College Football Battle Cries

The Kitchen Table has turned into a news desk we have a major announcement before jumping into today's episode, we are doing our first ever live podcast event October 30. At the Franklin theatre, we're joined by a very, very special guest one of our favorite southerners Sean Dietrich, aka Sean of the South. And if you know Sean's work, then you know this is going to be a night of songs, storytelling and the nostalgia that blesses our heart immensely. Yes, we're gonna get to interview Sean and discuss his new book that releases this fall.

And we get to do all of this at the historic and beautiful Franklin theatre. And we've set up a pre sale link for y'all to grab tickets right now. The tickets actually go on sale to the general public this Friday, September 2, but if you click on the pre sale link in the show notes, we invite you to go ahead, purchase those tickets and join us for a wonderful special night. It is going to be so special and we want you there and tickets are available for you listeners now because we wanted you to get get to have the first dibs on that. That's right. And we will open it up for public sale on Friday, September 2.

Fall is starting to peek in with cooler morning temperatures. And you know what that means? Football. Here in the South, We love our football. But some of our battle cries are a bit unusual. Join us at the table as we discuss the backstories of a few of those battle cries. I'm Lainie and I’m Laura Beth, And we are Steel Magnolias, the strength of steel with the grace of a magnolia.

We are here to have uplifting conversations about life in the south.

And we've got plenty of room at our table. So pull up a chair!

Welcome back, y’all!  

I hope you caught our special announcement on the very, very front end of this episode. If you didn't rewind back and listen, because we have a very special live event that we're excited to tell you guys about. We just can't believe it's happening. But it is. So we want you to be there with us October 30. Okay, before we get started, I would love to thank our sponsor for this episode. They've been with us all month. Big thank you to Tennessee Woodworks. They are hand crafts makers of custom farmhouse style furniture, from cutting boards, to tables to bedroom furniture. They've got it all and you can go check out their selection at Tennesseewoodworks.com. We just thank them so much for their support of this show. 

All right. We have a topic that's very seasonal. Right? That's right. We love getting some college football discussion in we've done a ton of episodes that somewhat tie into college football. So if you haven't listened. You should go back and listen to them. They'll get you all fired up for the season.

Yeah, I'll link to college football traditions. That was back in 2019. Wow, that was one of my still one of my favorite

episodes that we did. We did marching bands and majorettes.

And then we did one on tailgating in the south, which was all football, tailgating. So those are three shows that if you're just wanting to get back in the mood of football college football season, go ahead and start with those. But yeah, as you mentioned in our intro, some kind of peculiar sayings or lines that have chants even that have come out of me. We love to cheer on the Vols and you know, they have a song Rocky Top, but pretty much the battle cries Go Vols Go!  

Go Vols,  short for volunteers. Yeah. But yeah, it's not unusual.

But there are some that it's like, what the heck is that? Right? It's not their mascot. What does that mean? Yeah, so let's dive in to those and I guess to start, do you start with the one that the whole darn nation knows since they've been a powerhouse for so long? And that's Roll tide

Yep. They sit in that number one seat a lot. So yeah, go ahead. Start with them. 

Well, as this story goes, in many of these as I was looking into them, the story's a little unclear on how this stuff gets going. Have you found that? Agreed. Anyhow, this is what I read. Auburn was a heavy favorite to win a game back in like 1907, the iron bowl as they call it. Yes the Auburn, Alabama game. And apparently that year they were playing in pretty muddy conditions. Okay, the teams ended up in a six/ six tie. Alabama left the field covered in red mud. And Hugh Roberts, who was a writer for The Birmingham Age Herald used the term tide in reference to this because he said Alabama left the field covered in red mud and that they appeared like a Crimson Tide. Oh, hence you've heard that phrase before.  Well, from there it is still, you know, really unclear about the Roll Tide. But apparently, there was a contest in May of 1926. The student magazine called the rammer jammer had a contest for a new unofficial fight song. The winning tune was called Yea Alabama. This includes roll tide, roll tide again in the song. Now, apparently, the original sheet music just had go roll to victory. Okay, but somehow this has morphed into the roll tide. Some of these are like nicknames. I don't know it was this and then it just all of a sudden it was

that isn't that kind of how nicknames go? Yeah, like you think about they morph your Laura Beth, which was LB later to some and then it even got turned into Poundcake at one point. That's the abbreviation for Pound and what rolls off your tongue right after the word pound. Okay. It's not that I was a lover of poundcake, but hey, that is how these things happen.  So I am a lover of poundcake actually.

