The BYU tradition thread

[Pheidippides]

Several people have mentioned that our traditions suck, and I think they are right.

I do like the way we do the haka after the game instead of before, but I'm having a really hard time thinking of anything else we do that is cool. The Darth Vader Dance maybe? And what is that, really?

For all the grief we have given the Utes about pirate ships over the last few years, I think that's one of the cooler things I've seen. Random guys throw together the USS Rustbucket and a few years later half the fanbase is in eyepatches. That's awesome.

When I was a freshman, about twelve of us would rip our bedsheets off of our dorm beds and fashion them into togas. We would muscle our way to the front row and make like a bunch of rowdy frat boys. I had bic'd my head so we painted stuff on it. We had a bunch of chants we made up (the only one I can remember was kind of dumb: "Blood Makes the Grass Grow, KILL KILL KILL." That was fun. We got on TV for almost every game.

Later I remember when we used to throw tortillas after every score. I thought that was kind of neat too, especially trying to figure out new ways to sneak them in.

But that's about all I can come up with. Popcorn Popping doesn't count, IMO, because that only happens at the end of blowouts. Chanting "B-Y-U-Cougars" is pretty unimaginative.

[Indy Coug]

Part of the problem is that we were so pathetic as a football school until the 1970s, there never were any traditions developed that have carried over into the modern age that give us any unique identity.

Anything that is done now is usually the brainchild of someone in the marketing department to bring in a few nickels from sponsors. There is no soul in these kinds of promotions and they will never contribute towards tradition or creating an identity as a program.

[Borg]

Pretty much agree....which begs for a new thread: "Start a new Cougar Tradition" for football games.

Get the board to brainstorm and see if we can make it happen.

[Pheidippides]

Part of the problem is that we were so pathetic as a football school until the 1970s, there never were any traditions developed that have carried over into the modern age that give us any unique identity.

Anything that is done now is usually the brainchild of someone in the marketing department to bring in a few nickels from sponsors. There is no soul in these kinds of promotions and they will never contribute towards tradition or creating an identity as a program.

Agreed. Real traditions have to come from crazy fan bases. You're not going to get me to sign off on the Deseret First Credit Union Touchdown Dance anytime soon.

[Pheidippides]

Pretty much agree....which begs for a new thread: "Start a new Cougar Tradition" for football games.

Get the board to brainstorm and see if we can make it happen.

Actually, that's what I want for this thread....

[TripletDaddy]

I cant think of many. Honestly.

Chanting "B-Y-U?"

We have the tradition of firesides before games. While I think it is lame, it has become a tradition.

Popcorn is a tradition. It is actually our only 100% unique tradition. I don't think any other school does Popcorn.

The Haka counts, as well. They have done it post-game twice this season. Cool.

Much of what BYU does in-game isn't really a "byu" tradition. Many teams play the imperial march. I guess we can count it, though. Although when specifically do we play it? Is it after a sack? I have no clue. And there doesn't seem to be uniformity to it. SOme people bang their arms in rhythm, as though they are banging a drum. Others don't. I don't get it.

The team carries that huge Y flag onto the field.

Pre-game stuff is basically zero. tailgating is discouraged. I know the band marches down from somewhere, but this isn't publicized and fans are not actively encouraged nor discouraged from participating. It is totally utilitarian....the band literally has to get from point A to point B and walking is the most convenient way. If fans happen to see them en route, then that is a bonus, I guess. They don't really do a formal pre-game concert, pep rally, etc (one of the reasons is that we only have 1 or songs....another problem altogether....one song is Rise and Shout. The other one might be that Hey, Baby song...ugh).

At some point in the year, the school lights the Y. Again, not sure the why and the when. It is consistent? Why not every game? I like that the U does this. Very good idea.

[Pheidippides]

I cant think of many. Honestly.

Chanting "B-Y-U?"

We have the tradition of firesides before games. While I think it is lame, it has become a tradition.

Popcorn is a tradition. It is actually our only 100% unique tradition. I don't think any other school does Popcorn.

The Haka counts, as well. They have done it post-game twice this season. Cool.

Much of what BYU does in-game isn't really a "byu" tradition. Many teams play the imperial march. I guess we can count it, though. Although when specifically do we play it? Is it after a sack? I have no clue. And there doesn't seem to be uniformity to it. SOme people bang their arms in rhythm, as though they are banging a drum. Others don't. I don't get it.

The team carries that huge Y flag onto the field.

Pre-game stuff is basically zero. tailgating is discouraged. I know the band marches down from somewhere, but this isn't publicized and fans are not actively encouraged nor discouraged from participating. It is totally utilitarian....the band literally has to get from point A to point B and walking is the most convenient way. If fans happen to see them en route, then that is a bonus, I guess. They don't really do a formal pre-game concert, pep rally, etc (one of the reasons is that we only have 1 or songs....another problem altogether....one song is Rise and Shout. The other one might be that Hey, Baby song...ugh).

At some point in the year, the school lights the Y. Again, not sure the why and the when. It is consistent? Why not every game? I like that the U does this. Very good idea.

Why can't we just get a group of fans together and be rowdy? Call ourselves "Porter's Rowdys" or something like that, dress up like rednecks (actually, this wouldn't be that hard for a lot of people) and then go bonkers?

Hell, get a group of women in pioneer dresses, call them "Brigham's Brides" and then have them sing hymns after each score. Something. Anything.

