The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1538921
34 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY TIM PEELER ore than any other sport, college football is about traditions, those unique experi- ences at every school that encourage fans to return, game after game, week after week, regardless of the outcome on the field. Clemson players touch Frank How- ard's Rock before they run down the hill and step on the field at Memorial Sta- dium. Wisconsin fans "Jump Around" wildly at the end of the third quarter at Camp Randall Stadium, getting red-and-while Badgers in a frenzied state heading into the final 15 minutes. Iowa fans stand together after the first quarter of each home game at Kinnick Stadium to wave to the children at the school's pediatric hospital. There's Oklahoma's "Sooner Schoo- ner," Colorado's "Ralphie Run" and Virginia Tech's "Enter Sandman." Any school without a pregame, in-game or postgame song or activity probably won't make the College Football Playoff. Likewise, NC State has developed its own set of traditions in its 60 sea- sons at Carter-Finley Stadium — on the field, in the stands and on the sidelines, most unique for a school with one of the NCAA's most unique nicknames, the Wolfpack, which has been associ- ated with the school's football program since 1921. Many of those traditions have de- veloped organically through the years, accepted by acclamation of the fans, of the marching band or the cheerlead- ing squad. One of those, the 10-finger gesture known as "Wolf Hands," is cel- ebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Fans make the gesture by touching their thumb to their middle and ring fingers to form a wolf's snout and holding up their pinky and forefinger to form two ears. Introduced to State's cheerleading squad by captain John Mandrano and member Angela Smith Crumpler after a summer cheerleading camp in Texas, the gesture was first shown to fans by the cheerleaders and marching band on Sept. 6, 1975, prior to NC State's season- opening game against East Carolina. It gradually swept the stands, though it took some time before it became ubiq- uitous at every sporting event, every convocation, commencement and cel- M A SHOW OF HANDS Traditions Like The 'Wolf Hands' Gesture — Which Turns 50 This Year — Have Been A Big Part Of The NC State Football Experience Cheerleader Angela Smith Crumpler helped introduce the "Wolf Hands" gesture to fans during NC State's game against East Carolina on Sept. 6, 1975. The photo above is believed to be the first of someone making the hand sign, which has since become synonymous with the Wolfpack. PHOTO COURTESY ANGELA SMITH CRUMPLER