Tag Archives: Football

A Chant and a Prayer (Tanner Palocsik)

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Title: A Chant and a Prayer

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Magic Superstition, sympathetic
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: C.B.
  • Date Collected: 11-1-21

Informant Data:

  • C.B. is a 21-year-old student athlete at Dartmouth College in the class of 2023. He is from Texas and is on the football team. He was raised very closely to his family and has a special relationship to his father.  

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Superstitions are important to sports teams. In football there are many players on the team that all contribute to the win. In C.B.’s case, Texas football is one of the most serious things in this country. They have a ton of pride in their teams and victory.     
  • Social Context: Team’s rely on every guy to contribute toward a winning effort. C.B.’s superstition came from his father who may have learned it from his father before him or somewhere else, he wasn’t certain of the whole chain. He is strongly religious in the Christian faith and performs his superstition before every game. This is something that puts Cameron in the most optimal mindset heading into

Item:

  • The item here is a superstition unique to C.B. Before every game he calls his father on the phone and says a prayer right before he is about to go on the field. He believes that God’s power gives him strength and confidence going into the game and that this will help him perform to the best of his abilities. Another is a team superstition where they all say the same chant before heading out for the game.

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

Transcript:

  • “I pray with my dad before going out to the field before every game. I started this my freshman year in high school when he would physically be with me to do it but now I just call him before each game right as I’m about to go out to the field and he is expecting it as well. This one originated from my faith and just the fact that I want to glorify God before anything else in my life. I definitely believe strongly in this one.”
  • “As far as team stuff goes, we all start chanting “juice” together loudly in the locker room. Then one of the leaders on the team (it will be the same guy for that whole year) will chant “juice check” three times and then we all finish it off with one more shout saying “juice” And that tradition has been going since I’ve been here”

Informant’s Comments:

  • He believes in these superstitions and believes in their power to help him perform and the team get a win.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I think this is a very powerful superstition. It clearly has some power that enables him and their team to perform. They have an extremely good record and won the Ivy League Championship last year.

Collector’s Name:

Tanner Palocsik

Dartmouth College

Russia 013 Fall 2021

Professors Apresyan and Gronas

Left First (Jack Cameron)

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Title: Left First

General Information about Item:

  • Magic superstition, homeopathic
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: JM
  • Date Collected: 11/08/21

Informant Data:

  • JM is a 21 year old male Dartmouth student in the class of 2023.  He was born and raised in the areas surrounding New Haven, Connecticut. James is a member of the Varsity Football team at Dartmouth, playing the position of Offensive Line. Away from football, James enjoys music and is an avid fan of the old folk band Carlyle Fraser.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Football teams often stretch before their games and practices.  Football is known and practiced as a very combative sport, with plenty of injury and physical toll. Stretching before a game reduces risk of injury, and is often led by seniors or captains on any given team. Offensive Linemen tend to be the biggest people on the football team.
  • Social Context: This specific superstition pertains to all Offensive Linemen on the Dartmouth football team. While this is not necessarily the case for all of the positions, the interviewee was adamant that the Offensive Line face perhaps the most physical toll of all the positions, as their job is to block the defense from tackling their teammates with the ball.

Item:

A stretching routine is very common. Often led by team leaders, seniors or captains, pre-game stretching routines take place in almost all sports across the world. Each stretching routine can be different depending on the sport, but this routine has the Offensive Linemen always stretch the left body part before their right.  

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

Transcript:

“This is me stretching my left hip flexor. Our pregame stretching superstition always starts with the left side first. Left hamstring, then right hamstring. Left calf, then right calf, etc. I think it started almost 10 years ago because it’s luckier to stretch on the heart side first, that way if something gets banged up on the right side we can always say ‘it’s a long way from the heart’ and keep on moving forward.”

Informant’s Comments:

Found this to be interesting and now found that I do lots of things in my day left side first. Put on pants left leg before the right, socks and shoes left before right and such.

Collector’s Comments:

I found this pregame superstition to be quite interesting, especially since it has since carried over into his everyday life. I think that protecting the heart side is an interesting concept that I would highly consider incorporating into my own life for a feeling of safety.  

Collector’s Name:

Jack Cameron

Dartmouth College

Russ013 21F

Prof. Apresyan and Prof. Gronas

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

Fight, Raiders, Fight (Cameron Baller)

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Title: Fight, Raiders, Fight

General Information About Item:

  • Verbal Lore, Fight Song
  • Language: English
  • Origin: Texas Tech University
  • Informant: D.N.
  • Date Collected: 10-28-21

Informant Data:

  • D.N. is a 33-year-old male. He was born and raised in Highland Village, Texas. He currently lives in Corinth, Texas. He has been a high school strength coach for four years and was a strength coach at the collegiate level before that. He played college football at the University of Texas Tech and was a defensive lineman from 2007-2011.

