By Daniel Rigney
This week I’m an amateur anthropologist in the field, reporting to you from the Hoosier state, where I’ve travelled from afar to witness the pomp and pageantry of Big Ten football.*
Here in Indiana University’s Memorial Stadium (a.k.a. “the Quarry,”“the Rock”), I’m observing at first hand the arcane customs and rituals that surround something the natives call “the Bucket Game.”
I’m here to witness the smoking campfires of the pre-game tailgate parties. The team’s procession (“The Walk”) to the stadium. The ceremonial coin flip. The colorful dance of the helmeted warriors. The showmanship of the Marching Hundred. (Our son Ben is on its spirited drumline.) More simulated warfare. And finally, the solemn post-game “Passing of the Bucket” to the winner of this year’s contest.
The bucket in question is, you may know, the Old Oaken Bucket, a rustic trophy that passes back and forth between Indiana University and Purdue pending the outcome of each year’s collision on the gridiron. This year Indiana (4-7 coming into the game) takes repossession of the old bucket for the first time since 2010, defeating the Boilermakers (1-10) by the swollen score of 56-36.
A local sportswriter comments afterwards that the oaken bucket is the only trophy either team is likely to win this year.
As Andy Griffith might have said if he'd been here to marvel at this spectacle, ... "And what it was, was football."
The IU-PU rivalry goes all the way back to 1891. It’s like the Hatfields and McCoys, but without guns as far as I'm aware. Indiana is a licensed open-carry state, but I don’t see anyone packing heat except the police and the cannoneers at the end of the field, who shoot off occasional fireworks into the cold, bright sky.
Hoosier fans clad in crimson (sample inscriptions: "Boiler Down." "Buck Furdue") and Boilermakers in their black and gold regalia seem to mingle peaceably as they enjoy this traditional post-Thanksgiving football fest. For this and other blessings we are indeed grateful.
The halftime entertainment features the Marching Hundred’s rendition of theme music from three 1970s television programs (Love Boat, The A-Team, Hawaii Five-O), and later, a swinging rendition of Benny Goodman’s big band classic, “Sing Sing Sing.”
The game ends. The sacred bucket passes back to Bloomington after two years of captivity in West Lafayette. The Marching Hundred closes the ceremony with the school hymn.
*Bonus Math Quiz: How many teams are there in the Big Ten?
This week I’m an amateur anthropologist in the field, reporting to you from the Hoosier state, where I’ve travelled from afar to witness the pomp and pageantry of Big Ten football.*
Here in Indiana University’s Memorial Stadium (a.k.a. “the Quarry,”“the Rock”), I’m observing at first hand the arcane customs and rituals that surround something the natives call “the Bucket Game.”
I’m here to witness the smoking campfires of the pre-game tailgate parties. The team’s procession (“The Walk”) to the stadium. The ceremonial coin flip. The colorful dance of the helmeted warriors. The showmanship of the Marching Hundred. (Our son Ben is on its spirited drumline.) More simulated warfare. And finally, the solemn post-game “Passing of the Bucket” to the winner of this year’s contest.
The bucket in question is, you may know, the Old Oaken Bucket, a rustic trophy that passes back and forth between Indiana University and Purdue pending the outcome of each year’s collision on the gridiron. This year Indiana (4-7 coming into the game) takes repossession of the old bucket for the first time since 2010, defeating the Boilermakers (1-10) by the swollen score of 56-36.
A local sportswriter comments afterwards that the oaken bucket is the only trophy either team is likely to win this year.
As Andy Griffith might have said if he'd been here to marvel at this spectacle, ... "And what it was, was football."
The IU-PU rivalry goes all the way back to 1891. It’s like the Hatfields and McCoys, but without guns as far as I'm aware. Indiana is a licensed open-carry state, but I don’t see anyone packing heat except the police and the cannoneers at the end of the field, who shoot off occasional fireworks into the cold, bright sky.
Hoosier fans clad in crimson (sample inscriptions: "Boiler Down." "Buck Furdue") and Boilermakers in their black and gold regalia seem to mingle peaceably as they enjoy this traditional post-Thanksgiving football fest. For this and other blessings we are indeed grateful.
The halftime entertainment features the Marching Hundred’s rendition of theme music from three 1970s television programs (Love Boat, The A-Team, Hawaii Five-O), and later, a swinging rendition of Benny Goodman’s big band classic, “Sing Sing Sing.”
The game ends. The sacred bucket passes back to Bloomington after two years of captivity in West Lafayette. The Marching Hundred closes the ceremony with the school hymn.
Indiana, Our Indiana,
Indiana, we're all for you!
We will fight for the cream and crimson,
For the glory of old IU
Never daunted, we cannot falter
In the battle, we're tried and true
Indiana, Our Indiana,
Indiana, we're all for you!
And
as the sun sets once more on the pomp and pageantry of Big Ten
football, our weary anthropologist, field notes in hand, heads for the
exit.
Fare well, Hoosiers. Fare well, Indiana.
[Son
Ben, playing for the last time with the Marching Hundred, sports his
“No Shave November” look in observance of an emerging collegiate
custom.]
*Bonus Math Quiz: How many teams are there in the Big Ten?
Answer: 12. (Did you forget Penn State and Nebraska?)
How many teams will there be in the Big Ten next year?
Answer: 14. (Did you forget expansion teams Rutgers and Maryland?)
10 = 12 = 14. Questions anyone? Anyone?
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