Welcome to homecoming week

The origin of the American Homecoming tradition is often disputed depending on which school administration you ask.  The consensus is that it started at the University of Missouri in 1911 when fans were encouraged to attend an alum football event. Ten thousand fans returned to Columbia, MO, that weekend; the rest is history. Ask the Sic’ Em faithful, and they claim Baylor’s homecoming history dates back even earlier to November 1909 and included a parade, reunion parties, and an afternoon football game, the final game of the 1909 season. The University of Illinois also lays claim to its founding. Regardless, it’s a ubiquitous celebration we all enjoy in late October across college campuses all over America. 

Happy Homecoming, UCF. 

Let’s piece back together some of our fandom’s soul this week, even if it’s just for our sanity. National media attention and walk-up interest have waned for this football team. We may no longer be dark horse picks in the Big 12 title race, but we still have Pegasus. Maybe the “Boom Addicts” are saturated with unfulfilled potential on the field, but it still doesn’t mean we can’t reach for the stars, right? Coming home is never a bad thing. And maybe it’s not a specific place but a mindset. This is a baseline spirit we take with us every day, having been borne out of walking the halls of a very special place we’ve all invested a lot of attention, time, and money into. Listen, administrations, athletic directors, athletes, and coaches come and go. For every disappointing season, there’s a magical run or an upset you never even saw coming. BYU was picked to finish 13th this year in pre-season rankings. They are currently 7-0 and #11 in the country. The wins and losses columns fluctuate (or, in some extreme cases, vacated). What stays constant is your passion for your alma mater. The people you’ve connected with over the years and the memories that have molded you into what you are today—the equity you gave to achieve your life successes. For every snarky, frustrated tweet behind a burner social account or plugged-in shareholder PowerPoint slide deck manifesto, you know it all comes from the same place. A place that means well and wants the best. A burning desire to see our school excel on every playing field, whether it’s grass and hardwood or a classroom to the boardroom. That’s home. 

On to Homecoming.

Best Homecoming Tradition in the Country?

For being such a young school, Spirit Splash is one of the most organic and iconic traditions that has evolved into something uniquely UCF. I still get excited to see students enjoying it for the first time. For years, the most widely accepted origin comes from the 1995 Homecoming Pep Rally, when the Student Government Association President Miguel Torregrossa was pushed into the Reflecting Pond by his Cabinet members. Those who were attending the event followed suit. I still remember wading in the water during undergrad, trying to keep my lips sealed so as not to let water seep in. It’s BYU week, so I wouldn’t mind getting a little soaked this time around. It’s fitting that this week, we gather around the Reflecting Pond. Let’s get a look at ourselves and see what we are at the current moment. We’re a plucky program cutting its teeth at the power level with so much still in front of us. Sure, this football season has been underwhelming, but by later this week, you will have a resurgence of optimism that maybe this is the weekend we will turn it all around. Just maybe. Top 15 opponent at home on Homecoming weekend is as sweet as it can get, right? Maybe not. But maybe…

Why Do We Throw Ducks at Spirit Splash Though? 

No, this is not a Jacurri Brown throwing mechanics overview on 3^rd and long after the Iowa State game. Here, we look at the origins of the novelty rubber duck ingrained into our Homecoming tradition. Rubber toys first appeared in the late 1800s, when manufacturers used Charles Goodyear’s process for rendering rubber into malleable material. One hundred years later, a sculptor named Peter Ganine created a sculpture of a duck, then patented it and reproduced it as a floating toy. These ducks developed into the iconic floating yellow figure with the bright orange bill we recognize today. But how did they become tied to UCF Homecoming? One year, the Student Government Association hadn’t ordered foam fingers in time, and they were looking for a substitute to give out that was small enough and not too hard to throw into a crowd. A simple and cost-effective solution was determined, so we arrived at rubber ducks.  The idea stuck, and now it is synonymous with UCF Homecoming. 

My oldest sister was a double major at the UCF College of Education. We always cherish Homecoming week as it falls around her birthday, and we got to share two as our tracks overlapped in undergrad. I remember one of her early projects included the role that children’s toys, such as a rubber duck, could play in early development. Water play develops muscle strength and coordination in young children, and a rubber duck’s bright color and smooth texture sharpen toddlers’ senses. Their presence in a bathtub can quell a child’s fear of the water and make for a pleasant bathing experience. It got me thinking that maybe we are those youngsters in depths we haven’t been in before. Maybe it’s a fitting tradition for an infant university compared to our other member institutions in the Big 12. Hell, we play in a Bounce House. In their football program’s history, Iowa State matched a 7-0 start for the second since 1938 last Saturday. We have G5 conference championships and the same number of Big 12 Championships in football as the Cyclones. Even through all that time, generational fan support has taken decades to build.  We are taking our lumps and growing pains in real-time. Iowa State has been playing football since 1892. We became a school seventy years later after that. Perspective is critical, even though the frustration of this season.  

A Mission Beyond the Wins and Losses Column

At the very least, I’m excited about this year’s homecoming opponent. I’ve always enjoyed Brigham Young University and its fan lore. Lavell Edwards Stadium is a beautiful setting for college football, and Cosmo the Cougar is by far the most entertaining mascot in the country. Having the Holy War rivalry against Utah in the Big 12 conference was a slam dunk and will be must-see TV in a league starved for new eyeballs and elite viewership. 

One school is secular, and the other sacred. Religion has always gone hand in hand with BYU. Their players are 22–24-year-old men, having served missions before completing their eligibility and schooling. It’s the reason why their squads are always seeming to be so disciplined and tenacious. Players who are members of the church, roughly half of the team each year, often participate in this service. Missions are two-year-long, self-funded service trips to hundreds of major cities worldwide across six of seven continents. On the current roster, 56 players have served missions across 32 countries. Did you know that the most prominent landowner in the state of Florida is, in fact, The Mormon Church, with over 678,000 acres? If you look at the ticket resale market, they have their sights set on acquiring even more real estate in East Orlando this Saturday afternoon. 

Listen, this year has not gone as we had hoped. I’m trying to muster all interest and joy that’s seemingly been slowly siphoned away over the last month. We’re on the precipice of another 5-game losing streak in conference play, back-to-back years. Same QB rotation woes and learning as we go, back half-season restarts, and an endless game of whack-a-mole when it comes to correcting what ails us. Is postseason play an option? Yes, mathematically, we are still in the hunt. Being a fan is an irrational endeavor. You have to take the good and the bad. The sweet is not as sweet without the sour. Let’s turn heel, play spoiler, and derail some fast tracks to Arlington. Let’s develop young talent, not let this season cave in, and answer the call to “Free The Youngins.” Let’s stay undefeated in Space Games. Let’s maybe… deny Utah a bowl game? Hell, let’s try to make one ourselves.

It all starts with beating BYU this Saturday. 

Happy Homecoming, Knights and ‘Nauts alike. 

We all bought the ticket. 

Even though it may not be the best time right now, let’s enjoy the ride. 

We’re all on it for life.