With football season just around the corner, returning students are preparing to cheer on their Longhorns. However, with the start of the new school year, many students will be supporting their team for the first time. To ease the transition into game day culture, The Daily Texan prepared a list of game day traditions for students to look forward to.
Tailgates
Tailgates, or parties before heading to the stadium to watch the game, contribute significantly to UT’s game day culture. Emily Balboa, a Longhorn Hellraiser and sophomore, said tailgates allow for students to bond over the sporting event by eating food and cultivating hype energy.
Spirit organizations, fraternities, alumni and other lively groups around campus often throw large tailgating events, which take place outside of or inside West Campus houses or apartment complexes. Additionally, many alumni tailgates take place in the LBJ School of Public Affairs parking lot.
Big Bertha and Smoky the Cannon
Multiple student-led traditions take place inside the stadium on game days. These include the animation of Bevo tearing the opposing team’s flag apart, Hook ‘Em’s appearance and the iconic drum, Big Bertha, and cannon, Smokey the Cannon. Attendees also look forward to Hook ‘Em Herd, when young UT fans run onto the field before the game starts, hosted by one of UT’s male spirit organizations, Texas Blazers.
Student chants and songs
Along with iconic symbols, student chants and songs are a major part of UT game days. On-beat with the band, these chants both hype up the crowd and create more of a community among students.
Members of both Longhorn Hellraisers and Texas Blazers recommended students become familiar with the chants and songs before attending the games, noting “The Eyes of Texas,” “Texas Fight” and the touchdown chant, in particular. Another notable chant occurs when UT cheerleaders hold up signs and yell out “Texas!” prompting students and other Longhorn fans to respond “Fight!”
Bevo Blvd.
For large games, such as Texas vs. Georgia, obtaining a ticket gets difficult. However, even without a ticket to the game stadium, game day offers plenty of festivities to participate in outside the stadium with Bevo Blvd. Filled with food, interactive activities, meet-and-greets with famous alumni and the parade with Bevo and the UT band, Texas fans can still celebrate a full and eventful game day.
Boots, denim, burnt orange and handbags
While not advertised or enforced, many students follow a game day dress code that includes boots, lots of burnt orange, denim and a small handbag filled with essentials. This dress code of cute dresses, polos and blue jean vests not only allows students to represent Texas while dressed to the nines, but also helps them beat the heat — especially when paired with a sealed water bottle and a small handheld fan.