[Indy Coug]

I think a post-game, post-victory celebratory Haka dance is a much better idea than pregame and I would like to see that tradition continued. BYU was one of the first universities to have a significant number of Polynesian athletes and so it really is a part of who BYU is as a program. That, plus it doesn't hurt when marketing ourselves to future Polynesian athletes.

[il Padrino Ute]

Pretty much agree....which begs for a new thread: "Start a new Cougar Tradition" for football games.

Get the board to brainstorm and see if we can make it happen.

This is how the BCS Booty came to be. A core group from utefans decided to start to get together to start tailgating and after the '04 season, someone suggested that folks ought to build some sort of pirate ship that could be a meeting place for the tailgate lot.

What's fun is how many kids show up before games to ring the bell on the ship. They really get a kick out of it and they all love to have their picture taken on the ship with Captain.

The best part of the pirate ship is that it only about one thing - having fun at the tailgate before the game.

[DU Ute]

Why can't we just get a group of fans together and be rowdy? Call ourselves "Porter's Rowdys" or something like that, dress up like rednecks (actually, this wouldn't be that hard for a lot of people) and then go bonkers?

Hell, get a group of women in pioneer dresses, call them "Brigham's Brides" and then have them sing hymns after each score. Something. Anything.

I like these

[LiveCoug]

Do people ring the victory bell after a football win? I like that for basketball. Maybe a good tradition would be a march to the victory bell after a win and ring away... maybe we already do that?

[Indy Coug]

My tradition is wearing a BYU tie to church after every big BYU football or basketball win. Any Ute fans irked by such a tradition is a bonus.

[UtahDan]

Why can't we just get a group of fans together and be rowdy? Call ourselves "Porter's Rowdys" or something like that, dress up like rednecks (actually, this wouldn't be that hard for a lot of people) and then go bonkers?

Hell, get a group of women in pioneer dresses, call them "Brigham's Brides" and then have them sing hymns after each score. Something. Anything.

Part of the problem is that the fan base is about as white bred and docile as it gets. I have never heard of another stadium where every year there are arguments about trying to get people to sit down. Plus you have the whole "reverence" mentality all of us LDS have that will keep a lot of people from doing crazy things. At most school, you need some alcohol to lubricate the really nutty stuff.

But Brigham's Brides is a great idea, you could have a skit where one of you pretends to marry a whole bunch of women, they could wear veils and dance, it could be hilarious:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m.../ai_n11477091/

[All-American]

I cant think of many. Honestly.

Chanting "B-Y-U?"

We have the tradition of firesides before games. While I think it is lame, it has become a tradition.

Popcorn is a tradition. It is actually our only 100% unique tradition. I don't think any other school does Popcorn.

The Haka counts, as well. They have done it post-game twice this season. Cool.

Much of what BYU does in-game isn't really a "byu" tradition. Many teams play the imperial march. I guess we can count it, though. Although when specifically do we play it? Is it after a sack? I have no clue. And there doesn't seem to be uniformity to it. SOme people bang their arms in rhythm, as though they are banging a drum. Others don't. I don't get it.

The team carries that huge Y flag onto the field.

Pre-game stuff is basically zero. tailgating is discouraged. I know the band marches down from somewhere, but this isn't publicized and fans are not actively encouraged nor discouraged from participating. It is totally utilitarian....the band literally has to get from point A to point B and walking is the most convenient way. If fans happen to see them en route, then that is a bonus, I guess. They don't really do a formal pre-game concert, pep rally, etc (one of the reasons is that we only have 1 or songs....another problem altogether....one song is Rise and Shout. The other one might be that Hey, Baby song...ugh).

At some point in the year, the school lights the Y. Again, not sure the why and the when. It is consistent? Why not every game? I like that the U does this. Very good idea.

I'm a fan of the Haka. Always have been. If doing it post game solves problems, fine, but I've always thought that the only problem with the Haka is that they don't face the opponents to do it.

I do like "B . . .Y . . . U . . . Cougars." I noticed Utah trying to do "U . . . T . . . A . . . H" during the BYU game and wasn't impressed.

Popcorn . . . shrug. Doesn't inspire me, doesn't bother me. If somebody out there likes it, cool. Let's keep it.

The Imperial March comes after a big defensive play. It can be a sack, a pick, a big third down . . . anything goes. I don't know what it says about your defense when the theme comes from a military that couldn't protect a thermal exhaust port that was only two meters wide, but hey, whatever.

I'm okay with Hey Baby, but I do think our band is a little lethargic. One of the fun things about bowl games is seeing the PAC 10 bands. The Cal band was just fun to watch. Stanford's band is infamously entertaining.

I like the flag. I don't like the growing number of fans that are on the field before the game. I know they pay money. I still don't like it.

The Cosmo videos have to go. The first one was entertaining. The subsequent ones were painful and embarrassing.

They light the Y on the mountain for Homecoming and graduations. The "light the Y" ceremony before the game would be a lot better if there was, in fact, a Y to be lit. That cute little graphic won't do. Put an actual, physical Y somewhere and light it up.

[beefytee]

Why can't we just get a group of fans together and be rowdy? Call ourselves "Porter's Rowdys" or something like that, dress up like rednecks (actually, this wouldn't be that hard for a lot of people) and then go bonkers?

Hell, get a group of women in pioneer dresses, call them "Brigham's Brides" and then have them sing hymns after each score. Something. Anything.

My first semester at the BYU, we had some guys sitting behind us who claimed they were from the Ozarks. They came dress appropriately and sported the appropriate accents. They were a lot of fun.