Here are the 10 'coolest, unique' traditions in college football, according to the guys at cfbnews.com. Besides the obvious one, which ones do you like best? Any that aren't on this list that should be?
cfbnews.Coolest_Tradition
Coolest Traditions[FONT=verdana, arial, sans serif][SIZE=+1]
What are the most unique traditions?[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=verdana, arial, sans serif]
[/FONT]College football is known for its pageantry, rivalries, and traditions more than any other American sport. From coast to coast, college football programs have their own quirky ways of celebrating the game with unique rituals that can only come from decades of games, along with a deeply rooted passion from the alumni and fans.
So which traditions are the most unique in college football? Which ones are the most identifiable, and which ones inspire the most excitement and stir the deepest feelings? Compiled by the staff of CollegeFootballNews.com, here are the ten most unique traditions based on what they mean to the game, what they mean to each school, and above all else, how cool they are. From the awe-inspiring sights of a 1,300 pound buffalo and 20,000 students jumping around, to the drama of a flaming spear plunged into the ground, to the parties and social gatherings that bring fans together, here’s the very debatable list of the ten most unique traditions.
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[/SIZE][/FONT]1. Texas A&M 12<SUP>th</SUP> Man
No tradition in college football embodies the spirit of the sport more than the Texas A&M 12<SUP>th</SUP> Man. Going against No. 1 Centre College in 1922, the Aggies were scrapping for players in a tough game that took its toll on both sides. A&M head coach Dana X. Bible, in need of more bodies, called up to the press box for E. King Gill, a basketball player who had seen a little bit of time on the football team in previous seasons, to put on a uniform and be prepared to come in if needed. The Aggies pulled off the 22-14 upset without needing Gill’s services, but he stood ready on the sidelines earning the moniker of the Twelfth Man. Now, A&M’s 12<SUP>th</SUP> Man is a student section that stands the entire game prepared in case they’re needed. Former Aggie head coach Jackie Sherrill took it one step further allowing A&M students to form the kickoff coverage unit. It eventually evolved into an honor belonging to one student who gets to play on special teams.
2. Army – Navy game procession
The most endearing and emotional tradition in college football, the procession, also known as the “March-On” of the Army Corps of Cadets and Brigade of Midshipmen, is seen by many as more exciting than the actual game between Army and Navy. The pageantry of the procession is the perfect prelude to one of college football’s most heated, yet most sane, rivalries. It’s as good-natured as a rivalry can possibly be, with everyone in the stadium on the same team when all is said and done.
3. Florida State’s Chief Osceola and Renegade
For pure intensity and excitement, nothing beats the electrifying few moments in Florida State’s Doak Campbell Stadium when a student, dressed up Seminole Tribe leader Chief Osceola, rides on the field on an Appaloosa horse and fires a flaming spear in the middle of the field. FSU graduate Bill Durham created the idea, and then got the approval of the Seminole Tribe, and then got the approval of head coach Bobby Bowden who allowed it to start in 1977. Now, it’s done before every Florida State home game cranking up the intensity level for both sides.
4. Ohio State dotting of the “i”
What would college football Saturdays be without the soundtrack coming from the bands? Every school has a version of a marching band, but Ohio State’s “Script Ohio” is the most impressive and famous with the band forming the word “Ohio” in the middle of the field. Just before the end of “Le Regiment,” the drum major leads a senior sousaphone player out to the top of the “i”, points to the spot where the dot is needed, and the honored band member becomes the dot before bowing to the crowd. It’s the highest honor Ohio State bestows, and has allowed a few select non-band members, like Woody Hayes, to take part.
5. The Grove at Ole Miss
What’s college football without a good tailgate party? The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party before the annual Florida-Georgia game might be the biggest, but the shindigs thrown before Ole Miss home games at the Grove are the best. An oasis in the normally uncivilized world of college football, the Grove is known for dressing up, drinking down, good food, and cream of the crop, Miss America caliber women.
6. Tennessee’s Floatilla
Is there a better way to get to a college football game? In 1962, former Tennessee broadcaster George Mooney got to Neyland Stadium by floating on his boat down the Tennessee River starting the tradition of fans forming the “Volunteer Navy” boating their way to the game. Of course, the galas are tremendous in one of college football’s most unique tailgating parties.
