Do They Give you Warm Fuzzies?

When it comes to history, Kenyon College knows all about making it. And along with history comes tradition.  One tradition head coach Jim Steen has stuck with makes its appearance for the 30th straight time at the 2009 NCAA Division III National Championships. Steen’s male swimmers are donning their classic “purple fuzzies”, warm-up sweats that look like a mix between terry cloth and felt.

In talking to Steen, one can easily see how much he values tradition and heritage. Designed in 1980, Steen says that the warm-ups were designed after the Yale University outfits of the 1960s. Steen states that he is a fan of them because they are “very simple: solid purple with white lettering. They’re classic.”

And while one can see that the suits are indeed very classic, one would think there has to be some mixed feelings between the Lords swimmers, especially considering they wear the suits whenever they are not in the water, and temperatures on the pool deck this week are far from the 30 or so degrees present outside. But, according to Steen, his swimmers like wearing the fuzzies. “The swimmers that are here know who wore the suits before them,” says Steen. And the swimmers seem to agree. "They might be scratchy," claims one, "but they are full of history and we love wearing them. They are a part of Kenyon."

Whether or not the tradition of the “purple fuzzies” has had any impact on Kenyon’s tremendous winning streak is yet to be determined. But with the men holding a commanding lead through day two, history seems poised to repeat itself once again for Jim Steen and the Kenyon Lords.

Kenyon Alums - What are your favorite memories of the fuzzy warm-ups?  Login to Facebook and post your comments below.