Fifty years ago this August I enrolled at The Institute on South Main, where I saw guys wearing slide rule holsters. Total enrollment was 3,400, 5/7 male, 2/7 female, residing in seven residential colleges. "TRG" meant typical rice girl. I dated three atypical Rice girls (sorry, pics have disintegrated). They were cool; one was nubile and rather comely.
It was said that half of the students had to be Texas residents and half of those had to be from Houston. My three roommates were all Texans, outrageous and extreme Cowboys fans. Next door just inches away from my head lived a Chinese guy who played CSN&Y's "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" all the fucking time. Drove me batshit. Every time I saw a toad on the sidewalk outside our room (often) I would import it into the Chinese guy's room through a cavity in the hole for the radiator when it was quiet over there. I put about 20 toads over there until one night he said "Ahhhhh-HA! So that's where they came from! Why, man?" I told him and he graciously quit playing that damned song so much. A Burmese prince who drove a Porsche 911 lived in the Chinese guy's room.
I was a water balloon warrior, holding up an 8-ft 2x4 while another dumbass held up another, and the launch master aimed a small plastic beach bucket attached with surgical tubing to the tops of the 2x4s. In this way we waged war with neighboring dorms. Occasionally the balloons were filled with liquid other than water. If you were a stanchion holder you held your breath when a piss balloon was launched. The balloons would travel 100 yards to impact.
There were a handful of us Alabamians at Rice and we all pretty much assimilated into the sardonically irreverent Rice culture. In those days the MOB was just flexing its wings. There was no actual College of Music at Rice then but the MOB recruited students with band experience and those dudes could play. The MOB had about 100 members.
Once vs UH (which we called Cougar High) at the Dome, at halftime the MOB took the field and scrambled to form a lopsided shape which sort of resembled the Astrodome. The MOB's p.a. guy, who had a great FM deejay voice, boomed, "The Rice University Marching Owl Band salutes Judge Roy Hofheinz and the Houston Astrodome,
[long pause],
THE WORRRRLD'S
SMAAALLLLEST
INNNDOOOR
STAAAAAYYYDIUMMM!"
Judge Roy, who was seated in his box a few steps from the press box, stormed in, yanked the mic out if its socket and took it away. The MOB completed its show unaccompanied by the words of its announcer.
in 1972, Rice won the SWC in every sport but one (football). I wonder if any other SWC school ever accomplished that but I'm too lazy to look it up.
Frequent cheer at RU football games, following lost fumbles, botched plays, failed 4th down conversions, drive killing penalties, etc.: "OOOOOOOOOOOOH SHIT! GOD DAMN!"
My roommates and I went to Aggieland in 1970 and saw Rice embarass the Aggies 18-17. I say embarrass because fakery was involved. I know it was windy and cold as shit.
I delighted in seeing another Rice-at-Aggy game. Rice was losing at halftime, didnt make a first down in the second half and still won. Before the game, the Owl suit cheerleader guy strutted around the field before the taunting the Cotps and Aggie fans in general. He would face the crowd, wave and salute and clap, then turn around and bend over. He had a little sign sewed to the ass of his costume, under the long tail of his suit. He would flip the tail up and wiggle his ass at the Aggies, who would hiss and jeer maniacally and shower him with ice, cups and other projectiles. Finally, we saw why. The sign included a perfect replica of the Aggie logo, though slightly altered:
E A T M E