strict. And so we used to do that outside, obviously not in front of him. We would make fun of him and stuff, imitate him, always in a joking way, but pretty fun.”

Collector’s Comments: Cristoforo’s sock ritual is very similar to other international students and other women’s rugby players at Dartmouth. Many athletes are very particular about their socks, almost like a superstition of their own.

Collector’s Name: Josie Pearce

Tags/Keywords:

  • Dartmouth International Students
  • Superstitions
  • Traditions
  • Sayings

Additional Dartmouth International Student Interviews:

Asaad Al Raeesi Interview (Oman)

Stefanos Beninnk Interview (France)

 

Overall Interpretation

Traditions and rituals play a large role in team and individual sports because of the community and competition aspect. The team is a community that supports one another, so there are rituals that surround this support. 

In the cases when the student-athletes did not know the origin of the tradition or ritual, the traditions and rituals do not lose their meaning. Some of the rituals have been going on for so long that just the history of the ritual is important and meaningful. 

The folklore we collected is all similar to the folklore we discussed in class. We collected, rituals, superstitions, traditions, songs, chants, and specific language. Our group was amazed by all of the folklore that exists right on our own Dartmouth sports teams. 

The superstitions we collected we both contagious and homeopathic magic. For example, the jersey superstitions were contagious because the team was actually wearing a specific jersey. This was also homeopathic, however, because if bad things happen in one jersey, then hopefully by not wearing that specific jersey, bad things won’t happen. 

We collected both individual rituals and team rituals. There is a significance that some things are done on the individual level and other things on the team level. For example, students do not put on their socks together as a team, so there are individual rituals around putting on socks. I think it is most important to know that the individual rituals prepare the athletes for the team rituals and game. Individual rituals allow students to get in a good headspace before they bring their energy to the team as a whole.