Wreck Traditions and Specifications
There are several lesser known details about the Wreck that are easily missed when it rambles down Techwood Drive. Specific physical details and the actual person behind the wheel are often missed or overlooked. The Wreck is financially maintained through Ramblin' Reck Club appearances and fundraisers. There is no official source of funding from the Institute, Athletic Association, or Alumni Association. This gives the Wreck a unique level of independence that is atypical amongst college mascots.
When a freshman first reaches campus for FASET (orientation), one of the many traditions that they are introduced to is that freshmen cannot touch the Wreck until the completion of their first year. This rule originated in the 1963 edition of the RAT Rules. If a freshman touches the Wreck between convocation and the last day of classes in the Spring, they will receive bad luck throughout their college career and GT will be cursed to lose to UGA in football that year. Ramblin' Reck Club strictly enforces this rule throughout football season and the spring semester.
The Wreck is distinguished by its old gold body and white soft top. The soft top has a chrome support strut, which features a brass classic Tech T and 1952 yellow jacket. The body also has two solid white runningboards, which run the length of the vehicle. The running boards support cheerleaders or the occasional Tech student looking for a ride. The interior upholstery is solid white vinyl. The gear shifter knob is a white globe with the classic Tech T painted on it. There are two golden nylon pennants emblazoned with the words "To Hell With Georgia" and "Give 'Em Hell Tech" fastened to the front bumper.
Read more about this topic: Ramblin' Wreck
Famous quotes containing the words wreck and/or traditions:
“The old man had heard that there was a wreck and knew most of the particulars, but he said that he had not been up there since it happened. It was the wrecked weed that concerned him most ... and those bodies were to him but other weeds which the tide cast up, but which were of no use to him.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“... the more we recruit from immigrants who bring no personal traditions with them, the more America is going to ignore the things of the spirit. No one whose consuming desire is either for food or for motor-cars is going to care about culture, or even know what it is.”
—Katharine Fullerton Gerould (1879–1944)