TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — As the second-ranked Arizona basketball team approaches March, it is time for the Wildcats to "Bear Down," and time for fans to flash the Wildcat sign. These are two Arizona traditions that have Absolutely Arizona stories written all over them.
The term "Bear Down" is immortalized on a statue of John "Button" Salmon outside Arizona Stadium and in a fight song played several times at every game.
It is actually a Wildcat rallying cry that has its roots in a tragic story involving Salmon, who grew up in Bisbee and was a UA football player. His father was chief of security at the Copper Queen Mine.
In the 1920s, Salmon was a star catcher on the UA baseball team. James Fred "Pop" McKale, his baseball and football coach, said Salmon had the talent to play in the majors.
In 1926, Salmon was also quarterback of the football team and student body president. But that all changed after a car crash left Salmon paralyzed and fighting for his life at Southern Methodist Hospital in Tucson.
McKale visited Salmon every day for two weeks.
"It must have been traumatic going into a hospital, the conditions that were present in 1926, and seeing your star quarterback paralyzed, probably dying, and there was nothing they could do about it," said Arizona Daily Star columnist Greg Hansen.
Before leaving one night, McKale asked Salmon if he had anything to say to his teammates. "Tell them ... tell the team to bear down," he said.
"He died at 6 o'clock the next morning," Hansen said.
He was such a prominent figure, the University of Arizona had Salmon's body lie in state for two days. According to newspaper reports, more than 1,000 cars were part of the procession to Evergreen Cemetery for a graveside service.
"I'm guessing in 1926 that was a really big deal," said Hansen.
Days later, the UA decided to go ahead and play its game at New Mexico State.
McKale gathered the players right before that game and shared Salmon's last words. Arizona won the game 7-0.
"I think a lot of people said "Pop" McKale tried to copy Notre Dame, 'win one for the Gipper' but that's not true because 'win one for the Gipper' was two years after Button Salmon was killed," Hansen said.
Months after Salmon's death, teammate Martin Gentry led the effort to name Arizona's brand-new gymnasium Bear Down Gym. The players even helped paint the giant letters on the roof in 1927, that we still see today.
While "Bear Down" has a history a century old, the Wildcat hand gesture is a more contemporary form of fan support.
It is a simple gesture.
Extend your pinky, ring and middle fingers to form a W. Bend your index finger and thumb to form the C. The W for "wild" and C for "cats." Wildcats!
Arizona athletic teams have been flashing the "WC" for nearly 25 years.
"Going to home football games and see everyone throw it, you know everybody around you, and sometimes I want to be like, 'Hey I was kind of the guy who started that,'" said former Arizona swimmer Greg Owen.
Owen is kind of the guy who started that.
So, how did a South African swimming for the UA come up with the Wildcat symbol? He had some help.
Back in the spring of 2003, Englishman Simon Burnett joined the Arizona Swim Team. Burnett and Owen became fast friends.
On a long drive to the Pac-10 Championships in Long Beach, the two worked on a way to show their Wildcat pride.
"We knew it would be cool if us Wildcats had our own sort of hand sign like some of the other schools," explained Owen. "That's how it progressed. If you do it with your right hand, you've got the 'W' right there and then the 'C' for Wildcats."
Burnett broke it out later in the 2003 season at the NCAA Championships. The freshman surprised everyone with his performance in the 200 freestyle.
"So this unknown guy from nowhere wins it out of lane 8," Owen said. "Of course, we're all going nuts. There, he threw it up there. So, I think that might have been the first time seen on the national scene I would say."
Legendary swim coach Frank Busch then encouraged the team to use the Wildcat hand sign and make it their own. The rest of the Arizona sports teams followed.
Now it's a staple of Wildcat Nation. So is "Bear Down" -- making them both Absolutely Arizona.