Pregame Traditions

[USFishin]

The Flamingos are great!  Leave them alone...they are a stupid but funny tradition that we picked up last year.  We are not "really" mocking them with the Flamingos.  Just saying..."hey, some schools use eagles, we are from Florida so we use Flamingos." Its a statement of regional pride.  And, its funny to have a group of students walking around with funny looking blow up flamingos.

GO BULLS!!!

Yes, you're right.  Some schools use an eagle that flies down from the upper deck, circles the stadium 20' above the crowd's heads, while everyone's staring at it in awe,  and lands at midfield all while the entire stadium makes a syncronous chant.  That's a TRADITION.  They're not holding pink blow-up eagles and calling them war eagles.  They would look completely stupid if they did that, hence you guys look really stupid with them.

By the way, flamingos are NOT Florida birds.  In fact most Floridians go a whole lifetime and never see one in the wild here.  Most are escaped from zoos.  So if you're wanting to do a "mascot" that's a Florida bird you might as well do the pelican.  Yeah, how about you guys continue to look like dumbasses and bring some blow-up pelicans!  I wouldn't put it past you.

[Orlando Bull]

Actually, I would have no problem with a tradition that mocks say...UF, FSU, UCF, Southern Miss, WVU, Cincy, UL, etc.

However, I have never met a better fan base than the folks at Auburn. They were great to all of our fans to the best of my knowledge. Their students stopped me on my way out and congratulated me on our win. I said something to the effect of "I wish we had this stadium and all the tradition you guys have", they resonded with "I wish we had your football team".

We played them once, it was a huge win, but I have a ridiculous amount of respect for them, and it is a sad day when the Bulls feel like mocking Auburn is the best way to forge a tradition.

[CowbellBandit]

However, I have never met a better fan base than the folks at Auburn.

Absolutely true. Total class, all the way, and I hope our fanbase can one day be as classy and accomodating as theirs.

Save for the one 8 year old who hit me in the family jewels, but that's another story.

[nickd25]

War Flamingos rhymes with GAY!

[Bullschmutz]

WAR TARPON!

Actually, I have been working on this tradition for USF games. What I do is get really really drunk before the game, and then I continue drinking during the game. Anyone wanna help me establish this tradition at Ray Jay?

[RicanBull]

Magie hit it right on the head...

The ******* war flamingo is the most idiotic piece of trailer park trash I have ever seen and I am ashamed to be a USF (diehard) fan when these stupid ******** pull them out and start their drunken cry. Its lame! Its stolen from another university to mock them after all tey did was show more class than any school we've ever played and treated us with the utmost respect.

This stupid idea was started by one individual, who shall remain nameless, but I will say is a ******* moron. Any one who follows this is out of their mind. A majority of the students (atleast those who are involved and go to every game) think this is ridiculous. The tradition should be to pop every ******* flamingo you see before ESPN catches it on camera. 

The running of the bulls was a great idea. I ran last year, and the rush is amazing. If we could just get the crowd more involved in it, it would catch on. However, like someone said, this require them to get their ass in the seats.

[nickd25]

The Flamingos are great!  Leave them alone...they are a stupid but funny tradition that we picked up last year.  We are not "really" mocking them with the Flamingos.  Just saying..."hey, some schools use eagles, we are from Florida so we use Flamingos." Its a statement of regional pride.  And, its funny to have a group of students walking around with funny looking blow up flamingos.

GO BULLS!!!

It's not funny at all.  It is an embarassment to our school and fans because it makes Bulls fans look like friggin' ass clowns!  I don't know about everyone else, but these **** flamingos are retarded and are completely off base about what supporting Bulls athletics is about...supporting the school, supporting the players, and supporting BULLS ATHLETICS in general (not just football) to the fullest degree.

[chazmeister]

In considering this pink flamingo situation, let's think about the composition of the student sections..

Greeks, Freshmen, Drunk Greeks, Drunk Freshmen, Drunk Freshmen Whores, etc...

Is it a shock to see inflatable pink flamingos at these games? Not really when you examine the crowd. For Christ's sake, the entire student section dances to Souljah Boy when it comes on.....

The flamingos are quite possibly the dumbest "tradition" in college football today.

