It's nothing personal, it's college football.
We all have strong allegiances to our alma mater and those feelings are always stronger on Saturdays in the fall. I shared some pictures with you last weekend but today I wanted to fill you in on some of the traditions of USC Trojan football.
Traditions are so important here at SC that our on-campus bar is called Traditions or more affectionately known as Traddies. We are located in the heart of downtown L.A. but walking around campus you would never guess that's where you are.
At the center of campus you will find Tommy Trojan.
He is doing the impossible: flexing all his muscles at once. We wrap him up in duct tape the week before our game against (F)UCLA so they don't do anything to him. One of the student orgs, the Trojan Knights, stand guard day and night and protect from any Bruins so nothing like this happens to our statue.
Besides Tommy Trojan we have a couple other mascots. Traveler is the beautiful white horse that makes an appearance at all home football games prior to kickoff, whenever we score a touchdown, and at the start of the fourth quarter. Between the third and fourth quarters, Traveler, will make his way down the sideline to the south endzone and the Trojan Warrior riding Traveler will point his sword towards the Olympic Torch to light it.
In the 1940s, George Tirebiter, a dog, becaome the school's unofficial mascot. He would chase down cars on Trousdale Parkway, which used to let car drive through campus. Now a statue of George stands at the west end of Trousdale, facing the street of course, so we can watch the cars pass by on the street.
After passing George Tirebiter you will come across 3 flagpoles. Tradition is to kick the bottom of the flagpole on your way to the Coliseum. I always kick the one of the far right.
We play our home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Coliseum was the site of the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games. Two hours before kickoff, the team will arrive by bus from the hotel they stay at the night before home games and walk by the fans outside the gate and enter the Coliseum. They walk through the peristyle and down the original steps of the Coliseum (in the picture, it's the part below the Bud Light sign). They will meet in the middle of the field as a team before heading to the locker room.
Right before kickoff, the Spirit of Troy, our marching band will take the field. But first the drum major walks out onto the field and sticks his sword in the middle of the field to get everybody on the feet.
And then the music starts...
The men of Troy take come out of the tunnel and then we are ready for kickoff!
I hope you have fab gamedays! xoxo
Fight On! Beat the Gophers!
