Touchdown (mascot)

Touchdown, or the Big Red Bear, is the unofficial mascot of Cornell University. The first mascot was a black bear introduced in 1915 by the Cornell University Athletic Association. Three more live bears over the course of approximately two decades also made appearances at Cornell until the live bear was replaced by costumed students some years later. Touchdown appears on the logo for Cornell Athletics.

History

Touchdown I

The first mascot at Cornell was a black bear that the Cornell University Athletic Association (CUAA) acquired in the fall of 1915. The CUAA spent twenty-five dollars, excluding shipping costs, raised by the revenue from season ticket sales to purchase the bear. The bear was purchased after the manager of the football team received a letter from an animal trainer in Old Town, Maine. This year also marked the first year Cornell football went undefeated, which led to fans believing that Touchdown was a good omen.

Touchdown appeared at all of the games played by the Cornell football team that year. At the games, Touchdown was tethered to a stepladder so that he could climb on the home sideline of the field. He also climbed a goal post before each game, which quickly became a tradition for the fans.

Touchdown

A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.

Description

To score a touchdown, one team must take the football into the opposite end zone. The touchdown is scored the instant the ball crosses the plane of the goal line—that is if any part of the ball is in the space on, above, or across the goal line—while in possession of a player whose team is trying to score in that end zone. The play is dead and the touchdown scores the moment the ball crosses the goal line in possession of a player, or the moment the ball comes into possession of an offensive player in the end zone (having established possession by controlling the ball and having one or both feet or another part of the body on the ground). The slightest part of the ball being over the goal line is sufficient for a touchdown to score. However only the ball—not a player's helmet, foot, or other part of the body—counts. Touching one of the pylons at either end of the goal line with the ball constitutes "breaking the plane" as well.

Touchdown (T.I. song)

"Touchdown" is a song by American hip hop recording artist T.I., taken from his fifth studio album T.I. vs. T.I.P. (2007). The song features vocals from fellow American rapper Eminem, who also produced the song alongside his frequent collaborator Jeff Bass. The song, although not officially released as a single received considerable airplay on the radio, as well as on Monday Night Football, during the 2007 NFL season.

Music and lyrics

Produced by Eminem and Jeff Bass, the song features the use of electronic keyboard giving a trumpet-like sound. As well, hi-hats and bass drums are the main rhythmic instruments used in the song.

The song mainly deals with the success of the T.I. and Eminem, as well as their struggle with their respective alter egos "T.I.P." and "Slim Shady". Eminem raps imitating a Southern American accent, typical of T.I. and his hometown Atlanta (Eminem is from Detroit). Also, in the third and last verse T.I. explains his gratitude toward hip hop and criticizes people that disagree with the lyrical content of the music genre:

Touchdown (Trackshittaz song)

"Touchdown" is a song by Austrian duo Trackshittaz. The song was released in Austria as a Digital download on 14 June 2011. The song peaked to number 48 on the Austrian Singles Chart.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Chart performance

Release history

References