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Mud Cup: A History of Sportsmanship

schedule 5 minutes
A legacy of sportsmanship and camaraderie.
Date
Division
Earth & Planets Laboratory

Every year, scientists and staff from Carnegie Science’s Broad Branch Road campus lace up their cleats and take to the field for the World Mud Cup—a lighthearted but competitive soccer match that’s been a tradition for nearly fifty years.

It all began in 1976 with a tongue-in-cheek letter from the Geophysical Laboratory, which at the time was located fewer than two miles away on Upton Street. Naming their team the "Laboratory Pistons," they challenged the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism to the first official interdepartmental soccer match. Responding with a letter of their own—and putting post-game drinks on the line—DTM chose their team name–the "DTM Dynamos.” The rest, as they say, is history.

 

On behalf of the Geophysical Laboratory soccer team, otherwise known as the "Laboratory Pistons", the undersigned, challenge the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism to a game of soccer. It is requested that a representative for the DTM soccer team contact the representatives of the Pistons, so that the venue of the anticipated match may be arranged. Int he event that no word has been received by 12 noon, Monday May 10, 1976, it will be assumed that the superior talent of the Pistons has been recognized, and that the challenge has been declined.
The sporting soccer rivalry was sparked on May 3, 1976,
with this letter from the Geophysical Laboratory to the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism. At the time, the two departments were located a few miles apart.
We, the members of the "DTM Dynamics" A-Team, are amused by the brash effrontery of the Laboratory Pistons in challenging us to a game of football ("soccer" in the vernacular of the novitiates). Assuming this to be a legitimate challenge, however, we accept with pleasure. If you are able to summon the courage to appear on the same playing field as the "Dynamos" we suggest that the match be played on a neutral field at the 16th and Kennedy Streets at a time to be mutually agreed upon.
The DTM Dynamos accepted the offer and put “postgame refreshments” on the line.

The First “World Mud Cup” 

After the two departments were co-located to the Broad Branch Road campus in 1990, the friendly rivalry heated up. The competition eventually precipitated the creation of the the Mud Cup” in 1996, as coined by Carnegie Science reporter Stony Kornblower. Kornblower, who is absolutely in no way related to Alan Boss, is also responsible for creating the physical trophy. 

Kornblower reflects on the moment he constructed the cup, stating, “I found a silver-plated pitcher that my wife had picked up at a yard sale and which she did not want to keep. I inscribed "World Mud Cup" on the pitcher with a magic marker for presentation to the winning team at the next match. This has been the tradition ever since.”
 

From left to right: Traditionally, the winning team will drink from the historic mud cup, pictured here. 
From left to right: Traditionally, the winning team will drink from the historic mud cup, pictured here. 

Mud Cup Today

After a Dynamos win in 2019, former DTM Director Rick Carlson commented, “Though we are disappointed that the Mud Cup has not yet attracted the level of attention that it deserves by recruiters for the World Cup, perhaps because interviews with team members too quickly switch from soccer to discussions of Gruneisen parameters and exoplanet radial velocities, the level of enthusiasm and competition in the Mud Cup is a delight to watch.”

When the Geophysical Laboratory and DTM officially merged to form the Earth and Planets Laboratory (EPL) in 2020, the Mud Cup adapted once again. The teams now form along different lines, but the friendly rivalry and ties to the old divisions still hold strong.

Even during the pandemic, a virtual trivia Mud Cup kept the tradition alive. Today, whether played in the mud or online, the event remains a cherished Carnegie Science ritual—a reminder that while our scientists may study planets, rocks, and stars, they’re also united by the simple joy of a game played among friends.

Carlson added, “The camaraderie the event inspires is its best outcome." 

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