So the whole nation has heard so much Roll Tide.  you’ll hear it at the game. That's how they it's like a hello. It's a goodbye. It's a chant. And it’s been quite a dominating force for way too long.

Well, another one that's a little unusual comes from Texas A&M. Gig ‘Em. Oh, and it's usually said with a thumbs up.  So this is a phrase that dates back to 1920. The term was popularized by PL or Pinkie. There's another nickname Pinky downs, who was a member of the Texas a&m Board of Regents and Class of 1906. And that is when Downes asked the crowd at a Yell practice now we've talked about yell practice, on our traditions episode. That's the midnight the night before tradition that they do. A pep rally, if you will. Yeah. So at the yell practice before the 1930 TCU football game, he says, What are we going to do to those horned frogs, and then improvising. He borrowed the name of a sharp pronged frog hunting tool. Never would have known this. I didn't know they sharp pronged frog hunting tool called a gig. So answering his own question by saying, Gig ‘Em Aggies!Because they're the Aggies. So, for emphasis, downs made a fist with his thumb extended straight up. So like, kind of Gig ‘Em!  And then people do this now to each other with the hand motion.  Yes, It's also like a greeting or like a Yeah, chant during the game.

Well, since you mentioned the TCU Horned Frogs, I just have to say first of all, that is such a funny mascot. I didn't look into the full story of this, but I know they say, Fear the Frog. So that's pretty cute, too. Oh, I love it. 

Okay, where should we go to next? Well, I just love this. Woo Pig Sooie, I think is so funny that the Arkansas Razorbacks do this chant. I wish we had Bobby bones on here with us right now to do it for us because he's a big Arkansas fan. Oh, well, what does that even mean?

So it's known worldwide as the proper hog call, okay. So, you do it three times. It has to be done three times. slowly raising one's arms. I'm trying to do it. Almost like doing  the wave. Exactly. But with like spirit fingers,

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your fingers and you do the whoo on that part. Yeah. And then you pull it, you know do the pigs sooie. Yeah. You'd have to do this whole thing three times. And I've seen that quite often in you know, their football game. Oh, yeah, that's such a cute little. Yeah, full hauled call, as they call it. So hilarious. They are the Razorbacks, So it just kind of goes along the proper hog call.

Well, let's talk about one closer to home right here at Vanderbilt University. They say anchor down! Yes, they're the Commodores.  So in nautical terms, an anchor obviously is thrown down to prevent you know the ship from moving. But an anchor can also be a person or an object that can be relied upon for support, stability or security. So the Vanderbilt football team began using the anchor as a symbol of strength and support in 2004. Under Head Coach Bobby Johnson, because he wanted the anchor to symbolize unity and strength throughout the program like it and backing up even further. The reason he would have chosen a nautical symbol is because Cornelius Vanderbilt, who was known as the Commodore was the one that made the $1 million gift that founded Vanderbilt University back in 1873. A million dollars in 1873. That's right. And he wasn't actually a naval officer. Oh, okay. He you know, he traded a lot by ferry and actually other sea captains and naval officers. I think they were kind of jealous personally of his eagerness in the trade and how well he was doing so they called him the Commodore in jest, and it stuck. There's other symbols out there that would be you know unity and and what the football team was wanting to convey but they since they’re nautical, they're the Commodores.  Anchor Down.

