If you’re someone who attends the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, you know that there are many things that define who we are, from the bitter cold winters to the chants we scream like “Ski-U-Mah” at every sporting event. We are a unique culture of many different people. But if there is one thing we all have in common, its these 20 signs that prove you attend the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
Whether it’s a game day mid-October, or the end of April, we never fail to display our gopher pride by wearing our gopheralls (and any other UMN apparel we own) every Saturday. We’re proud to show so much school spirit anywhere we go. It might not be gameday, but it is in our hearts.
If you go to the U of M, you know Minnesota is the “state of hockey”. And we’re not afraid to make it obvious of how much passion we have for the sport. All of our fun cheers, our rowdy chants, and our crazy student section prove just how fanatic we are about going to school in the hockey state.
Not only do we take pride in our passion for hockey, but going to a school where our basketball court is not only known as “Williams Arena,” but “The Barn,” means barn animal costumes galore. It’s not uncommon to see students walking around campus in chicken or cow costumes. If you’re lucky, you might even have the opportunity to stand in the front row of students dressed like a pig sometime during your college career!
At the U of M, we celebrate every sports team and we have triumphant chants for each and every sporting event. Our sports teams bring with them a fun cheer: “Ski-U-Mah”. Everyone knows what this chant is, and when to say it, but do we all know what it means? Either way, we full-heartedly chant this at every game at the top of our lungs. This is what makes us gophers!! (P.S, for those of you who don’t know, ski-yoo is interpreted to be Sioux for “victory”. The captain of the Rugby team added “mah” to it in the late 1800s to rhyme with “rah” thus creating “ski-u-mah”!)
Speaking of gamedays and barn costumes, what ever happened to the Floco Courtyard? Well, if you go to the U of M, you remember when that was the biggest student tailgate there was. It was the place to go if you wanted to experience the best camaraderie of game day festivities with all of your closest friends. Please bring it back UMN!!!
This is yet another chant we scream after every football game, and it’s becoming even more common at every other sporting event (or any event in general). If you go to the U of M and you hear someone yell “Who hates Iowa?”, your automatic response back will be “WE HATE IOWA.”
Whether it’s actually your birthday or you just want the chance to sing your heart out at karaoke, Tuesdays are for Burrito Loco (BLOCO for short.) Rumor has it they have some of the best fishbowls on campus. 21st birthdays are celebrated like no other here. Your birthday is on a Friday? You bet you’re going to BLOCO the upcoming Tuesday for your free drinks. There’s no doubt about it.
If you’re not from the U of M, you might be asking yourself, what is the gopher way? Is it how gopher students act around campus? Well, friends, the answer is no. The gopher way is in fact a system of tunnels that winds under northrop mall made in the attempt to help freezing cold students travel campus without going outside. Of course, those of us who go to school here know never to walk alone in those corridors in fear that some of the sketchy rumors are true. Nevertheless, in the negative 20 degree weather, if you have a friend with you, they’re pretty useful.
Not only do we have a big enough East Bank campus that requires tunnels for the cold weather, but most of us have classes on West Bank as well. Now unfortunately, there isn’t an underground tunnel system to get there, so we have to walk across the (what feels like) 5 mile long bridge that crosses the Mississippi River connecting the banks. Most of us like to rely on the busses to help us cross this bridge, but if it’s a “hot bus” hour, we all know our best bet to get to class in time is to walk across that atrociously long bridge. Oh well, at least it’s kind of cool to think about how the west bank wasn’t even a part of America until 1803. That’s a pretty significant piece of history we get to experience everyday on campus!
Anyone who attends the University of Minnesota will tell you that Minneapolis is underrated. With it’s many parks, restaurants, beautiful city buildings, and countless bridges, the U of M is in the perfect location to live a college student life with the taste of a beautiful city. Sometimes we take it for granted, but in the long run we know we’re lucky to have somewhere to adventure to when we need a study break or a change of scenery.
