Informant Description/ Context of performance: My older sister and a bunch of my friends go to UCSB. The big sport there is soccer, and when I went to a couple of games, I quickly learned some of the UCSB sports traditions. I interviewed my friend to expand on the traditions.

Original Script:

Interviewee: Yeah so we like throw tortillas onto the field after scoring, especially when we play our rivals – Cal Poly. At first I thought it was super weird but people get like SO into it. It’s like our “fight on” because it’s just us showing off our school spirit. Because tortillas are kinda relevant to gauchos..? Kinda sucks for the person cleaning up at the end though.

Me: Do you know how the tradition started?

Interviewee: I think it started in like the 90’s but I don’t know the “first time” it happened or anything. It’s just spread a lot since then, like it’s more and more known each year. And we like sing our unofficial school song or like chant as we throw them onto the field.

Me: Oh what’s the song?

Interviewee: Ole ole ole ole, gauchos! Gauchos! And then we just repeat that a few times.

Conclusion: I always wonder how these school spirit traditions started. For example, how did “Fight On” at USC begin? Who made the “V for Victory” symbol? How did it spread? Every school has its own traditions and practices, but UCSB stands out from the rest with its tortilla-throwing spirit.