All right, back in Alabama. We have War Eagle. Oh, my gosh, back to the old iron bowl game again, those Alabamans they're serious about their football. 

Well, the most popular legend about this battle cry dates back to the first time Auburn actually met with Georgia on the football field. Okay, in 1892. Oh, so apparently there was a Civil War veteran in the stands that day with an eagle that the old soldier had found on a battlefield during the war. Oh my goodness. He had kept it as a pet for almost 30 years. Okay, so the story goes according to witnesses, the eagle suddenly broke free and began majestically circling the playing field. As the Eagle soared. Auburn began a steady march toward the Georgia endzone for a thrilling victory. Elated at their team's play and taking the birds presents as an omen of success. For sure. Auburn students and fans began to yell war eagle to spur on their team. This is where I'm like, oh, we'll have to turn this around and make this an uplifting conversation okay agree at the games in the eagle took a sudden dive crashed into the ground and died.  So but that's where So apparently this war cry.  So this guy had the eagle for 30 years and then I said to the so he takes it so I'm also still I know but now I'm really curious. Did he take this bird everywhere? Yeah. Or was it like let's take the bird out or we need some fresh air?

Was this even him trying to be like I feel like this eagle should be their mascot. I mean this this bird is amazing. I'm just gonna take them to the game. They are the Tigers but I'm gonna see what he's got and just see if there's any, you know, sort of favor or something that lines up with the game. That's crazy.  I don't know. But I do know because I've been to a game there if you get there 25 minutes before the kickoff. You get to see this happen where they let the eagle soar over the field.  Yeah cuz now they've trained it to come back.  But yeah, this is supposedly the story of where this was birthed and the cry became known.  War Eagle.

It almost reminds me of the Peabody ducks. Right? It just kind of was this thing where they put some ducks that were just ran with it forever well decoys in the hotel lobby fountain and now they're still doing it. 

Yeah. 100 years later over 100

years. Yeah, still doing it. So, anyway, there have been seven other Eagles since that that doesn't seem like very many they live a long time, don't they? that have served as the symbol of Auburn spirit.  Wow, they're proud of it, too. They love to say that. Yeah, that again, like a greeting. You know, it's a hello, it's a goodbye. It's heard during the game. It's an all inclusive.

 All right, I know we mentioned on the front end of this that a lot of teams just say go and then fill in their mascot name, you know, Go Vols, Go Tigers, you know, whatever. Yeah. So there are a few though that I wanted to mention that they do a little different kind of spin off or variation that, you know, it's not necessarily a peculiar thing, unlike some of these others, but it's worth a mention because it comes from something, you know, something in our history. So University of Georgia, the Bulldogs, they would say Go Dawgs, but they spell it Dawgs- Go Dawgs. So this is yelled at football games, you know, again, it's, it's wherever you want to cheer it or chant it. But there is a guy named Jean blue Robins. We love nicknames around here. He was actually a Maryland guy that started following Georgia football in the mid 1970s. And apparently pronounced dogs in an unusual way. Now his mid atlantic accent. He was trying to have a southern drawl. Okay, like it was kind of his attempt at sounding Southern and it just made it sound more like Go Dawgs. So that's how they what they decide on their spelling, or who I saw credited with the different spelling of dogs. And then LSU Louisiana State University they are tigers, but they say geaux  Tigers, but they are the go is g e a u x. Yes. For go that comes from the French Cajun character Yes. of Baton Rouge, which is where they're at in South Louisiana. But I do hear people saying Who dat a lot with LSU Who dat? That's a Yeah, Louisiana thing, isn't it? You hear it around the New Orleans Saints as well. And I couldn't find a good story on how that came to be. So somebody needs to write us to tell us

Who dat? Who dat out there know about who dat? We want to know about who dat. 