Contextual Data:

  • D.N. attended the University of Texas Tech which was established in 1923 and has deep roots in football especially being in Texas. Their fight song was written in 1930 as part of a contest sponsored by the school newspaper. The song represents the passion and pride that the player, coaches, and fans have for their school. Singing the song in the locker room is a way for the team to take ownership of the locker room and field and that it meant something to play for the university in front of their fans at home.

Item:

  • After games, the team would enter the locker room and sing the school fight song titled “Fight, Raiders, Fight” as seen below. The song is also known as “The Matador Song”. As the team finishes singing the song, the whole team would chant: “In the home of the…” and then give a big yell saying “Raiders!”.

Fight, matadors, for Tech,

Songs of love we sing to thee,

Bear our banners far and wide,

Ever will be our pride,

Fearless champions ever be,

Stand on heights of victory,

Strive for honor evermore,

Long live the Matadors!

“In the home of the…Raiders!”

Transcript:

  • “Post-game we would sing our school fight song as a team and then everybody would finish with the line “In the home of the…” and then everybody would yell “Raiders” really loud.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “I think it was just a way to take ownership of our locker room and our field and that it meant something to play for the university and win football games at home in front of our home crowd.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • I found this fight song to also be a song of unity and togetherness for the team. It honors the university and allows those who sing it remind themselves of the commitment of those before them.

Collector’s Name: Cameron Baller

Tags/Keywords:

  • Verbal Lore
  • Football
  • Locker Room Traditions
  • Song
  • Texas Tech University

Hail Purdue (Cameron Baller)

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Title: Hail Purdue

General Information About Item:

  • Verbal Lore, Fight Song
  • Language: English
  • Origin: Purdue University
  • Informant: C.W.
  • Date Collected: 11-1-21

Informant Data:

  • C.W. is a 31-year-old male. He was born in Arlington, Texas and raised in Grand Prairie, Texas. He currently lives Flower Mound, Texas and works in real estate development. He attended Purdue University and was a kicker on the football team for four years. After his time at Purdue, he had a three-year stint in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts.  

Contextual Data:

  • C.W. attended Purdue University which was established in 1869 and has a rich tradition especially surrounding football. Their fight song was written in 1912 by a student by the name of James R. Morrison. The song represents school pride and is a tradition on the football team that has lasted for a while.

Item:

  • After every win, the football team enters the locker room and sings the Purdue fight song titled “Hail Purdue!” and is seen below. The song is sung differently in the locker room compared to when it is sung elsewhere. When the football team sings it in the locker room, it is done so more quickly and with a clapping cadence which differs from other times it is sung. At the end of the song, the team then gives a shout saying: “Boiler Up!”.

To your call once more we rally;

Alma mater hear our praise;

Where the Wabash spreads it valley,

Filled with joy our voices raise.

From the skies of swelling echoes

Come the cheers that tell the tale

Of your vict’ries and your heroes,

Hail Purdue! We sing all hail!

Hail, hail to old Purdue!

All hail to our old gold and black!

Hail, hail to old Purdue!

Our friendship may she never lack.

Every grateful, ever true,

Thus we raise our song anew

Of the days we’ve spent with you,

All hail our own Purdue!

When in after years we’re turning,

Alma mater, back to you,

May our hearts with love be yearning

For the scenes of old Purdue.

Back among your pathways winding

Let us seek what lies before,

Fondest hopes and aims e’er finding,

While we sing of day of yore.

Hail, hail to old Purdue!

All hail to our old gold and black!

Hail, hail to old Purdue!

Our friendship may she never lack.

Every grateful, ever true,

Thus we raise our song anew

Of the days we’ve spent with you,

All hail our own Purdue!

Transcript:

  • “After the victories, which there weren’t many, we would sing the fight song. And this might be a little bit different than somewhere else because for whatever reason we sang it much faster and with a clapping cadence. So you sing the fight song our in the studnet section or during it game it would be slower but in the locker room it would be really fast with a hand clap throughout the entire process and then a big “Boiler Up!” at the end.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “The fight song itself probably has to do with school pride because it is literally the fight song to fight and win against the opponent. Not too sure why its faster. Maybe that’s just the way that the football team has always done it.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • I found this fight song to be particularly interesting because of its length. Most fight songs that I have seen are not this long but a committed student at Purdue Univesity would happily know the whole song word for word.

