Don't expect Alabama to repeat; do expect awesome traditions in the SEC
by Joel Hollingsworth on Jul 8, 2010 12:01 PM EDT
in Rocky Top Talking Points
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PrintAround the SB Nation today. Okay, the SEC:
- Roll Bama Roll warns fans not to expect to repeat as national champions.
Tailgating and Tradition in the SEC:
- Red Cup Rebellion, on tailgating in the Grove, including "the scenery of the Grove, the beauty of the Ole Miss co-eds, the gentility of the scene, the uniquity of the ritual, and the hospitality of the fans." Oh, and the food. Don't forget the food.
- Arkansas Expats, on calling the hogs:
The post includes several awesome videos, including one of the entire stadium calling the hogs and another of a dozen children in Ghana doing the same thing. Even stranger, there's one of people doing it in Berkley.I'll admit some bias here, but I'm convinced that the Hog call is by far the best cheer in all sports. It's loud. It's powerful. It's unique. It's profoundly weird. Think about it: 70,000 people, most of whom are grown adults, all yelling "wooooo pig sooie" in a high voice and waving their arms above their heads. There's no pretension, no too-cool-for-school attitude, no trying to be something we're not.
The Hog call is a celebration of Arkansas, and who we are as Arkansans. It's completely authentic, and so perfectly us. No other team, school or state could pull it off (not that they'd want to try, necessarily).
- And The Valley Shook, on Saturday nights in LSU's Tiger Stadium:
In the past two seasons, we may have had a bit of a problem with fans leaving early, but we don't have a problem with fans arriving late.
Yes, there's video.
That's because of those four notes that makes the hair on any Tiger fan's neck stand up on end. BAAAAAH BA BA BA.
There's nothing like Saturday Night in Tiger Stadium, but Saturday Night doesn't begin until the band plays Pregame and salutes the Four Corners. Even if you don't have the slightest interest in football, it would be impossible not to get caught up in the band's Pregame. The whole stadium is on edge, waiting for that moment to explode. The band slowly marches on to the field, raises their instruments, and then... well, then it really is Saturday Night in Tiger Stadium. The crowd goes wild, and the game hasn't even started yet.
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The gator chomp, between the hedges, calling the hogs, running through the T
Good grief, is it football season yet?
Don't forget:
counting down the days until Midnight Madness in Lexington.
by David Hooper on Jul 8, 2010 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions
There have been people trying to lobby UK to move Big Blue Madness to Commonwealth Stadium
So that more people can get in, and maybe put an end to the lottery complaints. I don’t see it happening just because the weather is too unpredictable that time of year.
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel, is just a freight train coming your way...
I don't think it will happen
Too many variables without control. You can fit 70,000 in there for it though.
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel, is just a freight train coming your way...
The one danger to the calling is that it can appear anemic in a hurry.
Do you remember the video of Petrino’s introduction as the new head coach? The one where a couple of dozen octogenarian boosters were calling the hogs inside the press room? Granted, Rocky Top wouldn’t have fared well in that condition either, but if all you have is warbly voices and you add stress to them by going beyond their vocal range, well…
But yes, it’s pretty funny. And nobody else will do it.
You beat me to the punch with Petrino’s initial press conference. Even the Sportcenter dudes were all over it.
It’s kinda Ned Beatty-in-Deliverance-esque.
by GhostDance on Jul 8, 2010 4:11 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
It's effective...
During the 1998 game there was a group of Arkansas fans sitting a few rows down and a feat seats off to the left… I had never heard the Hog Call before, but by halftime I was ready to eat someone’s children.
My favorite...
Is Vandy’s tradition. It’s much like their football team: No one is sure if it exists, but if it does, the ones who like it really, really like it.
by DancesWithTrojans on Jul 8, 2010 1:54 PM EDT reply actions
The gator chomp is effeminate
Springboard divers, gymnasts, and figure skaters are the only other people to keep their arms that straight.
Yoga instructors too.
The prosecution rests his case, but not before finishing off with a bent-arm-accentuated Woo!
...just apologize for not thanking me.
Straight-armed clapping - in my earlier non-PC days
would immediately conjure up descriptions of those who were physically-challenged and mentally-impaired, but I have since learned that such descriptions
insult the physically-challenged and mentally-impaired.
COEXISTence is difficult when core beliefs are mutually exclusive and those on the other side keep blowing up buildings, people, etc.
Muhammed sez: "Don't Lase Me Bro!"
How many SEC traditions are younger than us beating Kentucky in football every year?
Surely some things that are now considered traditions have started since the last time they beat us.
Lou Brock loves Lamp.
Wait...
isn’t beating Kentucky in football considered a tradition itself?
"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." A. Bartlett Giamatti
by sddbaker on Jul 8, 2010 4:52 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
for that matter..
…how many of our own traditions have been started since then? When I was in the Pride in the late ‘80s and early ’90s, there was no ’Salute to the Hill’ as a part of the Pregame parade, nor did we form the Power T during pregame. And the Vol Walk started while I was there (1989, I believe).
I’m sure there are more, but those are the only ones that spring to mind at the moment.
No one ever says "Let's go to Birmingham for the weekend!" -- Dr. W J Julian, Director (emeritus) Pride of the Southland Band
Could be wrong
But didn’t the band just recently (last ten years) begin playing “Stars and Stripes Forever” during pregame?
And when did the band start playing the opposing team’s fight song? I know it’s got to be a long time ago. That’s a very unique tradition that stuns a lot of Neyland first-timers, but for some reason, I like it.
by GhostDance on Jul 8, 2010 5:49 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
A Sousa march has always been the "E" page of pregame...
…they used to rotate yearly, but after 9/11 it pretty much permanently became “Stars and Stripes Forever”, with the addition of the band forming “USA” from the block formation, prior to forming the T.
Playing the opposition’s fight song during pregame before ‘Rocky Top’ predates me, but back in the W J Julian era, it was only done for SEC opponents and BIG out of conference matchups (UCLA for example, or Notre Dame). Now they learn and play the fight song of every piss-ant cupcake team that comes into Neyland.
No one ever says "Let's go to Birmingham for the weekend!" -- Dr. W J Julian, Director (emeritus) Pride of the Southland Band
Orange Nation came and went during the winning streak.
God bless you, Orange Nation, and the never-ending string of cheap shots I can take at you.
Simulated Gameday Experience - just like the real thing, only we have smoke machines.
by Chris Pendley on Jul 8, 2010 6:45 PM EDT up reply actions
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