Many of us raised this concern in earnest, but were unfortunately outvoted.

Personally, I can't stand it and cringe every time I see or hear "the ROC".

To make it worse, there is a fake "rock" mounted on some wheels that they bring out when the players head through the tunnel, so definitely a mixed metaphor and sort of a stolen idea from Clemson IMO.

The whole thing was really a bit of manufactured "insta-tradition". I think it is fantastic how well they run it now -- much better than when I was a student there -- but for an institution with a high academic reputation and 33,000+ creative students, I had hoped they'd have settled in something a bit more organic (and scientifically accurate).

So... yeah, you're right, and great first post!