7. Wisconsin’s “Jump Around”
College football is one big party, and no school is better at letting loose than Wisconsin, ranked the number one party school in the nation by The Princeton Review. Adding to the raucous excitement of game day in Madison is the relatively new tradition of making Camp Randall Stadium one big house party after the third quarter of every game. As soon as the quarter ends, the song Jump Around by House of Pain blares over the loudspeakers, and the entire student section, along with the band and many others around the stadium and on the sidelines, jump up and down. The tradition became so wild that there were concerns about the effects on the stadium’s structure. Engineers eventually determined there was no danger, and now the upper deck shaking, human-induced earthquake goes on.
8. Colorado’s Ralphie
In 1966, a rancher named Bubby Hays brought a six-month old buffalo named Ralphie to Folsom Field and walked him around the field. It turned into a tradition with six sophomore students making the trip before each game to Hays’ ranch to run Ralphie around for two hours to tire her out a little bit (yes, the first Ralphie was a girl), and then bring her to the stadium to come charging out of the tunnel while the fans did a “Buffalo Stomp,” sending the crowd into a tizzy. It has become one of the most impressive and intimidating entries in all of college football.
9. Oklahoma’s Sooner Schooner
Started in 1965 after an Oklahoma alum donated the first “Sooner Schooner,” along with the horses to pull it, the covered wagon would cruise around during the game. By 1980, it became the school’s official mascot and was zipped around the field after Oklahoma touchdowns as one of the most identifiable symbols in all of sports.
10. Clemson’s Howard’s Rock
Several schools have inspiring pregame patting rituals. Notre Dame players walk down the stairs of their locker room hitting a sign that says, “Play like a champion today.” Michigan players run out of the tunnel and jump up to hit the “Go Blue” sign. Clemson’s rubbing of The Rock is the most awe-inspiring. Before Clemson games, the team runs stand at the top of a hill, rub Howard’s Rock, and then run down the hill while the crowd goes wild. It started in 1964 when Clemson alumnus S.C. Jones brought a rock back from Death Valley, California and gave it to Tiger head coach Frank Howard. Howard let it sit on his office floor before telling his secondary to “do something with it, but get it out of here.” The secretary ended up keeping the Rock, and it was eventually put on a pedestal on the top of the hill in the stadium in 1966. That day, Clemson rallied in the second half to beat Virginia and the Rock stayed. "If you're going to give me 110 percent, you can rub my rock," Howard barked at his player. "If you're not, keep your filthy hands off of it."
cfbnews.Coolest_Tradition
Coolest Traditions[FONT=verdana, arial, sans serif][SIZE=+1]
What are the most unique traditions?[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=verdana, arial, sans serif]
[/FONT]College football is known for its pageantry, rivalries, and traditions more than any other American sport. From coast to coast, college football programs have their own quirky ways of celebrating the game with unique rituals that can only come from decades of games, along with a deeply rooted passion from the alumni and fans.
So which traditions are the most unique in college football? Which ones are the most identifiable, and which ones inspire the most excitement and stir the deepest feelings? Compiled by the staff of CollegeFootballNews.com, here are the ten most unique traditions based on what they mean to the game, what they mean to each school, and above all else, how cool they are. From the awe-inspiring sights of a 1,300 pound buffalo and 20,000 students jumping around, to the drama of a flaming spear plunged into the ground, to the parties and social gatherings that bring fans together, here’s the very debatable list of the ten most unique traditions.
[FONT=verdana, arial, sans serif]
[/FONT][FONT=verdana, arial, sans serif][SIZE=-2]
[/SIZE][/FONT]1. Texas A&M 12<SUP>th</SUP> Man
No tradition in college football embodies the spirit of the sport more than the Texas A&M 12<SUP>th</SUP> Man. Going against No. 1 Centre College in 1922, the Aggies were scrapping for players in a tough game that took its toll on both sides. A&M head coach Dana X. Bible, in need of more bodies, called up to the press box for E. King Gill, a basketball player who had seen a little bit of time on the football team in previous seasons, to put on a uniform and be prepared to come in if needed. The Aggies pulled off the 22-14 upset without needing Gill’s services, but he stood ready on the sidelines earning the moniker of the Twelfth Man. Now, A&M’s 12<SUP>th</SUP> Man is a student section that stands the entire game prepared in case they’re needed. Former Aggie head coach Jackie Sherrill took it one step further allowing A&M students to form the kickoff coverage unit. It eventually evolved into an honor belonging to one student who gets to play on special teams.
