Bear Down

The school motto of the University of Arizona. In 1926, after Arizona Wildcats star football quarterback John Salmon was involved in a horrific car accident, he was hospitalized and visited daily by his coach Pop McKale. On October 18, 1926, Salmon spoke his last words to his coach before dying, "Tell the team to bear down." Coach McKale told the Wildcats team as Salmon wished before a big game, and Arizona wound up winning. It became the school's motto shortly afterwards.

The phrase itself basically means to be strong and smart. It has nothing to do with any large carnivorous animal.

Dude 1: "Bear down!"

Dude 2: "Wait, why would Wildcats bear down? Wildcats aren't bears! They stole it from Chicago!"

Dude 1: "Probably because the phrase has absolutely nothing to do with bears in the first place, it means to exert strength and intelligence. And Arizona has been using it since 1926. Chicago didn't start using until nearly twenty years later!"

Dude 2: "Oh........."

110👍 57👎