I was born and raised in good old Wisconsin, but there was a brief period of time when I attended the University of Minnesota. If you are not familiar with the U of M, their mascot is Goldy, the Golden Gopher, and their sports rouser goes like this:
Minnesota, hats off to thee!
To thy colors true we shall ever be,
Firm and strong, united are we.
Rah, rah, rah, for Ski-U-Mah,
Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah!
Rah for the U of M Hey!
M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A!
Minnesota, Minnesota!
Yay, Gophers!
Like most new U of M students you are saying to yourself, “ski-u-mah”….what in the world?!?! Well, rumor has it that way back in 1884 one of the teams Rugby players, John Adams, was trying to come up with a battle cry or victory yell for the team. He overheard some Sioux boys yelling what he thought was “ski-yoo” after winning some canoe races. Although, the actual Sioux translation has never been confirmed, the victory cry caught on. It was eventually incorporated into the school rouser and still today it rolls off the tongue of thousands of U of M students and sports fans. (A co-captain to John Adams added the “rah” for rhyming purposes.)
Another piece to the puzzle for all you Badger fans…when the contest was held to write the Minnesota Rouser there was another entry in the mix. That rouser was written by William T. Purdy and was called “Minnesota, Minnesota”. Purdy was eventually talked into withdrawing his entry by a friend who wanted to use the song for his alma mater. So…whatever happened to the withdrawn song, it continues to roll off the tongues of thousands of students and sports fans at another Big Ten school under its revised name…“On Wisconsin”.
This cache is located in Price Park. Please observe park hours and park only in the designated parking lot. Help to keep the park clean by picking up litter along your way. Minimal bushwacking is required for this two-part multi.
NO BUSHWACKING IS REQUIRED FOR THE FIRST WAYPOINT. MINIMAL BUSHWACKING IS REQUIRED FOR FINAL WAYPOINT.