2. Army – Navy game procession
The most endearing and emotional tradition in college football, the procession, also known as the “March-On” of the Army Corps of Cadets and Brigade of Midshipmen, is seen by many as more exciting than the actual game between Army and Navy. The pageantry of the procession is the perfect prelude to one of college football’s most heated, yet most sane, rivalries. It’s as good-natured as a rivalry can possibly be, with everyone in the stadium on the same team when all is said and done.
3. Florida State’s Chief Osceola and Renegade
For pure intensity and excitement, nothing beats the electrifying few moments in Florida State’s Doak Campbell Stadium when a student, dressed up Seminole Tribe leader Chief Osceola, rides on the field on an Appaloosa horse and fires a flaming spear in the middle of the field. FSU graduate Bill Durham created the idea, and then got the approval of the Seminole Tribe, and then got the approval of head coach Bobby Bowden who allowed it to start in 1977. Now, it’s done before every Florida State home game cranking up the intensity level for both sides.
4. Ohio State dotting of the “i”
What would college football Saturdays be without the soundtrack coming from the bands? Every school has a version of a marching band, but Ohio State’s “Script Ohio” is the most impressive and famous with the band forming the word “Ohio” in the middle of the field. Just before the end of “Le Regiment,” the drum major leads a senior sousaphone player out to the top of the “i”, points to the spot where the dot is needed, and the honored band member becomes the dot before bowing to the crowd. It’s the highest honor Ohio State bestows, and has allowed a few select non-band members, like Woody Hayes, to take part.
5. The Grove at Ole Miss
What’s college football without a good tailgate party? The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party before the annual Florida-Georgia game might be the biggest, but the shindigs thrown before Ole Miss home games at the Grove are the best. An oasis in the normally uncivilized world of college football, the Grove is known for dressing up, drinking down, good food, and cream of the crop, Miss America caliber women.
6. Tennessee’s Floatilla
Is there a better way to get to a college football game? In 1962, former Tennessee broadcaster George Mooney got to Neyland Stadium by floating on his boat down the Tennessee River starting the tradition of fans forming the “Volunteer Navy” boating their way to the game. Of course, the galas are tremendous in one of college football’s most unique tailgating parties.
7. Wisconsin’s “Jump Around”
College football is one big party, and no school is better at letting loose than Wisconsin, ranked the number one party school in the nation by The Princeton Review. Adding to the raucous excitement of game day in Madison is the relatively new tradition of making Camp Randall Stadium one big house party after the third quarter of every game. As soon as the quarter ends, the song Jump Around by House of Pain blares over the loudspeakers, and the entire student section, along with the band and many others around the stadium and on the sidelines, jump up and down. The tradition became so wild that there were concerns about the effects on the stadium’s structure. Engineers eventually determined there was no danger, and now the upper deck shaking, human-induced earthquake goes on.
8. Colorado’s Ralphie
In 1966, a rancher named Bubby Hays brought a six-month old buffalo named Ralphie to Folsom Field and walked him around the field. It turned into a tradition with six sophomore students making the trip before each game to Hays’ ranch to run Ralphie around for two hours to tire her out a little bit (yes, the first Ralphie was a girl), and then bring her to the stadium to come charging out of the tunnel while the fans did a “Buffalo Stomp,” sending the crowd into a tizzy. It has become one of the most impressive and intimidating entries in all of college football.
9. Oklahoma’s Sooner Schooner
Started in 1965 after an Oklahoma alum donated the first “Sooner Schooner,” along with the horses to pull it, the covered wagon would cruise around during the game. By 1980, it became the school’s official mascot and was zipped around the field after Oklahoma touchdowns as one of the most identifiable symbols in all of sports.
10. Clemson’s Howard’s Rock
Several schools have inspiring pregame patting rituals. Notre Dame players walk down the stairs of their locker room hitting a sign that says, “Play like a champion today.” Michigan players run out of the tunnel and jump up to hit the “Go Blue” sign. Clemson’s rubbing of The Rock is the most awe-inspiring. Before Clemson games, the team runs stand at the top of a hill, rub Howard’s Rock, and then run down the hill while the crowd goes wild. It started in 1964 when Clemson alumnus S.C. Jones brought a rock back from Death Valley, California and gave it to Tiger head coach Frank Howard. Howard let it sit on his office floor before telling his secondary to “do something with it, but get it out of here.” The secretary ended up keeping the Rock, and it was eventually put on a pedestal on the top of the hill in the stadium in 1966. That day, Clemson rallied in the second half to beat Virginia and the Rock stayed. "If you're going to give me 110 percent, you can rub my rock," Howard barked at his player. "If you're not, keep your filthy hands off of it."
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