Tradition is defined as a long-established or inherited way of thinking or acting; a continuing pattern of culture beliefs or practices; a customary or characteristic method or manner. It means different things to different people. When some think of tradition, they might first think about how their family celebrates holidays. A different aspect of tradition is its effect on sports.
Sports are a huge part of our culture. Every sports fan takes pride in their team(s). On the outside looking in, you just see the sport itself, but there's so much more to it. Tradition is emphasized with each team and fans embrace it.
Some traditions are spread among teams, leagues, and the sports industry in general. The Gatorade Bath or Shower is when the team wins a big game and dumps the Gatorade on the coach to celebrate. If you think about it, it is a weird thing to do, but teams in different sports all across the country pour the sports drink on their coaches just because it is tradition. The homecoming game is a huge game for all amateur teams. It is usually against a team that is not as good, so a blowout win and an invitation to slam creates an exciting atmosphere at a game. It seems unfair to schedule a game like that with teams of unequal skill levels, but it is tradition. After a basketball championship, players climb a ladder and take turns cutting down the net. It seems dumb and pointless, but it is pretty cool for a collegiate athlete to take home part of the net from a championship game. It's tradition, so no one thinks it is odd. Why is it not weird that adults dress up as various animals and dance like idiots at games? Mascots are interesting if you think about what they really are, but you don't look at them as weird because it is simply tradition.
Colleges are a good example of how traditions live on through generations and how they can be relatively recent. Mississippi State is known for its cowbells. The most popular legend of how cowbells found their place at MSU is that during a home football game between State and Ole Miss, cow wandered onto the field. Mississippi State beat the Rebels that game, and State students immediately adopted the cow as a good luck charm. Students supposedly continued to bring a cow to football games for a while, until it was decided that bringing a cow's bell was much easier. At the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, the football team storms the field before kickoff by running through a "T" formed by the band members. It has been one of the most famous pregame rituals and team entrances for 50 years. Since the 1950s, Auburn University has been rolling Toomer's Corner. The fans celebrate big wins by throwing toilet paper on all the oak trees, but in 2010, an Alabama fan poisoned the trees to ruin the Tigers' tradition and they had to temporarily stop rolling the trees in order to allow the new trees to grow. A relatively new tradition at Auburn is releasing an eagle to circle Jordan-Hare Stadium before kickoff, which was first introduced in 2000.
The Packers have a lot of history for an NFL team, but a tradition for their post-touchdown celebration—the Lambeau leap. Interaction between players and the fans is exciting, so the leaping player is already pumped up because they just scored a touchdown, but they're even more excited when they're adoringly attacked by the fans as they jump into their arms in the stands. That tradition doesn't seem as weird when compared to the Detroit Red Wings and having octopi thrown on the ice after hat tricks. The Milwaukee Brewers have a "Sausage Race" after the 6th inning. They have five people dressed as different sausages (Bratt Wurst, Stosh—a Polish sausage, Guido—an Italian sausage, Frankie Furter—a regular hot dog, and 5/Cinco—a chorizo) run around the bases, which is surprisingly entertaining.
