SCC Blog

Traditions, Traditions, Traditions…

In our last post, we examined Virginia football’s marketing campaign and effort to build tradition which got me to thinking, what are some traditions that are already ingrained in the fan culture on campuses across the country?  And what, if any, impact does tradition have on the loyalty of each respective fan base?  In reality, this is more of a “fun” post than educational, but there are some relevant lessons.  So, without further ado, here are my top five notable college football traditions:

5) Penn State’s “White Out”

This is as simple a tradition as it gets, but the tradition’s rich history and the fact that so many schools have later piggybacked on the concept helps rocket the Nittany Lions’ time honored tradition of “white outs” at big games. 

The white out occurs when the majority of fans at Beaver Stadium (capacity of 107,000+) are encouraged to dress in white for the game, creating a “white out” effect throughout the stadium. 

4) Oklahoma’s “Sooner Schooner”

Another “live action” tradition involves the ritual performed at Oklahoma home games occur when two white ponies (named “Boomer” and “Sooner”) pull a replica of an old western wagon onto the field.  The Sooner Schooner drives out on to the field in a wide arc after every score with a member of the spirit team waving the university’s flag out the back.

3) Clemson’s “Howard’s Rock” and “Running down the hill”
 
The Tigers football players have a unique way to enter the stadium before home games…they run down a hill.  While this may not sound like the most exciting of rituals, the tradition has been called “the most excited 25 seconds in college football.” 

Wikipedia describes the tradition as such:  “After exiting the stadium on the west side, the players load into 2 buses which, escorted by a policeman on a motorcycle, makes its way around the stadium to the east side where The Hill is located. This scene is shown on the JumboTron inside the stadium. When the buses arrive at the east side the players get out and gather at the top of the hill and stand around Howard’s Rock, once most of the players are out of the buses and ready to go a cannon sounds, the band begins to play Tiger Rag and the players make their way down the hill. The spelling out of C-L-E-M-S-O-N during this Tiger Rag is one of, if not the, loudest times it will be spelled out during the game.”

PRIOR to running down the hill, the team rubs “Howard’s rock” to symbolize a vow to put forth total effort.

2) Colorado’s “Running of Ralphie”

Colorado’s “Ralphie” is a 1,200+ pound live Buffalo who enters Folsom Field just prior to kickoff.  Ralphie and his group of handlers make one lap around the field, energizing the crowd as the game starts.  With respect to “Uga” (Georgia’s bulldog), “Mike the Tiger” (LSU) and the other 30 live animal mascots in division one college football, my vote goes to Ralphie as the best.

1) Wisconsin’s “Jump Around”

Okay, full disclosure time here:  I’m originally from the Madison, Wisconsin (Verona) area so I admit to being biased on this one.  And yes, I do realize many would argue that this isn’t much of a “tradition” since it has only been around for about ten years…but still, I can’t think of any traditions that are more fun and energizing that the Badger fans “jumping around” at Camp Randall Stadium.

For those unfamiliar with the tradition, between the 3rd and 4th quarter of every home game Wisconsin fans in the student section dance around to the house of pain song ‘jump around’, literally shaking the stadium. 

Honorable mention:

Army/Navy’s “March”, Southern/Grambling’s “Battle of the bands”, Auburn’s “Tiger walk”, Nebraska’s “Tunnel walk”, Ohio State’s “Dotting of the I”, UCLA/USC’s “Victory bell”, Miami’s “Rock you like a hurricane”, Notre Dame’s “Painting of the helmets”, Iowa’s “Swarm”, Texas Tech’s “Bell ringer”, Florida State’s “War chant” and spear toss at midfield, “Running through the T” at Tennessee, and USC’s “Trojan horse sword”.  Obviously, there are many more traditions and I’m sure I left a few out, so leave it up to your class to uncover more!

*Teacher note:  A quick Internet search will take you to various places on the Web with video footage of each of the traditions.

*** Questions for Classroom Discussion ***

1) What does tradition have to do with the concept of sports marketing?

2) Could traditions like the ones mentioned in this blog post be considered “branding” mechanisms?  Why or why not?

3) Does your school or community have a local tradition that revolves around a sporting event?  Discuss as class. 

4) What impact does tradition have on the loyalty of a fan base?  Why?

5) Internet activity:  Find five examples of college football traditions that are NOT mentioned in this blog post.

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