Collector’s Name: Cameron Baller

Tags/Keywords:

  • Verbal Lore
  • Purdue University
  • Locker Room Traditions
  • Song
  • Football

Countdown Clock (Cameron Baller)

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Title: Countdown Clock

General Information About Item:

  • Material Lore
  • Language: English
  • Origin: Oklahoma State University
  • Informant: A.W.
  • Date Collected: 10-14-21

Informant Data:

  • A.W. is a 20-year-old male. He was born in Carnegie, Nebraska but was raised in Roanoke, Texas. He currently lives Stillwater, Oklahoma as he attends Oklahoma State University. He majors in mechanical engineering with a discipline in design. He is a student-athlete at Oklahoma State University and is a running back on the football team.

Contextual Data:

  • A.W. attends Oklahoma State University where football is extremely valuable. Each and every weekend in the fall is organized and planned around the team’s game. Therefore, the coaching staff wants to motivate the team each and every week by giving them a clear vision of what they are working for. The countdown clock is a reminder to block out the distractions and make the most out of today because the clock is ticking down to gameday. It creates anticipation and motivation for the team to continue to work hard every time they pass the clock and stay focused on their opponent that week despite all of the outside distractions that may come.

Item:

  • There is a countdown clock at Oklahoma State that is located between the locker room and the weight room. It is a countdown to gameday each week. The clock is first turned on at the beginning of preseason fall camp and is then reset after each game. It counts down to the second for the opening kickoff against their next opponent.
Project or Event Countdown Clocks

Transcript:

  • “Our main tradition is that we have this clock that is between the weightroom and the locker room and its a countdown timer of who our next opponent is. So if we are out in fall camp, it will be counting down for a whole month for the same team but each week it counts down for each game.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “The meaning behind this is to keep the main goal the main goal. Its defintely to focus on who our opponent is each week so that we can take it week by week. It’s a reminder that each week we only have to focus on one opponent. This tradition that been up at Oklahoma State since I’ve been up there and I do not know when it started.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • I thought this countdown clock was extremely interesting because it is a way to keep the team focused on a particular goal and is positioned in a place so that the team can see it every time they enter the locker room as a reminder.

Collector’s Name: Cameron Baller

Tags/Keywords:

  • Material Lore
  • Oklahoma State University
  • Locker Room Traditions
  • Football

Indiana, Our Indiana (Cameron Baller)

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Title: Indiana, Our Indiana

General Information About Item:

  • Verbal Lore, fight song
  • Language: English
  • Origin: Indiana University
  • Informant: A.B.
  • Date Collected: 10-23-21

Informant Data:

  • A.B. is a 19-year-old male. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia but moved to Dallas, Texas when he was four years old and was raised there. He currently lives in Bloomington, India as he attends Indiana University. He is a student athlete at Indiana University who plays football and majors in media.

Contextual Data:

  • A.B. attends Indiana University which was established in 1820 and has rich tradition especially surrounding football. Their fight song was written by Russell P. Harker and first played during a football game in November of 1912. The song represents the passion and pride that the players, coaches, and fans have for their school. They want to first honor God through the Lord’s prayer and then honor and show loyalty to their school by singing the fight song.

Item:

  • Immediately after every game, they enter into the locker and perform the Lord’s prayer. Also, if they won, they would sing their fight song “Indiana, Our Indiana” as seen below. The song is sung three times. The first time it is sung loud and proud, the second time it is sung quietly with snapping, and the third time it is sung loud again with a lot of energy. This tradition has been going for at least 60 years as one of Andy’s coaches who was a former player over 60 years ago used to do the same thing.

Indiana, Our Indiana

Indiana, we’re all for you

We will fight for

The Cream and Crimson

For the glory of old IU

Never daunted, we cannot falter

In the battle, we’re tried and true

Indiana, our Indiana Indiana, we’re all for you!

Transcript:

  • “For one, immediately after the game we come into the locker room and say the Lord’s prayer and give honor to Him first and foremost. And then after a win, we will sing our fight song which is a very cool tradition that we have. We enjoy those wins and like to give glory to the school, each other, and God. We sing our fight song three times. The first time we sing it out loud, and then we do really softly and snap our fingers, and then lastly we sing it really loud and hype.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “I’m not too sure when the tradition started. It has definitely been there for a long time, like at least 60 years. I’m not sure of the meaning behind the fight song at first but to us, its defintely something we look forward to and really enjoy a lot.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • I thought it was interesting that the team will sing the song once softly while snapping thier finger and then sing it loudly at the end. It’s almost like a way to crescendo the energy from the song.

Collector’s Name: Cameron Baller

Tags/Keywords:

  • Verbal Lore
  • Football
  • Locker Room Traditions
  • Indiana University
  • Song