BGSU Football Traditions!

Zom · Post by **Zom** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:04 pm

Buckeyeskickbuttocks wrote:Now, do you have some tradtions that revolve around BG football?

We don't (usually) lose to Kent State.

Schadenfreude · Post by **Schadenfreude** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:17 pm

I explained Ay Ziggy Zoomba a bit. The team slam dances to it three times after wins. It is my favorite tradition.

Here is more:

Ay Ziggy Zoomba was brought to BG by Gil Fox, '48, who went on to an interesting career after graduation. He was also a founding member of SIC-SIC, a secret campus spirit society.

The somg is, supposedly, a loose translation of a Zulu war chant Fox heard while serving alongside South African troops in Italy during World War II. I personally suspect it is sung at South African rugby games, but that's just a hunch.

You can hear an .mp3 of the song -- and read lyrics -- on the front of this Web site.

You can also watch an Australian field hockey team sing a fierce rendition of the song here:

http://www.nehc.asn.au/AV/PL_Warcry.wmv

Go figure. (It looks like they aboriginalized it).

You can also rent the movie Paper Lion and watch Mike Weger, a BG grad, sing the song for the whole team at a bar.

North Carolina also has a lesser Ay Ziggy Zoomba tradition, but ours appears to be a bit older and ours is much better documented. Neither we -- nor they -- seem to have any idea how the song arrived at UNC.

What else? There is the Tootsie Roll tradition, which is great.

Our colors: Brown and orange, obviously. That started in about 1914. It was inspired by the colors of a woman's hat one of our first professors saw while riding the interurban from Toledo to Bowling Green.

Some wonder if we inspired the Cleveland Browns to go with brown and orange. The Browns held their first training camp in Bowling Green.

The team name, Falcons, came along in the 1920s. A Sentinel-Tribune sportswriter coined it, figuring it fit a smaller school that could take down much larger prey.

I think it would be funny if Dayon or TG1996 would weigh in with a reminisce about the early feuding between BGSU and OSU.

Buckeyeskickbuttocks · Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:22 pm

thanks a lot. I appreciate those traditions.

Seriously, stop by BuckeyePlanet this week. We have had some great conversations with opposing fans the week prior to games. It would be nice to see some of your names around there...

Yes, Flipper, even you....

Time to get ready for kick-off.. have a great weekend, thanks again!

Schadenfreude · Post by **Schadenfreude** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:26 pm

Another tradition is winning. Bowling Green is a proud program. The Falcons have won 10 MAC titles. Only Miami has more. Bowling Green also has a winning record against every MAC school except Miami.

The stadium is named for Doyt Perry, our greatest coach and a BG player back in the 1930s. He won 85 percent of his games and six MAC titles from 1955-65. In 1959, he coached the team to an undefeated season, winning the mythical "small college" national title, the equivalent of a Division II title today.

Bowling Green moved up to "university division" (Division I) along with the rest of the MAC around 1962.

Don Nehlen, who quarterbacked under Perry, coached here during the 1970s. He won a lot of games -- beat a ranked Purdue team in our first ever meeting with a Big Ten school. But his contract wasn't renewed after he forgot the number of down in a nailbiter loss against Miami.

I've mentioned Miami a couple of times. Miami is our Achilles heel. It's called the "Miami Whammy."

Our last game each regular season is with Toledo, a commuter school north of us that plays in a stadium that rhymes with "ass."

orangeandbrown · Post by **orangeandbrown** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:27 pm

I believe that Doyt Perry turned down the chance to coach Ohio State.

Schadenfreude · Post by **Schadenfreude** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:29 pm

orangeandbrown wrote:I believe that Doyt Perry turned down the chance to coach Ohio State.

I've never heard that one.

I have heard it said that when [strike]John Cooper[/strike] Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler (who did a short stint as a Bowling Green assistant before getting the top job at Miami) wanted to talk, they'd meet at Doyt Perry's house.

orangeandbrown · Post by **orangeandbrown** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:33 pm

No, that was when Woody and Bo wanted to talk they met at Doyt's house.

Schadenfreude · Post by **Schadenfreude** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:34 pm

orangeandbrown wrote:No, that was when Woody and Bo wanted to talk they met at Doyt's house.

Can't keep my OSU coaches straight.

Strouse · Post by **Strouse** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 7:43 pm

Yet another tradition, for home games anyway that hasn't been said is the Band performs our "Field House Field Show." In past years it was in our Field House, but this year it was moved to the tailgating area by the stadium. After winning a game, the band plays our Fight Song (obviously), then the team comes over and stands in front of the band while we play the Alma Mater, then, as stated before, we play Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba while the team dances. Last but not least, we play Beer Barrel Polka. There are other things that the Band does on game day, but a lot of it really isn't set in specific orders so I won't go into that.

Rightupinthere · Post by **Rightupinthere** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 9:00 pm

The band has a long tradition of pregame, marching to a fro the stadium. The rally cry for pregame centers around a very popular person's username on this board.

The band has long standing traditions whether it be the stretches out on the grinder, to procuring your uniform, to how you maintain your uniform to maggot cheers. There is incredible history in wearing that uniform and I am a very proud alumni of that group.

Thanks for inquiring.

Strouse · Post by **Strouse** » Sat Sep 30, 2006 9:06 pm

Rightupinthere wrote:The band has a long tradition of pregame, marching to a fro the stadium. The rally cry for pregame centers around a very popular person's username on this board.

The band has long standing traditions whether it be the stretches out on the grinder, to procuring your uniform, to how you maintain your uniform to maggot cheers. There is incredible history in wearing that uniform and I am a very proud alumni of that group.

Thanks for inquiring.

I had a feeling you'd be giving your input on this one RUIT, which is why I didn't mention several of those things.

buckeyeryn · Post by **buckeyeryn** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 12:08 am

Dayons_Den wrote:Also, the Beer Barrell Polka is traditionally played after the game ala Iowa's polka In Heaven There Is No Beer which you might hear tonight if you listen closely.

I must say, I'm very happy we didn't hear this tonight... I listened closely too.

buckeyeryn · Post by **buckeyeryn** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 12:10 am

Thanks a lot everyone for the "traditions." We really do appreciate it and it will help to make our preview accurate.

Keep the urine coming, guys. We just had a new field installed and it needs watered, frequently!!!

Flipper · Post by **Flipper** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 12:20 am

I said towards Columbus...not on Columbus. Believe it or not, it won't reach that far.

BTW, your field does not "need watered". It needs to be watered.

Schadenfreude · Post by **Schadenfreude** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 12:20 am

buckeyeryn wrote:Keep the urine coming, guys. We just had a new field installed and it needs watered, frequently!!!

Actually, we get home field advantage. That grass was grown about three miles outside of Bowling Green.