"Yogi Yogi bear, Yogi Yogi bear!" is one of our infamous rugby drinking songs, which my rugby team sang on our last trip to Illinois. Adhering to the culture of our sport and singing the classic drinking songs is always expected. These songs usually consist of vulgar, sexual innuendos and odes to the great game of rugby. As I look back on the event, which seemed so second-nature to me, I realize that we are following the "drunken rugby player" stereotype to a tee. I am used to the rugby culture and it is part of why I love the sport, but it may have been a little overwhelming to the rookies that recently joined the team. Rhetoric comes into play here: the behaviors of the veteran players is arguing the rookies and underclassmen to conform to the stereotype. Rugby is very accepting, but very influencing as well.
"A lady came in for some jewlery,
SOME JEWELRY FROM THE STORE?
Jewewlry she wanted, my pearl necklace she got
I DON'T WORK THERE ANYMORE!"
A distinct difference between rugby players and the typical refined, intellible person is made obvious in the lyrics of our song, " The old department store." The vernacular inherent in rugby songs correlates with the cultural language and literacy piece of cultural studies. Our songs lyrics are probably comepletely offensive to many people, but to us they are a joke, because that is the meaning we give them and as afar as we know it is their intended meaning. The way we represent ourselves, as far as vocabulary choice, makes it easy for certain people to disassociate with the rugby culture. So clearly there are many different ways a song can coerce someone's impression of the people who sing it. The lyrics may be enticingly hilarious to some, and crudely chauvanistic to others.
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