Bringing the Wolverine back to apparel

Submitted by Maize in Cincy on

Yes, another apparel thread.  Yes, another mascot thread. 

There has slowly been a return of officially licensed apparel using different wolverine logos over the last several years, however if you go to fanatics and see the newest shirt arrivals you will see most of the new items include a wolverine on them.  This may just be a way to drive sales by offering something different during the adidas->nike transition.  Maybe Michigan is still considering the mascot idea that DB talked about.  Kids love mascots, I've never understood why Michigan thinks they are above that.  Maybe Harbaugh and his kids will get it done.

 

Do you like these, would you buy them?  The first one has been used a lot, the other 3 not so much.  Should they start using the Wolverine on alternates?  Do you think this has anything to do with a potential mascot?

 

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Raskolnikov

August 3rd, 2015 at 9:12 PM ^

I like the two in the middle.

Fuck having a big stuffed animal walking around the stadium though. Mascots are stupid and I'd rather Michigan be an acquired taste than something that appeals to five year olds.

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LBSS

August 4th, 2015 at 10:32 AM ^

That's funny, I like the first and fourth best. 

But yes, no mascot in the stadium. They can be good when they're weird and have been around long enough to be part of the fabric of the team and fanbase -- the Phillie Phanatic and the Stanford Tree come to mind -- but introducing them now is stupid. I love that we don't have a mascot. 

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TheFugitive

August 3rd, 2015 at 9:12 PM ^

Do you honestly think Jim Hackett would make the changes he did, essentially wiping the slate clean, and then add something as stupid as a mascot?

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Maize in Cincy

August 3rd, 2015 at 9:23 PM ^

What exactly do you find stupid about having a wolverines mascot available on the concourse for kids to meet/get pics with and have it avaiable for different kids events throughout the year on campus?

It doesn't have to appear on the field/court like Brutus or Sparty.

 

I assume you have no young kids.

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jmblue

August 3rd, 2015 at 9:59 PM ^

If your kids aren't old enough to appreciate football, they shouldn't be at the game.   If they are old enough to appreciate football, they don't need to meet a Sesame Street reject to have a good time.  

I don't get this obsession with watering down the Michigan gameday experience until it's a carbon copy of every other team's.  It's good that we do things differently.  

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Maize in Cincy

August 3rd, 2015 at 11:23 PM ^

It's not about football, that's only 8 days a year. Just in the last 2 weeks I witnessed the Cincinnati Reds mascots attend a local festival (for an appearance fee, this could be used to provide scholarships), attend an event at a baseball field that helps disabled kids play ball, and show up at Cincinnati children's hospital to meet the kids. I get the people are old school, but I don't see how this causes so much anger. It's quite amusing.

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snarling wolverine

August 4th, 2015 at 1:01 AM ^

That's great for Cincinnati - but you can do charity work without a mascot.

From your posts it sounds like you want more of a pro sports experience.  Some of us feel that  the collegiate traditions are a good thing and that something is lost when colleges copy everything from the pros.  I guess you disagree.

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Michigan4Life

August 3rd, 2015 at 9:17 PM ^

We probably won't see it for a while especially when Michigan made a lot of money from the block m trademark. They would have to pay money for the wolverine made as part of trademark/licensing



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Alton

August 3rd, 2015 at 11:14 PM ^

There was one guy about 50-75 years ago who drew up a whole host of "college mascot in sailor hat" logos; as far as I know, he had no particular association with the University of Michigan.  Of course, that was back when nobody would have thought to trademark a college sports thing.

Here is a google image search for "college mascots in sailor hats"

https://www.google.com/search?q=college+mascots+in+sailor+hats&biw=2144…

Note the Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, Brigham Young, Marshall, Missouri, Oregon State, Princeton, Rice, UCLA and even Texas logos that are pretty much identical, and clearly by the same artist at about the same time.  The logo is generic, and has nothing to do with Michigan other than having a block "M" and being a (horrible) approximation of a wolverine.

Could Michigan have trademarked it?  I suppose so, although they neither designed the work nor did they commission it.  I don't care for it, for the simple reason that there is absolutely nothing "Michigan" about it, other than the letter "M".

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justingoblue

August 4th, 2015 at 1:09 AM ^

Tried to find something in their "About Us" page but this MLive link will have to suffice.

The M Den was founded in 1976 when David Hirth and Doug Horning purchased Stein and Goetz Sporting Goods on Ann Arbor’s South Main Street.

The company now operates five stores, including one at Briarwood Mall, the one at 303 S. State St. and the original location at 315 S. Main St. There are also M Den stores in Livonia and Novi.

M Den partnered with U-M in the early 1990s to take over the university’s catalogue operations and retail sales at Michigan Stadium. M Den remains the official retailer of U-M athletics gear, and the university gets a portion of all of M Den’s sales.

http://www.mlive.com/business/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2014/06/m_den_to_open…

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MGoblu8

August 3rd, 2015 at 9:23 PM ^

I like all of them. I don't care about mascots, though I think the fact that UM doesn't have one is unique and cool. If you have to have one, at least get the real deal. Having a big, live wolverine (with some very brave handlers, of course) roaming the Big House would be pretty wild.
I actually think it would be a bad idea based on the fact that
A. They typically have a large territory and are known to wander great distances, so it would suck for that wolverine.
B. It's a fucking wolverine.
But again, if we must have one, we should do it right.

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Nutbuncher

August 3rd, 2015 at 9:27 PM ^

Michigan has a mascot. They just don't have a dude on the sideline dressed like he's at a 7 year olds birthday party. I like the use on shirts but I'm not gonna go so far saying we need or should have a mascot on the sideline.

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UMfan21

August 3rd, 2015 at 9:36 PM ^

Question for WD: have you researched the years when these logos were created? I am curious about them as well as "skinny M", "fat M", and "split M" what I remember from the early 90s was split M and that 2nd wolverine.

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