College football chants and cheers are always great fun. From University of Arkansas fans “calling the hogs” to Ole Miss’s throwback “Hotty Toddy” cheer, these decades-old crowd participation rituals serve to fire up the fans and the teams. One of my favorites, though, is Florida A&M University’s famous “strike” chant. Like the Gator chomp or the FSU tomahawk chop, this one involves hand motions, where your arm represents the body of a snake coiling up and your pointer and middle fingers point down to form fangs. Fans may use the “two claps and a strike” call, or the entire Rattler Charge reminding opponents they will “Strike! Strike! and Strike Again!” The first time I saw anyone do this was over 20 years ago in a work meeting, demonstrated by a co-worker with FAMU Extension. It’s great fun, and by the end of the meeting, she had half the room whipping our arms around and striking our “fangs” at each other.
Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU) was founded in 1887, one of two segregated 2-year “normal” schools (an old term for colleges dedicated to training teachers). These were funded by state legislation passed in 1884, led by a Black legislator and educator named Thomas Van Renssaler Gibbs. One school opened in Gainesville (later absorbed by the University of Florida), and another in Tallahassee specifically for Black students. Amid Reconstruction, the second land grant act (1890 Morrill Act) was passed to provide funding for “agricultural and mechanical (i.e. engineering) arts” at universities serving Black Americans, who had long been excluded from public higher education. Like their earlier cohorts, these universities also have Extension programs and research stations. At this point the Tallahassee school was named the State Normal and Industrial College for Colored Students, becoming FAMU in 1953 with the addition of graduate programs, pharmacy, and law schools.
In what must have been a deeply ironic yet triumphant twist, after the new funding and renaming in 1891 the campus was moved to the former Highwood Plantation, a large parcel of land previously farmed by enslaved laborers. All those people and land were originally owned by former Governor William Duval. Located in a rural, hilly, and wooded part of the town, there was plenty of wildlife around—including large numbers of Eastern diamondbacked rattlesnakes.
The rattler athletic mascot is a solid one for obvious reasons, and according to the university website, the rattlesnake’s “tenacity to strike–and strike and strike again–embodies the resilience and grit inside of FAMU students.” Compared to their mammalian and avian competitors, snakes are relatively rare in college sports. Interestingly, Florida has two: FAMU’s “Venom the Rattler” is joined by “Mocsie” the Moccasin at Florida Southern College. Intimidating and effective ambush predators, rattlesnakes use their camouflage to hide in waiting for potential prey. Florida has three species of rattlesnakes; the Eastern Diamondbacked Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus), Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake, and Timber Rattlesnake. Timber rattlers (Crotalus horridus) are large snakes (up to 5 feet), but much lighter in color than diamondbacks and with a reddish-yellow stripe down their bodies. They have only been seen in a dozen north Florida counties.
Diamondback and pygmy rattlers can be found in every Florida county and look quite similar. Pygmy rattlers (Sistrurus miliarius barbouri) are much smaller than diamondbacks, with full-sized adults reaching only 1-2 feet long. Diamondbacks, however, are the largest venomous snakes in the country, with thick bodies—averaging 3-5 feet long with a record-breaking 8-footer recorded. They are commonly found in drier upland habitats like longleaf pine stands, turkey oak hammocks, and pine flatwoods. They may hide among palmetto shrubs and in gopher tortoise burrows, but they can also live on barrier islands, swimming across bays and hiding out in the dunes.
Rattlesnakes use their famous rattles to warn off potential predators, and at the sound of one it is wise to give it plenty of space. They are not considered highly aggressive, but if threatened they can rise into the air in a coiled striking position and reach out using most of their muscular bodies. A 6-foot-long snake, for example, can strike 4 feet away. Diamondbacks feed primarily on small mammals like rabbits, squirrels, and rats, serving an important ecological role in managing rodent populations. Females give live birth to 10-15 offspring right around the time football season starts, in August and September. They usually reproduce every 2-3 years but if offspring survive, they can live to be 20 years old in the wild. Due to habitat loss, vehicle strikes, and deliberate killing by scared humans, diamondback rattlesnake populations have dropped to the point that they are under review for inclusion as an endangered species. As with all venomous snakes, if you come across one the safest action is to step away and leave it be.
And if you ever find yourself at a FAMU football game (or even some academic ceremonies), you may want to familiarize yourself with the intimidating and inspiring Rattler Charge:
When the dark clouds gather on the horizon,
When thunder and lightning pierce the skies,
When fate is but a glare in the eye of a fallen Rattler,
and hope….a lost friend,
When the sinew of the chest grows weary from those hard charging linebackers,
And the muscles in the legs grow tired from those hard charging runningbacks,
You must always remember….the Rattlers will
STRIKE!!!
STRIKE!!!
AND STRIKE AGAIN!!!
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