Support MGoBlog: buy stuff at Amazon
...Michigan is a bastion of intellect. Wolverines are extremely vicious and unpredictable. Football games are played in public places with over 100,000 people there. It doesn't take a PhD in math to add it all up and figure out why Michigan doesn't have a live mascot on the sidelines.
Even if they found a cage that was heavy-duty enough to be foolproof, imagine the clusterfuck that the PETA demonstrations outside of the stadium would cause.
i encourage you to read the article. it's about more than just a a caged wolverine.
I doubt PETA would really make a big deal out of it. Georgia, Colorado, Texas, Auburn... they all have live mascots. Probably lots of others, too. I do agree that it would be ridiculously dangerous to cage a live wolverine on the sidelines though. Rather, we should put it on a leash and tie it to the goalpost in the opposing end zone. Score on us at your own risk, opponents.
Speaking of Auburn and Georgia. One year, Uga the bulldog bit an Auburn player in the end zone after he scored. Imagine what a live wolverine would do to an OSU player.
Can wolverines see the color red?
If not, maybe we could just train it to bite anyone who smells like an Escalade.
Or any kind of generic Honda.
a bulldog mascot we had while I was in the Marines. On our training base which was a naval base, we had an area that was "our" area. We trained our dog "Bones" to go after any sailor that was wearing those goofy white hats. It was funny. He hated those hats as we disciplined him with one, so whenever he saw someone wearing one, he would give chase.
You weren't by chance in at NATTC Millington were you?
I was at Michigan during the reign of Willy the Wolverine, and I don't remember any cages or PETA protests. Most everyone liked him, in fact. There was a certain amount of grumbling when the lawyers got rid of him. As the article said, it was a matter of who got what money, not whether the mascot was liked, which he was for the most part. I'm not sure that I really get the Rich Eisen types that get traumatized by seeing kids play with a big, furry goofball, and have the time of their lives as they do so.
My take on it is that it is something that gives a block of fans something to have fun with it. If it is really that upsetting, go steal the Who-Hams or something, but let the kids have their fun, as lots of people really seemed to love getting their pic with Willy, or watching him do his thing. Nobody is going to force anyone to watch, and it is a football game, not church. Nobody is defiling hallowed ground by bringing a mascot into Michigan Stadium.
David Brandon:
You can't get your picture taken with a Block M. Mascots are really embraced by the youth demographic and we want to take advantage of that, for all the reasons that are obvious.
I disagree. Take a picture in front of this (I did):
...or this...
Love the creativity...or lack thereof. Its simplicity makes it appealing. The eyebrows slanted give it a mean streak, but the kids would still love it and beckon it to come and hug them (although the lack of arms would make it difficult to hug back...would it just lean over and rub up against the kids? That's kinda creepy). Sure, some may have nightmares about a block M w/ huge eyes, no arms, and scrawny legs sticking out from it, but that's a small price to pay for this cute monstrosity. The only other downfall...this might be a bit unwieldy running out of the tunnel to lead the football team. I can't envision it being easy to jump up and touch the banner in this thing. Well done, mgopoo.
have a kid.
I have generally thought of myself as anti-mascot. But, as a father of three young boys (all growing into UM fans), I can see Brandon's point. My kids like getting their picture taken with anybody in a giant character suit at any amusement park and would be twice as happy to get a picture with a UM mascot. And if they'd get joy out of it, then so will I.
After thinking about it in those terms, my predisposition for mascot outrage is no more.
Interesting read. Always wondered why there wasn't a mascot, though I do prefer not having one. Thanks for sharing!
Yea same here... I never knew what the reasoning behind it was and that there kind of was one for a while. Maybe they should have a contest for people to make up a mock symbol for a new one. I'd be down to see what I could come up with on a slow off day.
No mascot please. Do children these days really need/want/appreciate/take pictures with visiting (or any) mascots?! Why don't they identify with Denard/Brady Hoke/the ghosts of Bo/Crisler/Yost/Ufer/etc.? Identify with the "Spirit of Michigan" as Ufer called it, not with some felt creation with a horrible name.
I guess that's just life passing me by. Out with the old, in with the new, it's "pro"gress.
That's a pretty easy one to answer... Kids like flair something they can relate too. When you bring a young child to their first game they love stuff like mascots. It gets them interested at a young and it usually grows from there. That's when you get them identifying certain players, coaches, etc... Its more or less about money in the end you attract a younger fan base more revenue from the parents, grandparents, etc..
Bring the Charles Woodson bobblehead back. Kids loved that thing.
when I really wish we had a mascot.
But can't we just get smaller schools in Ohio to do our bidding for us?
The Bobcat was one of our minions. All your MAC mascots are belong to us.
