Tag Archives: Sports

Dance Traditions

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student (University of Southern California)
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 2, 2017
Primary Language: English

For dance, like, um, when I was with the company, the night before the show, like, we’d always have sleepovers, and we’d always drink three… three strawberry Fantas each, which is really bad for you, ’cause you’re not supposed to drink soda, obviously, the night before, but we did it anyway, it was just like a good luck thing.

 

Thoughts:

This good-luck tradition reverses something that it supposed to be discouraged and taboo and turns it into a ritual for luck. It shows the dancers’ and teenagers’ in general tendency to bend or break rules. Additionally, because my informant is a highly trained and very talented competitive dancer, it could speak to her and her teammates’ confidence that they will be able to perform their best regardless of drinking soda the night before a performance. The context of this tradition within a sleepover works to build a community and bond with the entire team, since they are spending the whole night before a performance (and presumably the entire day of the performance) with each other and participating in the same rule-breaking rituals.

Soccer Game Rituals

Nationality: Mexico
Age: 15
Occupation: Student
Residence: Minnesota
Performance Date: April 14, 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish, Chinese

So in my soccer team, uh, like, before games, we always put our left socks on before our right socks, right? And then, we always, like, put on our left cleats and then our right cleats, but then we tie our right cleats before our left cleats. Oh, and then I always tuck in my shirt.

 

Background:

I guess it’s lucky, kind of. We do it every game, so I can’t really tell if it’s lucky or not. It’s just, like, a ritual that we started and we can’t change it, because then, like, it might turn unlucky or something.

 

Thoughts:

This team-wide pre-game ritual probably helps to build a bond or sense of community within the team, and allows the players to identify with and trust in each other.

¿Cómo no te voy a querer? (Soccer song)

Nationality: Mexico
Age: 15
Occupation: Student
Residence: Minnesota
Performance Date: April 14, 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish, Chinese

¿Cómo no te voy a querer?

¿Cómo no te voy a querer?

Si tu corazón azul es

Y tu piel dorada

Siempre te querré

Translation:

How am I not going to love you?

How am I not going to love you?

If your heart is blue

And your skin is gold

I’ll always love you

 

Context:

When we lived in Mexico, uh, we used to go to soccer games a lot, like, club games. And, uh… my dad’s favorite team… I guess the whole family, we, like, really liked the same team, they were called Pumas. And, like… there was this song that they would always sing at the, uh, like, the games that was like… [performed the song] Um… because the team’s colors are blue and gold.

 

Example of performance:

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQNqI3FhT0I)

 

Thoughts:

This song shows a loyalty to the team, regardless of the game’s outcome (“I’ll always love you”), and makes the bond between team and fans deeply personal, talking about the heart and the skin. Here, the fans (or the players) come to embody the team’s colors and logo. It is also one of the more positive sports songs, which simply declares one’s love for their team, rather than trying to tear the opposing team down.

 

Annotations:

For another version of this song, this time performed for the Real Madrid team, see:

“Como No Te Voy a Querer – Nuevo Himno Del Real Madrid.” YouTube, YouTube, 3 June 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED7QCHQzlRs.

(These lyrics read: “¿Cómo no te voy a querer? ¿Cómo no te voy a querer? Si eres campeón de Europa por décima vez.”

Translation: How am I not going to love you? How am I not going to love you? If you are champion of Europe for the tenth time.”)

No New Waves

Nationality: American
Age: 25
Occupation: Research Assistant
Residence: La Jolla, CA
Performance Date: 4/22/17
Primary Language: English

Background:

My informant is a twenty-five year old USC graduate who splits his time between Los Angeles and his home in La Jolla, CA. The informant is a lab assistant but spends the majority of his free time surfing. It’s both a personal passion and family activity that has taken him all over the world.

Performance:

“Another one is that you never leave waves to find waves. That was one of the first ones that I learned, my Dad is super, like, intense about it. Basically it means that if you have waves, if you’ve found like, decent conditions, you shouldn’t leave to find something better because you’ll never find it. I don’t know if it’s supposed to be like, philosophical or something, but it’s honestly true. Every time I’m like, ‘oh, these waves suck, let’s go to this beach’ or whatever, the waves totally suck. Like I’m cursed because I couldn’t appreciate what I had. So just, like, stay in the moment. It’s worth it.”

Thoughts:

This is another superstition that sheds a light on the spiritual side of surfing. There’s a whole set of beliefs behind the sport and culture. As Doron mentioned, this seems to be equal parts philosophy and superstition. The message is to “stay in the moment” and appreciate what’s in front of you rather than running off to chase something that might be better. Unlike traditional American discourse, this piece of folklore is anti-future; it insists that the surfer lives fully within the present moment and focuses only on what is happening around them.

Never Say Goodbye

Nationality: American
Age: 25
Occupation: Research Assistant
Residence: La Jolla, CA
Performance Date: 4/22/17
Primary Language: English

Background:

My informant is a twenty-five year old USC graduate who splits his time between Los Angeles and his home in La Jolla, CA. The informant is a lab assistant but spends the majority of his free time surfing. It’s both a personal passion and family activity that has taken him all over the world.

Performance:

“Surfers are pretty superstitious, which is crazy just because of how, like, chill we’re supposed to be (chuckles). But one thing is that you never tell people you’re leaving…like, if you’re out there and you know that you’re going to just like, get one more and then go in, you don’t say it. You just paddle in and like, you’re done. If you tell people, like, ‘hey I’m going to go’ it basically brings like, really awful conditions. Like, no waves and stuff for anyone else. Not cool. Don’t do it!”

Thoughts:

This is both etiquette and superstition. It seems to speak to the limited time most people have available to surf. People tend to talk about surfing and surf culture like it’s pseudo-religious; there is a spiritual importance to the individuality of a surfing experience. In this case, it seems like the act of ending your own session is tantamount to ending everyone else’s. You’re supposed to let everyone have as much or as little of their own time to surf and do your own thing.