AZGrizFan said:CDAGRIZ said:A three-way tie for third hangs a championship banner in Bozeman. We've all been around long enough to know this.
MSU invented the "Participation Trophy".
Look it up.
Holy shit! I thought you were joking, but you're right! HAHA!
From a wiki:
A participation trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement of participation, and serves as recognition or evidence of participation. Participation trophies are often awarded for sporting events, mainly in youth sports.
Trophy History
Originally the word trophy, derived from the Greek tropaion, referred to arms, standards, other property, or human captives and body parts (e.g., headhunting) captured in battle. These war trophies commemorated the military victories of a state, army or individual combatant. Modernly, trophies ordinarily signify merit in competition. Conversely, a participation trophy is given for merely participating in an event of any kind, sporting or otherwise.
Participation
The history of the participation trophy can be traced back to the mid-20th century when the coach of the Montana State University football team, Wally Lemm, felt his team played well enough for a trophy, but did not win enough contests to warrant the awarding of one. The 1955 Montana State Bobcat football team achieved a 4-4-1 record on the season, but had several close losses, and could have easily gone 7-1-1. Lemm awarded trophies to his team engraved simply with "Bobcat Effort". Though the trophies were appreciated, players and media playfully mocked them, calling them "trophies for just showing up" and "participation slugs". Lemm, himself, even admitted that the trophies were something of a "gag" among his tight-knit 1955 squad. Eventually, the name "Participation Trophy" stuck.