This has been bothering me all morning, and I had to say something, sorry for the longish post.
Over on the other board, there's some discussion about the traditions that we have (or really about the ones we don't) at UW, and those that DC is trying to build - like the Cowboy Walk. The question was asked, how do you build a tradition? One of the posters over there said that it has to start with the PA announcer for things like the WYO chant and getting students to stick around for the team to sing Cowboy Joe after the game.
Here's my rub, traditions aren't built because the athletic department says they should be. In fact, that will probably kill anything faster than you can blink. Traditions are built from fans. From students who get to UW and can't find a reason to not go to a game. From students who when they get to the game are cheering their heads off and participating in the game. They're built from those students who graduate and want to come back to Laramie and participate in those same traditions, and bring their kids with them eventually who will want to get involved as a kid. Traditions are built from those kids who will then attend UW, because they can't imagine going anywhere else and already know what those traditions are, and WANT to participate because they can't imagine doing anything else on a Saturday morning. Traditions are built because that cycle perpetuates itself until we have fan-built traditions that we couldn't imagine ever going away.
I compare most of this stuff to Texas A&M, because I have family that work there and have attended there. They're pretty widely known for their traditions, and they've been around for a lot of years. Trust me, they didn't start all those years ago because some announcer got on the horn and said so. Those traditions started because students started them, got their kids involved, and then sent their kids to A&M knowing the ropes. I'd like to see someone try to change one of those traditions at A&M now.
I realize we're not A&M, and that winning will go a long way towards getting fans involved and igniting some of the new things DC is trying, like the Cowboy Walk. But if we really want these things to become traditions, we've got to start at the grassroots level, and build on that, each and every year. We can't rely on the athletic department to do it.
GO POKES!
Over on the other board, there's some discussion about the traditions that we have (or really about the ones we don't) at UW, and those that DC is trying to build - like the Cowboy Walk. The question was asked, how do you build a tradition? One of the posters over there said that it has to start with the PA announcer for things like the WYO chant and getting students to stick around for the team to sing Cowboy Joe after the game.
Here's my rub, traditions aren't built because the athletic department says they should be. In fact, that will probably kill anything faster than you can blink. Traditions are built from fans. From students who get to UW and can't find a reason to not go to a game. From students who when they get to the game are cheering their heads off and participating in the game. They're built from those students who graduate and want to come back to Laramie and participate in those same traditions, and bring their kids with them eventually who will want to get involved as a kid. Traditions are built from those kids who will then attend UW, because they can't imagine going anywhere else and already know what those traditions are, and WANT to participate because they can't imagine doing anything else on a Saturday morning. Traditions are built because that cycle perpetuates itself until we have fan-built traditions that we couldn't imagine ever going away.
I compare most of this stuff to Texas A&M, because I have family that work there and have attended there. They're pretty widely known for their traditions, and they've been around for a lot of years. Trust me, they didn't start all those years ago because some announcer got on the horn and said so. Those traditions started because students started them, got their kids involved, and then sent their kids to A&M knowing the ropes. I'd like to see someone try to change one of those traditions at A&M now.
I realize we're not A&M, and that winning will go a long way towards getting fans involved and igniting some of the new things DC is trying, like the Cowboy Walk. But if we really want these things to become traditions, we've got to start at the grassroots level, and build on that, each and every year. We can't rely on the athletic department to do it.
GO POKES!
