THE RARE PANTSLESS EAGLE: Noted College of William & Mary alum Jon Stewart is miffed that the school has chosen a Griffin as its new mascot, besting among other finalists King William III and Queen Mary II, a pug and a wren. The school's athletic teams will continue to bear the nickname of Tribe (why aren't they the Orange?), though, seriously, shouldn't it be Brandeis' sports teams who call themselves "The Tribe" (as opposed to "Judges")?
In other mascot news of the former Confederacy, no decision yet on The University of Mississippi's search for a new Rebel leader.
P.S. It's now over thirty years since the New Orleans Jazz basketball franchise moved to Salt Lake City. Still no nickname change to reflect the surroundings?
As an alum, I got to vote on the choices, and I went with the Griffin. It was the least ridiculous looking (a pug? seriously?), but I don't know if it will succeed. They tried this same experiment when I was there, and the Phoenix went nowhere fast. I think everyone will continue to call it the Tribe and will think of little else.
ReplyDeleteI think you've got the wrong link for John Stewart....though that looks like a good book :)
ReplyDeleteAlso a W&M alum....Didn't vote, but don't have any problem with the Griffin. Cecilia's right. The Tribe ain't going nowhere.
Please recheck your first link... It doesn't go where you wanted it to go to.
ReplyDeletefixed.
ReplyDeleteWho wouldn't want their mascot to be a pug. Such scrappy little dogs. Heh.
ReplyDeleteHow about the L.A. Lakers and Dodgers? There are a lot of lakes in the Los Angeles basin? A lot of trolleys to dodge? Even the NHL's Flames -- General William Tecumseh Sherman burned Calgary to the ground?
ReplyDeleteAgreed. When a team moves, their names should be changed not only to shed the stigma of the previous team, but also to aknowledge the new locale.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Memphis Grizzlies
If you've ever walked in LA, you know that "Dodgers" is as appropriate there as it was in Brooklyn.
ReplyDeleteOhhh, Isaac. Nononononononono. LA is almost insanely solicitious of its pedestrians. Case in point: two New York lawyers visit the LA's SEC office, which is mid-Wilshire, near La Brea. Following a day of inane questioning by the staff, they step outside looking for a drink. Spying the ever-trendy Marie Callendar's across the street, they set off. Being good New Yorkers, they automatically take two steps into the street while continuing their conversation centered primarily around the parentage of the SEC staff. 20 second later, they realize that not only is there a car waiting patiently in the far right line for them to get out of the way, but *all six lanes* of Wilshire have stopped to allow them to cross against the light.
ReplyDeleteLater, of course, it became a game, seeing how far we had to go into the street to get traffic to stop.
Memphis wanted to change the name to "Memphis Express" as part of an overall branding deal with FedEx, but the NBA vetoed it as overly commercial/crass.
ReplyDeleteThis article suggests that the Jazz didn't change their name, logo, or colors after moving to Utah because ownership "wanted those who criticized the Jazz in New Orleans to be reminded it was the same franchise that had later earned success in Utah."
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like big-time retconning to me. My own recollection is that the N.O. Jazz owners announced the move to Utah after the NBA's annual deadline for team name/uniform changes, had to keep it the first season or two as a result, and then just never got around to doing anything about it.
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