At 7 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 30, Manual students gathered in the auditorium to mourn and “bury” the Male High School Bulldog. This tradition takes place every year on the Thursday or “Doomsday” of Red/White Week.
Students filed in the doors, waiting to listen to the eulogy given by Grady Amick (11, J&C). The Executive Council began the procession by filing into the auditorium, carrying the casket and photo of the bulldog. Sobs echoed through the auditorium as they took their place below the stage.
Drew Moutachouik (11, YPAS) then played the trumpet to start the ceremony, and Amick started his speech.
“We wear black today. We play sad songs. We force one another to be quiet in grief,” Amick said.
He continued to speak, drawing more heartfelt cheers and tears from the audience. Many people were seen waving their tissues in the air and thoughtfully patting their “tears” away.
“Today, we mourn what we will kill. Today, we light a fire that will carry across a building and across a city and across a world. Today, we mourn a mutt. One ugly mutt,” Amick said.
The audience erupted into cheers at his words, uniting at the hatred for the bulldog.
“And we know this, the same way we know that we have won long before kickoff even happens tomorrow night: when its other choice is representing Male, that sorry bulldog is better off dead,” Amick said.
Amick then called Jack Masterson (12, YPAS) and Maxton Fee (12, YPAS) up to the stage to share their condolences.
“As we all know, we are here to mourn the dog. The only dog to lose a fight to its own tail,” Masterson said.
The pair continued to go back and forth, insulting Male and the bulldog.
“He’s weak!” Fee said.
“That wasn’t a dog. That was a piece of rotisserie chicken,” Masterson said in between sobs.
The Executive Council then led the student body out of the auditorium chanting, “All my life I wanted to kill a bulldog.”
Manual will play Male tomorrow night, Friday Oct. 31, during the Old Rivalry football game to conclude Red/White Week.
