It’s that time of year again — Homecoming! This week, the University of Wyoming is bustling with events and student pride. There are events planned for the entire week; Monday we scored free homecoming tees and pizza in between classes. All week there’s a cutthroat scavenger hunt for golden horseshoes and later in the week, there’s a dance hosted by the swing club. These are just a few of the many events planned for our student community here on the UW campus and these events all anticipate UW’s favorite Saturday pass time — Cowboy football.
Being amid all this student pride has me feeling inspired and also — a bit prideful over my school. Being a sophomore, this is only my second year but the University has given me so much these last few semesters. I’ve learned a lot about myself and have learned to be independent. The University of Wyoming has helped foster the love I have for myself and helped me break free of certain hesitations and stereotypes. In short, I’m so thankful to university and I wanted to give some love back and showcase some of the lovely traditions UW is home too. Here are some University of Wyoming traditions that I love!
Border Wars
There is an intense rivalry between the University of Wyoming and Colorado State University. Our football teams have been going head to head almost every year since 1899. The “Border War” is known to be one of the oldest rivalries between states in the American West. This game is a big deal at the University and students take the rivalry seriously. With the school honor on the line, our student section is second to none in pride and cheer at football games. To this day Wyoming leads with 27 wins to CSU’s 24 wins. That being said, currently, the golden boot trophy is ours, Go Cowboys!
The Beer Song
The Beer Song is the anthem of University Wyoming football games. The crowd loves it, the band loves it, the visiting schools love it — everyone is a fan. While there are similar songs at various institutions, UW’s beer song is pretty unique to our region. In fact, visitors attend UW football games just to hear the dunken cheer of “The Beer Song”. After talking with a member of UW’s Western Thunder Marching Band, I was surprised to hear that “the Beer Song” isn’t even an official school song, and while the band plays along every game– they’ve never had actual music for the song. That being said, it’s an unofficial University tradition at sports games.
The T-Rex That Will Save Your GPA
At the University of Wyoming, you might find various desperate and anxious-looking characters by this T-rex statue around the final exam season. This statue is right outside the University of Wyoming’s Geology Museum and shrouded in pine trees. At most times of the year, one can find the surrounding ground littered in pine cones. According to legend, if you can throw a pine cone and it lands in the mouth of the dinosaur you’re guaranteed to ace your final exams. Unfortunately, due to my lack of depth perception and zero athletic ability, I have never successfully made the shot. And perhaps this is just a coincidence, but I have never aced all of my final exams.
A Spooky Benjamin Franklin?
If you go to the University of Wyoming, you’ve probably walked by an insightful looking Benjamin Franklin statue on the way to the classroom building. However, if you walk past him during the weeks surrounding a holiday you might see him sporting some spooky Halloween decor with a pumpkin at his feet. This is another unofficial University of Wyoming tradition. Students at the University occasionally take the liberty of dressing Ben in some holiday-themed fashions. It’s honestly a very wholesome and pure tradition.
The University of Wyoming is rich with tradition and culture. There are many more traditions here at the University of Wyoming, these are just a few that I found particularly endearing and funny. As someone who wasn’t particularly bursting with school pride in high school, I think school pride is something you need to experience in your life. Thankfully, my experience at the University of Wyoming has been awesome, I am very proud of my school and community!