On the Little 500 weekend
Don’t get down from IUSB
Instead I’m down In IUB
Where I’ll be representin’ all in my tee
‘Cept for that it is a long sleeve
Ya dig what I be sayin’ or ya dig what I see?
No? Well, fuck you and fuck me
IUSB, IUB it don’t matter
Lil’ 500 is a whole bunch of chatter
But I don’t see the fucking thing
It’s just a bunch of kids in tights
On fuckin’ bikes
Riding around be like, “yikes”!
They’re like “I’m fuckin’ drunk”!
And ‘ I’m all like “I thought you was ridin’ bikes, why you all skunked”?
They’re like “Aww shit man, waz up”?
I’m like “Naw get out Ima kick you in the butt”
I’m tired, I’m tired, I’m tired of this shit
It’s time to go coz my shit gettin’ – illiget
It’s like oooh, oooh, oooh
Woowa, woo, ha, ha, ha
This is most likely the most interesting example of texture in this entire report. What is seen above is a freestyle rap about Little 500 and how disappointed this Indiana University South Bend student is with the concept. I hope for this person’s sake that this was right off the dome because the rhyme scheme leaves something to be desired and the last two lines are just sound effects, but it is a rap nonetheless. This is a creative way to voice one’s displeasure and I wonder how it sounded when it was first performed.
The context of this work of folklore is much more casual than the previous example. I chose this rap because of the jarring difference between the last mention of Little 500 where there was a rigid question-answer structure. In this work, things are much looser, it’s a rap so the structure flows and the intentional setting of this piece is most certainly not scholarly. I imagine this being first preformed amongst a group of like-minded friends who were sick of the overhyped Little 500 and were venting their feelings.
The only core concept I could have gone with here is performance. This is out of the norm, expressive, and meant to entertain. Everything about this piece screams performance so I am not sure if any other concept stood a chance. Perhaps identity or genre could have worked, but they still do not hold a candle to performance in this case. This work is meant to be heard and reacted to and I feel like I am only getting a small portion of his intention by merely reading the lyrics of his rap.
Looking for the links between these articles, I am surprised to find that there are not many. I initially set out to find folklore that came from the team itself like the 1982 rugby team, but I soon got sidetracked by the fans. The fans stole fish, tailgated, drank a lot, and responding to that drinking. In my research, I found many more sources about the drinking and partying that comes with athletics than athletics itself and I think that is very telling of the culture of IU. I doubt I would find the same disparity if I had done this research on a university that does not have the same partying reputation, I think the pendulum would swing in favor of athletics or at the very least would be split down the middle. So, the biggest link that I found through these articles is fans over teams which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it was an interesting discovery.