This one is a no brainer. We know that Minnesota has some of the harshest winters in the country, it’s no surprise that buildings crank up the heat in the winter. The problem is that us students have to walk sometimes upwards of 10 blocks to get to class even on the coldest of days. We leave home freezing and we get to class sweating. Why isn’t class cancelled when there’s a negative 20 degree windchill outside? No one knows, but those Eastern and Western states really don’t know how lucky they are not to have to endure the bitter cold that is Minnesota in the winter.
One day it’s snowing 4 inches and the next day its sunny and 50 and the snow has all melted. We don’t take this weather for granted ladies and gents. If it hits 50 degrees outside, you’ll walk around campus and see hammocks hanging from the trees, tables set up outside of restaurants and coffee shops, and porching festivities going on as you walk down University. We dream of this weather all winter so when it comes, it’s no surprise that we jump at our first opportunity to go outside without our coats! Bring on the warmth!
Everyone at the U of M knows what super block is. The four freshman dorms that surround a courtyard is the place to be if you’re a freshman. Send in your requests for a dorm room as a senior in high school and 99% of the time, your top pick will be a hall in super block. This is basically the place that you meet all of your college (and lifelong) friends if you go to the University of Minnesota. I think the only dorm that students wouldn’t want to live in as a freshman is Pioneer because of it’s creepy rumors and dreaded heat without air conditioning, but never fear, they’re tearing it down and redoing it this year! Either way, if you had the opportunity to live in super block as a freshman, you probably had some memorable moments there.
As a prospective student at the University of Minnesota, you heard rumors about these lions on fraternity row that changed colors time and time again, so when you came to school you were excited to witness the magic yourself. Sometimes they’ll paint them maroon and gold, sometimes all gold or all maroon, and sometimes they’re other random colors, but nevertheless, it’s exciting to see what the next new color will be. And if you look really closely, you can see the chipped paint and all of their different layers of color.
This is the tree that sits on the West Bank side of the Washington Avenue Bridge. When you walk past it, it’s hard not to notice all of the shoes that people have thrown over its branches. People do it for a lot of different reasons, but its best quality is that the shoes on that tree hold so many wonderful and unique memories at the U of M. It’s pretty incredible to think of all the different people who have chosen to leave their mark on the University with a pair of old sneakers.
If you are a student at the U of M, you have probably spent a good amount of time on the green grass at the Northrop Mall during the day, and you’ve most likely played a night game or two there after dark. This is the notorious spot for night games and if you’re studying at Walter or coming from a movie at Coffman, it’s inevitable that there will be students playing some sort of outdoor game at night there when it gets nice out. Sometimes if you’re lucky they’ll ask you to play along with them!
As students at the U of M, we live for the nights when we get to adventure to Andrea’s or Mesa Pizza for a slice of flavorful yumminess at 3 in the morning. These two pizza places are known for their infamous mac and cheese slices and boy are they good. (Especially after a night out with friends.) Some of the best memories are those made eating late night pizza, whether it’s seeing everyone you know there or making new friends, these pizza places bring us together at some of the latest hours of the night and trust us, the line is worth the wait.
This little hole-in-the-wall brunch stop is perfect for a fun outing with your friends, but I do not advise you to take your first trip there after a night out. The line out the door as well as the fun, busy environment might not be the best thing to cure your hangover. Nevertheless, Al’s offers amazing food and is an extremely popular brunch spot for foodies across Minnesota and students across campus.
As incoming freshman, we got to learn all of the famous U of M cheers. A fan favorite is telling Goldy (number one mascot in the country by the way) to “spin his tail” then his head, and then his body. If you spot Goldy in the crowd, you might hear someone start yelling this chant. It’s a given that everyone in the crowd will join in on it to watch Goldy spin. If you don’t go to the U of M, you definitely need to come check it out at a game!
After all is said and done, we know we’re “Better dead than red.”
*This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.
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