Let's just adopt the "Methed out yellow eyed" Bobcat and put a throwback jersey on it. Schembechler Hall could have a whole hallway filled with pictures like this^, Sparty,Buckeye....Pricless
Think about it, in a hundred years people will ask, "Why the hell do the Michigan Wolverines have a cracked out yellow eye bobcat mascot that attacks other schools mascot?"
/s
That wolf abomination in the article just pushes me farther into the no mascot camp. Live Wolverines will never work, if they had trotted Benny and Biff out to meet the Navy goat I expect it would have gone over like that scene from jurassic park where they fed the cow to the raptor pit.
I think my profile pic tells you that I would love to have a live Wolverine on the sideline!
/s
The more I think about it, we should have a live wolverine on the sidelines. Before the team runs out, we throw a stuffed doll of the opponents' in the cage with it and watch it tear it to shreds.
One can hope, right?
If it didn't work on our players maybe it would work on the other team...
This would be awesome, and I'm certain wolverines could be trained to perform such a task. Where would this fit in, though? Half time? Before/after the banner jump?
From the article: "Expanding the Michigan tradition wasn't the students' only motivation: they were in it for the money ..."
Ha -- I remember this issue well. I'd guess that money was their *only* motivation.
I suppose you could do worse than Willy, but I thought he was an abomination and that his founders/owners were annoying. (Smart guys, though, obviously ...) Who knows? If they'd taken a different tack (one involving less than, say, 97.7% of all proceeds), Willy might have gained traction.
One of the hardest things to do is to make a "cute" cartoony Wolverine. Wolverines are ugly, mean little sacks of atomic rage. They don't take well to "cute".
See, not taking to "cute"
So either you have something that doesn't look like a Wolverine*, or something so hideous that no one wants their picture taken with it. However, I do think DB will eventually lean towards something based around this:
By the way, unspoken in that DB quote: "We need a mascot because we keep getting left out of the This is SportsCenter ads and Red won't do them, I've asked."
*-No, it's OK, we still love you Wolverbear.
I still think wolverines, including the one in the top picture, are cute.
"Wolverines are ugly, mean little sacks of atomic rage." If Brandon takes this to heart when reviewing designs for a possible mascot, he probably won't go wrong.
Frankly, I can't imagine any plush animal conveying "ugly, mean little sacks of atomic rage" but I've never seen a better description of a wolverine.
so we could take a look at the Wisco mascot and find a way to get him on steroids. Maybe take the Wisco mascots head, and sparties arms....
Wolverines are incredibly vicious. Youtube them. You'll find one fight off an entire pack of wolves, another scare away two black bears, and another approach a black bear who made a kill, kill the bear, then eat the bear and the kill. They're much smaller than black bears but can eat a large proportion of their body weight in a sitting and go long periods betwen meals.
Having spent a number of hours watching them at the zoo, I think wolverines are both cute and cool. And yes, they are also raging ball of furry hate....but still cute.
Ideally, we get something similar to the hat there. Instead of a brown lump of fur, stick with Maize and Blue. Anyone with crazy photoshop/ms paint skills want to give a mascot a try. I'd be really interested to see what people here can come up with.
and their coupon packs. They were trying to market it to make money for themselves. I recall we all wante to punch those guys in the face. Also the character was highly cartoonish and lame.
No mascot...just hotter cheerleaders please.
Figures one of the guys who start Groupon.
But Willy sucked. His design was way too cute, and the actually mascot (pictured in article) looked like something a child molester would wear. And "Willy"? Yeah, no one will ever make fun of that. Others have tried, and it just doesn't look good.
And Brandon, we've had well over a hundred years of Michigan football, and somehow kids still like it and it's been popular with out a mascot. I don't think we're missing out on a marketing opportunity here. Next thing you'll know we'll have toys and a kid's cartoon to promote it.
He's gotta be named Willie after arguably the greatest runner in U-M history, Willie Heston.
Give him a head that looks like this...
...and U-M immediately becomes the odds-on favorite to win the Capital One National Mascot of the Year.
While I wouldn't want this to be made into an actual mascot, this logo definitely needs more use.
For the most part I'm a traditionalist—not a fan of the faux throwbacks, for example—but I think DB is on the mark with his comments about younger fans and the lack of a mascot. If nothing else, there's a revenue stream that's just waiting to be taken advantage of, and I'd much rather see a mascot down on the field than advertising. Anybody who thinks kids really get off on being photographed next to the large inanimate block M either hates kids or has no clue about what makes them tick.
The "We're Michigan and we're too good for a mascot" attitude reminds me of those who were opposed to the stadium renovations because they were going to ruin the purity of the bowl.
I agree with Brandon that the key task is to design a mascot well. A bad mascot is much worse than no mascot at all.
I think the aversion for most people (or at least me) is that I have yet to see a mascot that I like. They all seem too cartoonish and goofy running around doing stupid shit for the crowd. If they can do it right, then I may be more for it, but I have yet to see a "good plan" for a Michigan mascot.
