Category Archives: Game

Shabu-ya cheer game

Nationality: German-American
Age: 19
Occupation: student at USC
Residence: Irvine, CA
Performance Date: April 20th, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

“I was a cheerleader in 11th and 12th grade and on the way to football games with the football players we sang the song shabu-ya.  In it, you say the name of someone on the bus and then the rest of the bus calls back “hey.”  You then say a set of rhymes ending with something personal that makes everyone laugh, these are often insulting.  This song was only performed on the way to games not on the way back.”

My informant thinks this song was meant to build up cheer before the football games.  Her high school was over 100 years old and football was a huge tradition and this song goes all the way back to the founding of the school.

The insults may rile up emotion better than just normal cheers.  Also the insults may be a way of bonding because when everyone gets broken down together they share that moment and grow stronger together.  All of this attention just to get people ready to cheer at the football game proves that football is a big deal in Irvine.

grass whistle

Age: 19
Performance Date: 4/19/2011
Primary Language: English

press a blade of grass flush between the palms of your hands, hold the heels of your hands to your lips, and blow, producing a whistle.

Willie learned this at some point in his childhood, though he does not exactly recall when or from whom. The grass whistle is a widespread piece of childhood folklore, being a simple, yet fun object for kids to make noise with. Children tend to make entertaining toys out of their surroundings, and they learn it from each other, just playing outside, as children do.

Being “Rickrolled”

Age: 18
Performance Date: 4/25/2011
Primary Language: English

post a link (which does not indicate any relation to 80’s singer Rick Astley or his music), or tell someone to go look it up, and it takes you to a youtube video of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up,” or some other Rick Astley related thing.

Devon was first “Rickrolled” some time in high school, and has propagated the prank himself. Friends often prank each other by tricking each other into following this link, leading to amusing and irritating video clips. Rick Astley himself was a one-hit wonder, and he is generally regarded as something of a joke in popular culture, because his voice does not seem to match his nerdy, red-headed appearance. This brand of prank has become a viral internet version of folklore 2.0.

Dartmouth College Festival

Nationality: Israeli
Age: 20
Occupation: Government Major at Dartmouth College
Residence: Irvine, CA
Performance Date: March 18th, 2011
Primary Language: Hebrew
Language: English, Italian, Hebrew

“Winter carnival: the ‘big’ weekend of winter term at Dartmouth. It is a weekend that centers on ski races and tradition. The Dartmouth alpine and Nordic ski teams host the carnival and compete against the other teams from the EISA (eastern intercollegiate ski association). They then celebrate their accomplishments at ski-team-only parties and special events. Non-skiers celebrate the weekend as well, in several ways: students build the traditional snow sculpture at the center of the Green; partake in the Polar Bear Swim (which entails taking a plunge into the frozen Occom Pond). Other events include the human dog sled race and the Carni Classic (a Nordic ski race which requires that participants dress in ‘flair’–ridiculous, colorful, tacky clothing).This year is the 100 year anniversary of this carnival. I love this weekend because of its many traditions and because it’s centered on celebrating a season that it usually tough to bear in Hanover, NH.”

I’ve spoken to my sister about this festival many times over the years since she first enrolled in Dartmouth College, and every time I notice the pride in her voice. She loves Dartmouth College and with it all of the traditions that come with being a student there. For obvious reasons, this festival could not occur in a southern California university such as USC. However it does make me think of the difference between the “tradition issues” of those two colleges and why it is much more celebrated in Dartmouth. In my opinion there are two main reasons, one of them being the amount of time each college has exited. Dartmouth was established in 1769, while USC only dates back to 1880.The other reason can be related to the difference between the East and the West coasts, the first one being a more “traditional” one by nature, especially the old ‘New England’ part, where Dartmouth is located. What attracts me about the weekend is how the non-skiers celebrate; I’ve seen pictures of snow sculpture and each year it gets more and more magnificent! At USC we have our football traditions, however, even though every football game is a massive celebration, there is no one specific weekend with activities oriented around celebrating the sport. I think that USC emphasizes football almost to an extreme, but we don’t celebrate the sport itself we solely celebrate our team’s talent. Perhaps these two traditions are not even comparable, as Dartmouth “Winter Carnival” is much above being about sport; it is rather about winter spirit in one of the coldest areas of the USA.

Dartmouth Winter Carnival is mentioned in a fairly known book about F Scot Fitzgerlad. Fitzgerald, F. Scott, Jackson R. Bryer, Alan Margolies, and Ruth Prigozy. F. Scott Fitzgerald: New Perspectives. Athens, GA: University of Georgia, 2000. 4-10. Print.

“nose goes”

Age: 19
Residence: San Francisco, CA
Performance Date: 4/21/2011
Primary Language: English
Language: French

A method of deciding who has to do a task, generally one that nobody will volunteer for. Sometimes, someone will call out, “Nose Goes!”, but often, there will be no indication that the game has started. One person will simply put their finger on their nose, and as the others notice, they will, too. The last person to have their finger on their nose loses, and has to perform whatever task or make whatever decision had been the point of contention.

Lauren learned this game pretty early in high school, at lunch. There was a system, in which one person would take up all the trays and garbage for an entire table, and generally determined who got to carry out this chore by playing “nose goes.” The game has also been called “noses” or “the nose game.”

I found it to be well-know across the country, as most everyone I have met from different states and backgrounds is also familiar with the game.

Of course, if you don’t know about “nose goes,” you will obviously be the loser, and be on the lookout for next time. It is a game about being observant, and of course, quick. This game can get pretty competitive, which may be why I have found that the game is most prevalent among teens and young adults.