It’s what we do to start the game; It’s what we do between the quarters, at halftime, in third-party conversions and when touchdowns are made; it is what we do that makes us proud of our university and our team. It sets us apart from everyone else in our league and gives us a unique brand of who we are and all that we stand for. It is called tradition, (a state of mind, an inner state of being and an outer manifestation of emotional spirit) or simply putting “pride and joy”.
Whether you show your devotion to a varsity team by the clothing it wears or the gear it accumulates over time, a matter of certainty is that every fan is sure to know, at best, a handful of the many traditions. that are kept on campus or in the football stadium. From adrenaline rushes to chills, from moments of loneliness and silence to moments of deafening chants and roaring from the stadium, there is no college campus or university stadium anywhere where you won’t find a strong and enthusiastic student body or fan base involved.
Speaking of rumblings in the stadium, this is reminiscent of one of Metallica’s favorites. The Hokies of Virginia Tech are known for their explosive “Enter Sandman” entry onto the soccer field as the crowd leaps up and down as music fills the air, causing a rumbling effect throughout the stadium. If you’re a fan of college sports and haven’t visited Lane Stadium for this experience, make it a bucket list item. School mascots representing live animals accompany your team to the field as Uga, the bulldog from the University of Georgia and Ralphie, the huge buffalo from the University of Colorado. Warriors like Tommy Trojan and the University of Southern California Travelers and Chief Osceola riding a beautiful Appaloosa with a flaming spear take center stage to begin their performance on the field.
Others may rub their hands for good luck on important tokens or token structures before leaving the team tunnel or setting foot on the playing field, such as Howard’s Rock from Clemson University and Terrapin from the University of Maryland. Infamous arm movements like the notorious University of Florida alligator bite and hand gestures symbolizing the megaphones of the South Florida Bulls and Texas Longhorns, or the outbreak of chants like “We Are … Marshall” or “Let’s Go … “Tigers”! And then there’s a bit of history to score on things like Georgia Tech’s “Ramblin ‘Wreck” and Oklahoma’s “Sooner Schooner.” Regardless of what any college or university accepts with tradition. These values intersperse a deeper inner feeling of pride and energetic exuberance.
Invariably, the acts of the traditions are not limited to fight songs, school sports colors, game day chants, body movements, team spirit cheers, and scoring rituals, but it is certain that newcomers will learn them and carry them out faithfully game by game, year later. year and decades to come. Many times, countless traditions seem to have been magically, or accidentally, whimsical in the momentum with no real reason or purpose in mind. They may have started as an involuntary moment of joyous expression, sometimes even perpetrated as a kind of joke. Whether by coincidence or by persistence, these college sentiments have all the right things that dwells in the hearts and minds of students and parents, fans and spectators, players and coaches, staff and faculty members to the point where it can be hearing one say: “The color orange is in my blood” or “I bleed purple.” You can’t get any closer to the heart than that.