Best College Traditions

Donate To GopherHole

the Haka at Hawaii???

i HATE it when football teams rip the Haka from the All Blacks. it is absolutely pathetic to see football players all padded up doing this Maori war dance. not only is it culturally important to the Kiwis, but it can only be appreciated when RUGBY players are performing it. it is THE most intimidating sports tradition, full stop.
 

They put "jump around" on the list and not the little brown jug? Jump around is an 11 year old tradition. Pathetic.
 

I don't really feel like clicking on the link.

Did sex with someone else's wife in the Thunderdome bathroom make the list?
 

This list says Mizzou invented homecoming in 1911. Is that true?
 


I don't see how Iowa's visitor's locker room counts as a "tradition". A couple of these are two recent to really be "tradition".

A lot of these traditions that are being highlighted are more because of who has them than about the tradition itself. I'll take the rotating M any time. The students taking off their hats as they pass through the "Hats Off To Thee" gate sounds cool, I wonder if it will catch on. The dome was a big tradition killer. The best traditions get started spontaneously.

A lot of traditions seem to involve touching rocks. When I went to the Air Force game, there was a big rock monument put up by one of the tribes, and lots of people were touching it for luck. Must go back to caveman days.

The BTN was making a big fuss over Michigan's tradition of touching the banner. Doesn't seem that impressive to me, but I a lot of traditions don't seem like much if they aren't yours. As long as we have traditions that mean something to fans, students and alumni, I won't care much if they don't get national press.
 

I dont have any problems with the the U of Hawaii doing the "haka" because its not a new zealand thing but a polynesian. As the Hawaii'ns are polynesian it seems appropriate.
 

RodentRampage said:
I'll take the rotating M any time.
Click to expand...


Yep, I believe this tradition is not only overlooked by the world of college football, but even our own fan base because the damn dome meant everyone showed up after it was over. Script Ohio is very cool and a worthy tradition. But, what makes it cool is the stadium seats are full to see it. The forming and rotating of the M is actually more impressive to see in person. Love it.

I do think some semi-recent "traditions" are quite good... such as Wisconsin's "jump around".
 




One thing that annoys me is when the band is in formation, but the cameras are focused on individual members of the band, instead of showing the whole formation. If you don't have a good angle, you can get a better look at the formation by looking at the scoreboard. But if they are focused on individual band members, you can't get a good look at the formation.

There had been rumors a while ago that the rotating M and marching the M down the field was going to be dropped. I'm glad that idea was sunk.
 

For the record I agree with some and think some are not worthy of making this list. Just a little reading for a Friday Afternoon.

Go Gophers and Go Hogs.
 

MilitaryGopher said:
I dont have any problems with the the U of Hawaii doing the "haka" because its not a new zealand thing but a polynesian. As the Hawaii'ns are polynesian it seems appropriate.
Click to expand...

the two problems i have with it are

1. it is a rugby thing. let's face it, american football players are prima donnas compared to rugby players. having padded football players performing this dance is a disgrace to sporting traditions.

2. the Haka has been performed by the All Blacks before rugby games since before most college football teams were even playing organized football. and it IS specific to new zealand. it is ONE of the many polynesian war dances, the Haka perfomed by the All Blacks is a Maori war dance. it has changed a lot, but it is specific to the Maori. Tonga has its war dance, samoa has its--but the Haka is specific to new zealand.
 

M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A

I'm a little surprised that our spelling out Minnesota at the end of the Rouser didn't make the list. While I admit this is a little homerish on my part, I've been to a lot of college events all over the country. Never, have I seen anything like it. Our fans do it with enthusiasm, it's loud, and quite impressive when a big crowd does it. The first Rouser at TCF Bank Stadium is something I will never forget as long as I live. When Gopher fans rallied at that tiny little mall in Indianapolis during the '97 Final Four, the spelling was so loud my eardrums popped. When Koalska tied the national championship hockey game against Maine in '02 it was simply awesome.

