National Talk like a Pirate Day

National Talk like a Pirate Day

“You gotta walk, walk, walk, walk like a pirate. Talk, talk, talk, talk like a pirate...”

Hey have you ever heard that chant? Well if you have you know exactly what I’m talking about, but have you ever thought about how the Hampton Pirates mascot came about. Ironically, today Sept. 19, 2013, is National Talk like a Pirate Day (yes this does exist). Today people everywhere are taking time out of their busy schedules to talk like Pirates. Funny right? Well, for us walking, talking, or living like a pirate is not hard to do. We do 365 days out of the year. So, to commemorate today’s festivities we will explore just how exactly the Pirate became the mascot of Hampton.

Over 70 years ago in May 1933, in a vote conducted by the Hampton Script, students selected “Pirates” as the official mascot of Hampton. It was a pretty tough competition with competitors such as: Seasiders, Ironmen, Buccaneers and Wildcats. Just think what it would be like if we were the Hampton University Ironmen?  Personally, I am happy that the students voted on Pirates.

A journalist at the Norfolk New Journal and Guide who was also a contributor to the Script suggested the name Pirates beause, “it seemed uniquely appropriate, because it hadn’t been abused by a thousand other colleges.”  The Pirate was not the only mascot suggestion with symbolism; all of the choices shared this quality. However, the Pirates were clearly victorious in this fight. Winning the votes of 307 students out of the 577 that voted. From this point on Hamptonians were known as the Pirates.

So, there you have it, just a brief history on how we got our name. So go and relish in the fun today and talk like a Pirate. It shouldn’t be hard since you do it every day anyway. This is your day of celebration, so celebrate! Show outsiders what it’s really like to be a Pirate!

The Pirate mascot interacting with the referee at the Hampton vs. Duke basketball game.

 

Daisha Roberts '15