Minnesota Rouser
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The "Minnesota Rouser" is the
fight song A fight song is a rousing short song associated with a sports team. The term is most common in the United States and Canada. In Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand these songs are called the team anthem, team song, or games song. First associated ...
of the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...
. It is played at all
Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big T ...
games.


Lyrics

The phrase 'Ski-U-Mah' was part of an early cheer for the U of M. Gopher fans traditionally thrust their fists in the air during the spell-out, and make a circular motion with their fist during the yell. The original lyrics were published in the Minneapolis Tribune, November 21, 1909.


History

It was the subject of a 1909 contest held by the '' Minnesota Daily'' and the ''
Minneapolis Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consoli ...
'' to write a suitable song for Minnesota
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
games, to replace the
hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...
like "
Hail! Minnesota "Hail! Minnesota" (also simply called "Minnesota" in early years) is the regional anthem (or "state song") of the U.S. state of Minnesota. A variation is used as a school song of the University of Minnesota. It originated at the university in the ...
". The song was written by Floyd Hutsell, then the choir director of First Methodist Episcopal Church in Minneapolis. He originally included a verse, but only the refrain is sung today. Hutsell is best known outside Minnesota as "Robert LaMar," a prominent vaudeville and operetta actor and producer. The song was originally titled, "The U. of M. Rouser," but eventually became known as simply the "Minnesota Rouser." Sheet music to the winning song was published November 21, 1909, as a Supplement to the ''Minneapolis Sunday Tribune''. Written in the key of G major, it was titled "The U. of M. Rouser" and was dedicated to B. A. Rose, Band Master, U. of M. The verse was included in this publication. The Judges for the fighting song, listed on the back, were: A.O. Eberhart, Governor of Minnesota; Cyrus W. Northrop, President of the University of Minnesota; Carlyle M. Scott, Professor of Music, University of Minnesota; J.A. Sende, Chief Musician, University of Minnesota Band; and Arthur Allen, President of the University of Minnesota Glee and Mandolin Club. The contest spawned another prominent Big Ten song. William T. Purdy also submitted a song for the contest, titled "Minnesota, Minnesota." He withdrew it from the contest at the urging of his lyricist, Carl Beck, who wanted to offer the song to the
University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
, where it became "
On Wisconsin "On, Wisconsin!" is the fight song of the Wisconsin Badgers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. A version with modified lyrics is the official state song of Wisconsin. "On, Wisconsin!" was also the cry that Arthur MacArthur Jr. used in the ...
".


In popular culture

The Boston-based rock orchestra
The Wings of Fire Orchestra
uses a variation of the U. of Minnesota Rouser on the song Connorfool (from ''Bullfighter Ballet'', 2006). On '' The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show'', the lyrics are changed to "Wossamotta, Hats Off to U" ("Hail, Wossamotta, hail/Better we should land in jail.")


See also

* Ski-U-Mah


References

* * *


External links


The Minnesota Rouser
as performed by the
University of Minnesota Marching Band The University of Minnesota Marching Band (also known as UMMB, Minnesota Marching Band, and The Pride of Minnesota) is the marching band of the University of Minnesota and the flagship university band for the state of Minnesota. The Pride of Minne ...
{{authority control Big Ten Conference fight songs Minnesota Golden Gophers University of Minnesota Morris 1909 songs