Knute Rockne’s Whistle

Origin
Knute Rockne coached the University of Notre Dame to become one of the most successful football teams in American history, with a tremendous 105 wins over 13 seasons. He experimented with new formations, catching opposing teams off guard for touchdowns. The forward pass, a quarterback must-have now but illegal move in the 20s, became a standard play for his team to score yards.

Rockne recognized the growing popularity of college sports, and advertised the team through every medium. Papers, broadcasts and sponsorships allowed the team to become famous in their division and make trips to tournaments. Budding writers found support in Rockne’s papers, given advice by the man himself. When Rockne was killed in a plane crash, the sheer scale of mourners matched those of a president.

Effects
Increases the cooperation of people in large, formalized groups (i.e. companies and teams). People behave more as a synchronized unit rather than obstacles, accomplishing greater feats than normal. The wielder must always be capitalizing the group’s successes loud and wide in public, otherwise the newfound unity will disappear.