We had our first novice rowing race today. It was less than ideal. But there was some promise in the second half...and I was comforted to hear lots of stories from good, experienced rowers about their previous disastrous crashes and fails. I also learned that if a crew wins certain key races, it's tradition to throw their cox in the river.
This got me thinking about how many celebratory traditions there are that involve dousing someone. Think about it: win the Super Bowl or some other big football game and you throw the Gatorade/water all over the coach. At Stanford, you're supposed to drag a birthday person into the shower, while at a couple Northwest colleges I visited back in the day, I heard it's tradition to throw them in the millrace/river. Or there's simply throwing someone in the pool at a party.
What is so attractive about getting someone soaked? One could make an elaborate metaphor about baptism, or say it's schadenfreude (pleasure in someone else's discomfort). I truly don't know. But here are some pictures from today:
Since Tit Hall's colors are black and white, and this was a dress-up race, we were dressed as Postman Pat (the cox) and his (her) black-and-white cat(s). Apparently it's a children's show -- see here.
I was rowing at bow (the frontmost position), so I got this shot of Genna and the rest of the crew strapping in, right in front of the boathouse.
Preparations continue:
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