The Origins of Ski-U-Mah, Row the Boat, and other Gophers-isms

Minnesotan vernacular is not only a major part of our identity, it's also a major part of how non-Minnesotans [peasants] identify us. I moved to California a few years after the Fargo movie was released, and those hunyucks [hun-yucks] couldn't believe I didn't end each sentence with "ya betcha". Silly hunyucks.

That vernacular transferred into our higher education system. The University of Minnesota is home to Minnesotan-isms, cuz that's how we roll, dontcha know? Ya betcha.

Oh geez here we go again (Getty Images)

Ski-U-Mah

First off, it's "ski" as in "sky", not "water skis". This phrase was not originated by P.J. Fleck; in fact, it goes a LOT further back than that.

It's a tale of two Minnesota rugby players from the late 1800s. Win Sargent and John W. Adams [boooring] wanted a team yell to rouse their teammates. Like most things American, they found the answer by stealing it from a Native American.

Adams claims to have heard Native American boys yell "ski-yoo!" after winning a canoe race years earlier. "Ski-yoo" was thought to be the Dakota term for victory. It isn't, but when has that stopped us? "Mah" was then added to make the slogan rhyme with "rah" and/or "MinnesoTAH".

So Ski-U-Mah is...gibberish. But it's ROUSING gibberish!

Off to sign an extension of the contract that he just extended like a week ago (Getty Images)

Row the Boat

Now this one does actually have meaning to it. "Row the Boat" refers to focusing on what you can control. Symbolism is explained by The Daily Gopher:

the oar represents the energy you bring to your life
the boat represents the sacrifices you're willing to make
the compass represents the direction of your life

For Gophers head football coach P.J. Fleck, it holds special meaning after he lost his infant son in 2011. "Rowing the boat" represents Fleck continuing to live his life for his son.

Maroon and Gold Colors

We interrupt the previous deep entry [thatswhatshesaid] with this: the University of Minnesota colors didn't become official until years after they were first used. Augusta Smith is credited with choosing maroon and gold for the spring 1880 graduation ceremony. The color scheme stuck.

The Golden Gophers

Another oddity: Minnesota was dubbed "The Gopher State" in a satirical political cartoon in 1857 over a railroad proposal. The U of M later began using the nickname. The "Golden" part came decades later, when in the 1930s radio legend Halsey Hall coined the "Golden Gophers" term in reference to the gold on the team's jerseys. Neat, huh?