“Spirit Bell” tries to ring in new tradition
The new ‘Spirit Bell’ tradition, started this football season, has gone largely unnoticed by the student population.
On football game days, the 1,800 pound bell, donated by Barb Roberts Quintan in memory of her late husband and first president of the CU Foundation Dwight Roberts, will ring ten minutes before the team congregates on Colorado Avenue and around Folsom Field, and then once again ten minutes before Ralphie V charges the field.
“It’s a cool idea for a new tradition,” said Katie Keller, a sophomore film studies major. “It needs to be promoted more though. It would be a good way to pump up the crowd before games.”
Amber Rose, a sophomore sociology major, agrees with Keller that the bell needs more endorsement.
“Nobody knows about it,” Rose said. “They need to advertise it more so it becomes known.”
The bell, which debuted earlier in the season against Eastern Washington, has also gone largely unheard by the team itself. The Buffs realize however, that starting a new tradition only means the start of good things to come.
Sophomore running back Demetrius Sumler sees the new ritual as another way to get the fans involved.
“We already have the greatest tradition when we run Ralphie, and (the bell) is a very cool way to keep the fans involved before game time,” Sumler said.
If you ask every player that suits up in a Buff uniform they’ll tell you how important tradition is to the program.
“It’s the single greatest and most important thing,” said George Hypolite, a senior defensive.
Senior center Daniel Sanders also recognized the importance of tradition.
“It’s very important,” Sanders said. “It helps us recognize playing up to expectations.”
The Spirit Bell is just another addition to an already long list of traditions that define CU Football.
With two wins already on the season, both the students and team are ready to ring in a new era and become part of new tradition.
Contact CU Independent Freelancer Grant Friede at Grant.Friede@colorado.edu.