My God, if a 10 acre piece of land in Oxford, MS, a rock in Clemson, SC, and a pink lockerroom in Iowa City, IA can be considered great college traditions, I would think our spelling of the state could find it's way on the list. Again, maybe I'm just a homer. However, that is one of the greatest things about being a Gopher fan. When it's done loud and proud, there's nothing that get's me going more.

Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk! is pretty cool if you ask me. I agree that should be on the list. I would put our spelling of the state in this category, and just as worthy of being on the list. I know, I know! I'm a homer, I get it. :p
 



The rotating M is our best tradition? :(

I agree the Dome sucked the any semblance of fun and tradition from the program. Here's hoping an outstanding, on-campus, outdoor venue will get us back on track.
 

"Willie the Wildcat" instead of Goldy Gopher?? I think not!

How about the tradition of applying a fresh coat of gold infused spraypaint to the Domer helmets before every game? I think that's a cool tradition.

How about Michigan running out of the tunnel under the huge Michigan banner and jumping up to touch it? Deserving of top 30?

College football is FANTASTIC !!. Great traditions that won't and should never go away. What others come to mind for everyone?

Thanks Delta !
 

I love our traditions, the Rotating M (I'll take that over spelling Ohio - how hard is that to spell? :D ), the Swinging Gates, the giant flag on the field, chanting M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A. Hail Minnesota at the end of the game. Of course, I'd like to build up more tradition that just the band. I hope the Ski-U-Mah chant takes root.

We ought to encourage students to come up with potential tradition, sort of like a Survivor for traditions. Try out new stuff, some of it will stick.
 

Yeah...we don't really have much in the way of gameday traditions. That said, touching a rock is totally lame, and the 'haka' does feel ripped off. (doesn't the real world/road rules challenge even do it?)


This thread did remind me of something I was wondering about earlier. It's pretty much off-topic...but that doesn't bother me too much.
In videos I've seen of postgame lockerroom speeches, Brewster does this thing where he checks his watch and says something like "It's 4:29 pm in Minnesota, and the Golden Gophers are 5-4". What's up with that?
 

I would have put the Virginia Tech entrance onto the field during Enter Sandman. It is the best entrance I have ever seen and their student section jumps around way more than the Wisconsin section which made the list.
 

Swinging gates would get more notice if we had been on national tv more.
 

The Swinging Gates or the Rotating M would not normally be on TV, because they are before the coverage of the game starts. The same with spelling out Ohio. A huge part of it is media promotion. The media decides what is, and what is not important football tradition. The Swinging Gates and the Rotating M are much cooler than Michigan's touching the banner, but the media decided that touching a banner is a great tradition.

Maybe the U should engage in some self-promotion, use the rotating M or the swinging gates in advertisements for the U.
 

bigtenchamps1899 said:
the two problems i have with it are

1. it is a rugby thing. let's face it, american football players are prima donnas compared to rugby players. having padded football players performing this dance is a disgrace to sporting traditions.

2. the Haka has been performed by the All Blacks before rugby games since before most college football teams were even playing organized football. and it IS specific to new zealand. it is ONE of the many polynesian war dances, the Haka perfomed by the All Blacks is a Maori war dance. it has changed a lot, but it is specific to the Maori. Tonga has its war dance, samoa has its--but the Haka is specific to new zealand.
Click to expand...

I see what you're getting at. The original "Haka" is a traditional dance of the Maori of New Zealand. However, I find it hard to have issues with Hawaii for calling their dance a "Haka". These days, "haka" has evolved to include most pacific/polynesian dances that include shouting, foot stamping and full body movements. Think of it like a Kleenex. There is only one true Kleenex, but pretty much everyone uses the word Kleenex instead of facial tissue. They just use "Haka" as a generic term to describe what they're doing instead of using, "Hawaiian football player dance that includes foot stomping, yelling and sticking out your tongue"
 

sorry if I'm really stupid, but what is the swinging gates tradition?
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom