Mangum’s half-hearted Rattler Charge making FAMUans cringe on Twitter

This year, there wasn’t much to cheer about at Florida A&M football games as the team finished its season with only one win for the first time in 72 years.

But for some Rattlers, the 1-10 record wasn’t nearly as embarrassing as the half-hearted version of the Rattler Charge that President Elmira Mangum continued to make fans sit through again and again during the pre-game shows.

The Rattler Charge is a long-time tradition at major FAMU events like convocations and football games. University presidents lead it by saying the words:

When the dark clouds gather on the horizon,

When thunder and lightning fill the sky,

When fate is but a glint in the eye of a fallen Rattler,

And hopes are lost friends,

When the sinew of the chest grows weary,

From those hard charging line backers,

And the muscles and the legs grow tired,

From those hard charging running backs,

You must always remember that the

RATTLERS WILL STRIKE, AND STRIKE AND STRIKE AGAIN!

Back when Mangum began her FAMU presidency in 2014, she led the Rattler Charge for the first time at a welcome rally on the steps of Lee Hall. She took the charge seriously by reading all of the words and showing lots of enthusiasm. [View it here at 11:25-12:13.]

But at the Marching 100 pre-game shows for the 2015 football season, Mangum didn’t even bother to say the complete Rattler Charge. The so-called “Rattler Charge” she gave at the Oct. 10 FAMU vs. North Carolina Central game was:

When the dark clouds gather on the horizon,

When thunder and lightning fill the sky,

When fate is but a glare in the eye of a fallen Rattler,

And hopes are lost friends,

You must always remember that the

RATTLER WILL STRIKE, AND STRIKE AND STRIKE AGAIN!

Mangum rushed through the words and apparently didn’t feel like participating in the Rattler Strike gesture at first. She stood still during the first strike. Mangum finally lifted her left arm to start performing the gesture when the second strike was almost over. [View it here at 12:53-13:19.]

A number of FAMUans have aired their disappointment with the lack effort in Mangum’s Rattler Charge performances on Twitter since 2014.

Former Rattler defensive lineman Padric Scott wrote during the 2014 Florida Classic that: “She just needs to stop till she feels it and can do it.”

Another FAMU fan wrote on Oct. 16, 2015 before the Homecoming game that “I do pray Mangum does NOT do the Rattler Charge. Jesus, please.”

The fan later commented: “Can we vote to get a recording of Humphries doing the Rattler Charge and play it as needed? Yes? Yes.”

View the version of the Rattler Charge performed by former President Frederick S. Humphries below: