Title: Yale Superstitions – Grace Lee

General Information about Item:

• Customary and Verbal Lore, Magic Superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: United States
• Informant: Grace Lee
• Date Collected: 11/15/21

Informant Data:

• Grace Lee is a female student-athlete at Yale University and is in the class of 2023. She is from Colorado and is currently 21 years old. She is living in Connecticut and is currently out of the lineup of her team due to a hamstring injury. She plans to pursue a career in business after college. 

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: The cultural context is being part of a group that participates in the chant that is passed down from team to team.  
• Social Context: The social context is chanting with a group of girls and saying the same words at the same time. They collectively put their arms around each other and say the words in unison. 

Item:

• This item is a customary type of folklore under the genre of magic superstition, and also includes verbal folklore. Grace performs this superstition before each home game. 

Transcript:

• “My coach calls each line into the hallway for a line meeting before each game, encouraging us to work together and we do a small cheer to bring up our energy levels. This allows us to feel motivated and have a positive attitude while working on communication.”

Informant’s Comments:

• Grace described being part of group superstitions rather than individual, commenting that she recommends expanding groups to feel inclusive and more part of a team. 

Collector’s Comments:

• I thought it was unique that Grace only described this superstition and did not mention and individual ones, placing emphasis on how the meeting and chant created a uniqueness to her team that she has never felt before and if they met and did the chant together they had complete trust in each other and would play well. 

Collector’s Name: Currie Putrah