The first time I heard the slogan “We are Minnesota” it was coming from the mouth of the soon to be despised coach Brewster at a gopher pep rally. He fired up the crowd by demanding “WE ARE?” to which the energized students would reply “MINNESOTA!” Thinking back to this experience now, I can’t help but wonder what the phrase actually means or how it really affects the student body here at the U.
The way the word Minnesota is being presented in this situation is somewhat unconventional. As we all know, Minnesota is a geographical place, not a state of being. Why not say “We Are Minnesotan? It would make more grammatical sense to use this adjective. To say we are Minnesota, it implies that we are inseparable from the place in which we reside. To use one of our important keywords, Minnesota is now part of our identity. To me, what position this phrase is arguing us to take and what it is really saying to us is “set aside the differences between you and your neighbor. It no longer matters if you hail from Wisconsin, Chicago, China or Mars. Now you are on our side, part of our family. Minnesota is now part of who you are, not just the place you live in.”
And who does Tim Brewster mean by “we” anyway? And why not say “we are the University of Minnesota?” The way he presented this saying made it clear that he meant everyone; students, staff, football players, alumni fans, and many more. Our college represents the whole of the state and our community, he seemed to imply. In a way, Brewster was attempting to create a culture. Using this phrase to give everyone a common identity could create a unified atmosphere. The shouts of “WE ARE” and the booming reply “MINNESOTA!” could be heard resounding off the building throughout the entire campus that night. There was no doubt that the students left feeling positively affected by the pep rally. Now they were Minnesota.
I couldn't agree more with the notion that Brewster was attempting to create a culture within the stadium, the culture of "being" Minnesota. While I am all for state pride, I have recently noticed certain objects around me referring to a certain egotistical approach to pride.
ReplyDeleteJust last week I saw a 'No Coast' Minnesota shirt. I immediately read this as the makers of the clothing trying to deviate themselves from infamous "East Coast/West Coast" popularity. This led me to believe that this person was choosing to have Minnesota represent their surroundings indefinitely.
Reverting back to what was said above about "setting aside the differences between you and your neighbor" I think this portrayal of "being Minnesota" had the opposite effect; it almost represented a stigma that since Minnesota is land-locked and not part of the popular "coast" states, that it has become unique in a way. While state pride is one thing, the readings aren't always interpreted that way.
I think this is a very good example of culture since it is making everyone becoming identified with 'Minnesota'. He was very smart in making this his chant because one of the main aspects of college is to feel like you are a part of a bigger community and that everyone is in it together. I think the position it puts people in is a very positive one since its meant for us to all come together, and like you said not think about where people are originally from, and all want the same thing.
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