For almost two years now, I have been in a relationship with the tiny green town named Athens. It’s going pretty well, I have to say!
We Bobcats are nestled far away in the middle of nowhere, in between a cornfield and… well, a cornfield. It’s like you’re taking a stroll, fall into a kind of Alice-and-Wonderland-Hole and emerge under the great arches of the campus.
So once you wander in, it’s clear that we’re a pretty interesting kind of people. A little crazy. Can you blame us? We’ve been secluded out here in our little world, figuring out who we are and what we want do to out in the big world. We’re hardworking, loud, tired, and happy.
I don't blame people for not quite understanding how things work around here. So I've decided to highlight just a few phrases that only Bobcats will truly understand.
1. “Do you want to day drink tomorrow? I’ll wake you up at ten.”
Out-of-towners get really confused (and a little grumpy) when it’s time to wake up early in the morn to day drink on a beautiful Saturday. C’mon! The porches await!
2. “Got any flex left?”
The sneaky-snake upperclassmen constantly prey on the weak lower classmen… and beg to take them to buy them food with excess flex points because ramen just ain’t cuttin' it anymore.
3. “Are you going out tonight?”
“It’s Monday…” Sometimes people will ask this without even thinking. Because in all honesty, there’s probably some drink sale at a bar that people will go to on a Monday.
4. “I had Big Mama’s last night…”
Why is that such a big deal...? Um, because it's BIG MAMA'S. Do you not know the complicated relationship we have? Geez. Insensitive.
5. “Can we take the elevator?!”
If you don't know what I'm talking about, you're an amateur and you can keep climbing up Jeff Hill.
6. “Do you want to get Donkey?"
Wait, a donkey? An actual donkey? What the hell are people in Athens- oh. Wait. It's coffee.
7. “Do you have a jersey I can borrow? All seven of mine are in the wash.”
Oh my god it’s a sunny Jersday and every single one of your jerseys has mud on it from the previous fests. Panic. PANIC. IT’S JERSDAY.
8. “This is our prOUd hOUme, let’s go OUt to a hOUse party.”
Adding OU to almost every word because let’s be honest that’s still pretty cool.
9. “A fest is like a really big- it’s like a party that everyone is invited to… but- well, it’s like, uh… uh…”
Trying to explain to someone what a fest is without mentioning shots at 9 A.M. is pretty difficult and well, tricky,
10. “Will you drive me to Ping?”
Bobcats work out hard -- gotta keep those paws in shape. But there’s always that twinge of hope that someone will pick you up from the gym after leg day. And no, Ping is not a ping-pong league.
11. “Dude. I got a table on the second floor of Alden. GET HERE NOW.”
The second floor, open till always and closed till never, is the most popular floor of the library. Finding a table is like finding a domino in a sea of dalmatians.
12. “Clear your schedule for the whole day, we’re going to Skyline.”
Yes, we will drive an hour into another state just to get foods like Panera and Skyline. Deal with it.
13. “Shh! Shh! Look… it’s a Townie…”
There’s an old rumor that back when the Ridges Asylum was closed down, they let loose all the “crazy” people who once roomed there. Those people went into the town and had children, becoming Townies. It’s a fun theory, but in actuality, they’re just nice people who sit on their porches and happily shake their heads at all the rambunctious college students.
Once you become a Bobcat, you slowly start to assimilate into the community until the odd shenanigans you pull are nothing short of a typical afternoon. Waking up to “Circle of Life” blasting across campus is normal. Watching a kid trust fall off a roof into a crowd is average. Seeing Waka Flocka Flame walk by you on the sidewalk is... well, that happened.
Yeah, some people don’t understand us. But that’s OK. Once people get to know us, it’s clear that we’re kind, friendly, and driven people. And if they don’t, it’s OK. Because they’ll definitely still understand what it means when we say,
“OU, OH YEAH!”
