Many of you may be wondering, exactly what is a Hokie Hoopty. Obviously it has something to do with a somewhat ugly, yellow, short bus and a group of slightly psychotic football fans. Let's break it down into its respective parts.
HOKIE:
The origin of the word "Hokie" has nothing to do with a turkey. It was coined by O. M. Stull (class of 1896), who used it in a spirit yell he wrote for a competition.
Here's how that competition came to be held. Virginia Tech was founded in 1872 as a land-grant institution and was named Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College. In 1896, the Virginia General Assembly officially changed the college's name to Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute, a name so long that citizens shortened it in popular usage to VPI. The original college cheer, which made reference to the original name of the institution, was no longer suitable. Thus, a contest was held to select a new spirit yell, and Stull won the $5 top prize for his cheer, now known as Old Hokie:
Later, the phrase "Team! Team! Team!" was added at the end, and an "e" was added to "Hoki."
Stull later said that he made up the word as an attention-grabber. Though he may not have known it, "Hokie" (in its various forms) has been around at least since 1842. According to Johann Norstedt, now a retired Virginia Tech English professor, "[Hokie was] a word that people used to express feeling, approval, excitement, surprise. Hokie, then, is a word like 'hooray,' or 'yeah,' or 'rah.'" Whatever its original meaning, the word in the popular cheer did, as Stull wanted, grab attention and has been a part of Virginia Tech tradition ever since. It is now identified as the nickname for all Tech teams and for those people loyal to Tech athletics.
(Thanks to the official Va Tech web site for the definition as described above)
HOOPTY:
[slang] Today it can be any car or vehicle used as personal transportation. But it was originally used to refer to classic 70's or 80's era large American cars (impalas, new yorkers, towne cars and so on...), usually found in the ghetto and in poor condition, that has been "pimped out" with garish paint, animal print interiors, wheels too large or too small and so on. They are often roomy, comfortable worn-out gas-guzzlers.
(Thanks to the UrbanDictionary.com web site for the definition as described above)
So there it is. The Hokie Hoopty is our somewhat crappy vehicle used to help us support our dearly beloved Hokies. Tailgating Xanadu.
HOKIE:
The origin of the word "Hokie" has nothing to do with a turkey. It was coined by O. M. Stull (class of 1896), who used it in a spirit yell he wrote for a competition.
Here's how that competition came to be held. Virginia Tech was founded in 1872 as a land-grant institution and was named Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College. In 1896, the Virginia General Assembly officially changed the college's name to Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute, a name so long that citizens shortened it in popular usage to VPI. The original college cheer, which made reference to the original name of the institution, was no longer suitable. Thus, a contest was held to select a new spirit yell, and Stull won the $5 top prize for his cheer, now known as Old Hokie:
Hoki, Hoki, Hoki, Hy.
Techs, Techs, V.P.I.
Sola-Rex, Sola-Rah.
Polytechs - Vir-gin-ia.
Rae, Ri, V.P.I.
Techs, Techs, V.P.I.
Sola-Rex, Sola-Rah.
Polytechs - Vir-gin-ia.
Rae, Ri, V.P.I.
Later, the phrase "Team! Team! Team!" was added at the end, and an "e" was added to "Hoki."
Stull later said that he made up the word as an attention-grabber. Though he may not have known it, "Hokie" (in its various forms) has been around at least since 1842. According to Johann Norstedt, now a retired Virginia Tech English professor, "[Hokie was] a word that people used to express feeling, approval, excitement, surprise. Hokie, then, is a word like 'hooray,' or 'yeah,' or 'rah.'" Whatever its original meaning, the word in the popular cheer did, as Stull wanted, grab attention and has been a part of Virginia Tech tradition ever since. It is now identified as the nickname for all Tech teams and for those people loyal to Tech athletics.
(Thanks to the official Va Tech web site for the definition as described above)
HOOPTY:
[slang] Today it can be any car or vehicle used as personal transportation. But it was originally used to refer to classic 70's or 80's era large American cars (impalas, new yorkers, towne cars and so on...), usually found in the ghetto and in poor condition, that has been "pimped out" with garish paint, animal print interiors, wheels too large or too small and so on. They are often roomy, comfortable worn-out gas-guzzlers.
(Thanks to the UrbanDictionary.com web site for the definition as described above)
So there it is. The Hokie Hoopty is our somewhat crappy vehicle used to help us support our dearly beloved Hokies. Tailgating Xanadu.