Rivals Top 10 pregame traditions:

1. Yell practice, Texas A&M:

On the eve of games A&M's "Yell Leaders" (there are no cheerleaders at A&M) direct a rehearsal of traditional Aggie yells for the upcoming game. For some games more than 40,000 Aggies attend the practice at Kyle Field, or at a designated site for road games. It's also a great opportunity to pick up a date for the game, which allows participation in another of A&M's favorite in-game traditions – kissing dates after touchdowns. If the opportunity presents itself, Aggies are all in favor of running up the score. 

2. Howard's Rock and The Hill, Clemson:

For atmosphere and pageantry, Clemson's pregame ceremony has been called the most exciting 25 seconds in college football. The Tigers touch "Howard's Rock" as a symbolic vow to give total effort and then enter the field by running down a hill in the east end zone to a raucous ovation. 

3. The running of Ralphie, Colorado:

Most mascots just stand around on the field. Ralphie, Colorado's 1,300-pound buffalo, runs around it. Minutes prior to kickoff Ralphie and his six handlers take a lap around the Folsom Field playing surface, sometimes forcing players on the visitors' sideline to jump out of the way. 

4. The flaming spear, Florida State:

One of the most colorful pregame ceremonies occurs before each home game at Florida State when mascot Chief Osceola (portrayed by a student) rides Renegade, an Appaloosa horse, to midfield and throws a flaming spear into the turf as the masses roar their approval. The Chief then casts an intimidating glare at the opposing sidelines, as if to say, "You're next." 

5. The Tiger Walk, Auburn:

Dozens of programs have copied this ceremony, but by all accounts it started with Auburn, so give the Plainsmen credit. Thousands of Tigers fans assemble along Donahue Drive and applaud and encourage the Auburn players as they walk to the stadium two hours before game time. 

6. Running through the 'T', Tennessee:

The Tennessee band forms a huge block T for an on-field pregame performance. When the Volunteers enter the field at Neyland Stadium they run through the "Power T" to their sideline. 

7. Painting helmets, Notre Dame:

Golden Domer is no misnomer. The Monday night of every game week student volunteers put a fresh coat of paint on the Fighting Irish helmets. The paint contains flakes of gold. The tradition originally was performed on Thursday before games, but was shifted to Monday night to ease any conflicts caused by road games. 

8. Tailgating at The Grove, Ole Miss:

OK, fans of every team tailgate - but those at Ole Miss do it with style and flare. The Grove is a 10-acre patch of thick green grass surrounded by oak trees in the middle of the Ole Miss campus. Southern belles in dresses and men in coats and ties congregate for cocktails and food served on fine china. 

9. Cadets/Midshipmen March, Army, Navy:

Watching cadets and midshipmen march into the stadium for the Army-Navy game is truly one of college football's most chilling spectacles. It's the same throughout the season when cadets march into Michie Stadium and the Brigade of Midshipmen march into Memorial Stadium. 

10. The Tunnel Walk, Nebraska:

In what is a common practice at most major football programs these days, the Cornhuskers were the first to incorporate the use video on the JumboTron to help the team make a grand entrance before each home game. After a video introduction, fans in Memorial Stadium can watch the team getting psyched up in the locker room and then marching through the tunnels under the stadium and onto the playing field. 

[chazmeister]

It just dawned on me...

VT comes out to Enter Sandman...

Get Rage Against the Machine "Bulls on Parade" going for a few minutes to get the crowd really fired up. Maybe even tie that into the existing Running of the Bull. At least that will get you pumped up.

[Triple B]

Magie hit it right on the head...

The ******* war flamingo is the most idiotic piece of trailer park trash I have ever seen and I am ashamed to be a USF (diehard) fan when these stupid ******** pull them out and start their drunken cry. Its lame! Its stolen from another university to mock them after all tey did was show more class than any school we've ever played and treated us with the utmost respect.

This stupid idea was started by one individual, who shall remain nameless, but I will say is a ******* moron. Any one who follows this is out of their mind. A majority of the students (atleast those who are involved and go to every game) think this is ridiculous. The tradition should be to pop every ******* flamingo you see before ESPN catches it on camera. 

****, some of you are getting way too uptight about this. I don't think anybody is suggesting that this should spread to the whole student section or anything like that ... that this is our new tradition. It's stupid and a few are having some fun with it. As far as it being a disrespectful to Auburn, hogwash. As good as their fans were they'd probably think it's funny, too... and as far as the flamingo not being a Florida bird, try telling that to postcard makers and the Florida Lottery Commission. Flamingoes and Florida ARE tied together so in the immortal words of Sgt Hulka, "Lighten up, Francis!"  8)

Maybe Brad can run a down a source for these ......