Tradition Tuesday is a weekly feature where we explore the history, lore, and culture of the Dark Clouds. Confused about why we sing about Hot Nuts? Which Minnesota player coined “Nuts Of A Warrior”? Why does the section quack every so often? We have the answers in Tradition Tuesday.

We recently opened up voting for the Dark Clouds End Of Year Awards. What many of you may not know is that the awards and the auction that goes with them are a Dark Clouds tradition stretching back 12 years.

The first awards banquet was held at the Town Hall Brewery in 2004. The event was held partially to mark the launch of BlueSkySoccer.com (a Minnesota soccer news & opinions website) and to commemorate the Minnesota Thunder moving from the NSC to James Griffin Stadium in Saint Paul. At this first event, two awards (Player of the Year & Newcomer of the Year) were handed out to players and an auction was held to benefit Grassroots Soccer. Thunder player Mike Wilson helped obtain items from his teammates and others that could be auctioned off. As they are today, votes for the player awards were collected through an online poll.

The following year saw the inclusion of an award handed to the best Dark Cloud and a lifetime achievement award given to retiring longtime Thunder coach (and so much more) Buzz Lagos. Initially neither award had a name but they would eventually come to be known as the Jackass of the Year (we’ll cover the “Jackass” thing next week) and Buzz Lagos Lifetime Achievement Award.

By 2005 the awards had gained enough stature and importance to feature “voting irregularities.” The results of the online awards poll were deemed to have been manipulated. (We’ve moved to a more secure poll in the intervening 11 years!) Another lowlight occurred in 2006 when, thanks to a terrible season and the 2006 World Cup’s shadow, the auction featured very slim pickings. One of the “best” items was a photo of (new coach) Amos Magee shirtless from about 1994. Truly an item of vast value.

These days the auctions featured a vast array of items ranging in value (attendees are welcome to bring their own to donate). There is always a vast supply of player worn cleats but some more rare player memorabilia is also on supply like game worn and signed USMNT jerseys. Last year saw a Landon Donovan lunchbox jump into the mix and on occasion breweries have donated racks of beer. In 2014, a megaphone used by capos signed by many of that year’s Dark Clouds was offered up. Over the years, the auctions at the awards have benefited Grassroots Soccer, The Sanneh Foundation, Team 4 Gavin and several other charities.

The End Of Year Awards & Auctions have been held at several locations across the Twin Cities including the former Sweetwater Bar & Grille, the Nomad World Pub and most recently at the Turf Club in Saint Paul. The events serve both as a celebration of the season that has been but also an occasion for players and fans to mingle and meet.

We’re still finalizing details of this year’s event but in the meantime you can vote on the awards available by using this form. Click here to vote.

Below is a list of previous award winners:

Player of the Year:

2004 – Dustin Branan

2005 – Freddy Juarez

2006 – Matt Schmidt

2007 – Nic Platter

2008 – Nic Platter

2009 – Nic Platter

2010 – Andres Arango

2011 – Kyle Altman

2012 – Matt VanOekel

2013 – Pablo Campos

2014 – Miguel Ibarra

2015 – Justin Davis

Newcomer of the Year:

2004 – Jay Alberts

2005 – Nate Knox

2006 – Alfredo Esteves

2007 – Brian Farber

2008 – Ricardo Sanchez

2009- Lawrence Olum

2010 – Simone Bracalello

2011- Justin Davis

2012 – Miguel Ibarra

2013 – Calum Mallace

2014 – Christian Ramirez

2015 – Sammy Ndjock

Buzz Lagos Award

2005 – Buzz Lagos

2007 – Liz Schorn

2009 – Claude Duran (Thor)

2010- Manny Lagos

2012 – Chris Lidholm

2013 – Kevin Friedland

2014 – Dan Barnes

Jackass of the Year

2005 – Keith Kramer

2007 – Kevin Joseph

2008 – Neal Logan

2009 – Tim “SuperRookie” Hayes

2010 – Scott Kerssen

2011 – Anthony de Sam Lazaro

2012 – David Smith

2013 – Ben Pfutzenreuter (Arts and Crafts); Wes Burdine (Discourse); Tim Alexander

2014 – Nachiket Karnik and Doreen Hartzell

2015 – Abe Opoti

Iron Skillet Award:

(Awarded to those who fix or improve something in our organization)

2014 – Brandon Maurisak

2015 – Jeff Rueter & Jake Rueter

Misc:

2008 – Kevin Friedland – Humanitarian/Man of the Year