As a 1990 TCU graduate and a current graduate student on campus, I am more proud now than I have ever been to be a Horned Frog. I had the great opportunity to be in Pasadena to watch TCU win the Rose Bowl, and celebrating our Rose Bowl championship with a crowd of fans in the Coliseum Sunday afternoon was exciting.

But something was missing at both events: I did not hear Riff Ram, the school’s traditional cheer, at either event.

When I arrived on campus as a freshman in 1986, Riff Ram was one of the first things we learned during our assimilation into the TCU family. Okay, so it may sound dumb to outsiders, but it is a truly unique cheer that immediately connected us with TCU traditions and the decades of alumni that came before us.

One of my freshman friends had a license plate that read “RiffRam,” and everyone knew she was from a proud Horned Frog family. When we played Texas A&M, I was proud to shout Riff Ram to oppose those traditional Aggie yells.

Wherever we went, we could greet other frog fans from any generation with a “Riff Ram” and have an instant recognition. It was as prominent and unique as our two-fingered frog sign that distinguishes TCU fans from other schools.

So when I returned to TCU last year, I immediately missed the familiar cheer that, to me, is part of my Horned Frog identity. And I especially missed it this season. Yes, we all yell “Rah Rah TCU,” but what’s unique about that?

At the celebration event Sunday, there was a group of alumni holding a banner that read, “Riff Ram Bah Zoo 8212; Give ‘Em Hell TCU!” From across the room, I wanted to cheer it with them, and I wondered whether any of our current students even knew what the sign meant.

It is a sad to me that somehow the university lost or gave up that tradition that bridged generations for so long.

How about it TCU: Can we bring the Riff Ram back?

Riff Ram Bah Zoo

Lickety Lickety Zoo Zoo

Who Wah Wah Who

Give ‘Em Hell TCU!

Andrea Phillips

Arlington