Okay, well, I'll tell you if you've ever been to Oxford. Oh man. Yes. It's inseparable when you're at Ole Miss. You're gonna hear Hotty Toddy.  Again, kind of a greeting. If you see anybody in the colors and the logo. You say Hotty Toddy.  Yeah, to each other. Again, kind of a mystery as to how this came to be. I actually don't know anything about this one. I'm really glad we're talking about this one. Well, I

I think when I hear hotty totty,  I'm like, I think of a Hot Toddy, a cocktail that heals. Right when I have a sore throat,I need a hot toddy. Yes. That's what I think of.  But there's no concrete answer that explains what it truly means, but some speculate it was developed after the Virginia Tech regimental band called The Highty Tighties, derived from a cheer us through World War Two associated with the description of a warm alcoholic drink or a term refer referred to the perceived sentiment of the Ole Miss student body. Okay. The first evidence of the phrase being actually written out was then written Highty Tightie, okay, appeared in the November 19 1926, copy of the Mississippian and it had this cheer:  Highty Tightie,  gosh almighty cheer. So, ever since the cheer with slightly different spelling in the opening line, it's been passed down by Rebel fans and ESPNs Doug Ward wrote hotty totty is the spirit of Ole Miss, which extends much further than just the Grove and their athletics.  Again anytime you see one another again, that greeting Hotty Toddy somehow morphed from Heighty Tightie. That's a weird one. That is it's strange, but yeah, like we said nicknames morph.  It is amazing how much reporters have influence on things. Yeah, not just football, Yes. All kinds of culture things where they use a phrase and people will run with it. Some unique way of saying something even if it's not the headline of the story, but it's like that interesting way they reviewed something. The power of journalism. Yeah. I know, it sticks for centuries in these cases, you know?  Yeah. It's so true. Their names still goes back to the first time it was used. Wow. So we of course, where we live and we know the SEC better than ACC or I'm sure they have wonderful cheers as well that are unusual. Yeah. I

mean, there's gosh, I even think about there's Sic Em bears at Baylor. I'm doing the claw like oh, yeah, with that one. Sick Em bears. There's Boomer Sooner, Oklahoma. There's Wreck Em is Georgia Tech. Yes. Right. We did our best to cover some of the ones that we thought were weird. We knew or that we've heard the most.

Woo Pig Sooie!  I’m sorry. If I was a cheerleader, and they wanted me to wear a pig snout- now i don't know I'm saying no, you're like I look too cute. I'm not gonna look this cute in m

20 year old body to put a pig snout on. Yeah. Well, again, if anybody knows who dat? I want to know. I liked the way you put that. I don't know if I could replicate the way you said that so well earlier. And again, we invite you to join us here in our hometown of Franklin, Tennessee October 30 for our very first ever live podcast event with our good special special guest Sean of the South he'll be doing his thing if you've ever had the privilege of getting to see him then you know exactly what to expect. But he actually hasn't done his whole performance here in Franklin or the Nashville Tennessee area before so this is really unique and special for us to get to have him coming and you know it would make for a great friend night out a good fun like girls time or date night.  He is a dudes dude, he he is bring your boyfriend your husband.

He is- you could bring book club in fact, like we said earlier he's make his book your next book talking about his latest release, which we just got a pre release copy

I'm looking at it and even opened it and I'm looking at culture is cute.

You are my sunshine. What's the little small part there say

a story of love promises and a really long bike ride.

I loved him so much. Okay, but I believe

I have heard him say before that his Mom sang it to him.

Yes, yes. Yes. To hear and that's exactly right. All the sweetness around it. In fact, he'll probably share a little bit about that song. Maybe he will even play that song with us that night and I think he likes it because he what I heard him say about this book is that song is a lot of people's like standard have a good memory or heartfelt memory.

I have sung it to my dog before I'm not gonna lie. I have too.

I have to send it to my black lab and yeah, she was my sunshine. 

Okay, well, again, tickets are available for you listeners now because we wanted you to get get to have the first dibs on that. That's right. And we will open it up for public sale on Friday, September 2. We hope you'll have a wonderful week. Lainie, Peace be with you.  And also with y’all!