Just out of curiosity, how do you feel about the fans who dress up in outlandish maize-and-blue costumes and capes and ring a bell all game long, or go shirtless, painting themselves blue and yelling at the TV cameras holding their very creative "we're #1" fingers aloft?
I, personally, am a painter. Shirtless, painted maize and blue head to toe. I love getting decked out for the game. AND going batshit crazy.
Differences are:
1. I am not commissioned by or directly affiliated with the university (except as an alum)
2. People shouting and dressing up ridiculously is completely different from a fully grown man dressed as a leprauchaun dancing an irish jig.
Fans are fans at any school, but we don't need buffoonery to be commissioned and supported by the university. That's what we have the student section for.
you'd be surprised, a lot of mascots are actually like gymnast chicks.
The faux throwbacks should heretofore be called fauxbacks.
I'm shocked that Brandon's attitude is anything other than, "We are not doing a mascot at Michigan, and we will sue anyone who proposes a mascot."
I hope to hell that Dave Brandon is a U.S. Senator before he can inflict a mascot on the Michigan Athletic Department.
As for small children who want a Michigan mascot, I have just finished reading a book by Swift, and I think I might have a Modest Proposal...
Can this be our mascot?
Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I've seen this picture around, and was wondering: is this in EL? I assume from the helmet he's holding.
Yeah, that's the Sparty statue in EL. It's actually bronze, not maize and blue obviously. It's not even their original Sparty statue - this one looks far more like some dude from 300 (although they said they had to replace it bc of weather damage... color me skeptical).
Note the similarity in the marketing between the Big Chill (a great event and I actually like the bizarre sweaters) and the upcoming ND game. The tight "branding" is painfully obvious and is trending toward the exact manufactured "tradition" that we escaped when Willy was sent to the hinterlands. What Tiger Stadium had was real. If Illitch wanted a ferris wheel or tap room on site he could easily have done it. It wasn't in the right neighborhood, however, so he build Comerica. Not a bad stadium, but the pewabic tiles, merry go round, plate shaped dirt around home, and teak chairs behind the plate are all more kitch than tradition. Overall the place as all the "feel" of a waiting area at the Secretary of State's (beer helps). It all reminds me that I can't take my son and daugher to the place where my folks took me. Fortunately or unfortunately Comerica works for its owner. I see very little that DB would prevent if money for HIS athletic department were at stake (I'm dissapointed that we get to look forward to still more Journey pumped through the loudspeakers). Go Blue!
Balances the new seats in the South end with something like this in the North end?
A "Wolverine's Den" or something?
We could bring in Mike Leach to run the offense.
Check out "The Wolverine Way" by Doug Chadwick. It's a good and quick read and it documents what we all inherently suspected- Wolverines are about as cool as critters get.
Awesome book btw....
"It was obvious that the Michigan mascots had designs on the Michigan men toting them, and those designs were by no means friendly "
I look forward to seeing our players have this attitude on the field again especially on defense.
Good read.
I think a mascot would be a good idea if done right. After all " the traditionalists" will eventually just be dust in the wind and there will be entire new generations of kids that have another reason to bond with UofM. If you have ever taken your kids to a game you can see they love watching the other teams mascots.
...NO MASCOTS!!!!
and just have hugh jackman show up to games?
You have my approval, and likely Lamarr Woodley's, as well.
Lets turn his avatar into the mascot....scare the crap out of the children.
I didn't design it....
(Chunkums, you ok with that?)
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/i-was-bored-so-i-made
(And funny, he was talking about mascots...)
Original-
(or offense, for that matter) we need to get them working on this, stat!
Or we could go the "traditional" route. Just get bitten by a wolverine when the moon is full, and the wolverinesbane is in bloom.....
Just think of the children of rival fan bases going home and having nightmares of the "wolverine" under thier bed.
It's strange, we've had generations of kids, millions of them, who have successfully been turned into Michigan fans without having to exploit a mascot for the "revenue stream."
Does Dave Brandon not know how to leave things alone?
No, there is not a mascot in the sense of Brutus the Buckeye, Bucky the Badger or whatever that thing in East Lansing is but Michigan does have a mascot. There is quite alot of paraphenalia with the iconic wolverine image on it. Also, when I am at the zoo and by the wolverine area, I always hear kids shouting out, "It's a wolverine". Part of me kind of wishes that Michigan had a mascot in the sense of the other mascots I mentioned above but I don't see any way to do a wolverine justice. While they are cute animals, they aren't the kind of cute that translates well to a cartoony mascot. They generally end up looking like a bear or something else. So I don't know.
There's probably something to be said for Brandon's quote about kids. My daughter loves Paws at the Tigers games. She's almost four and is starting to get some comprehension of baseball, but she loves to see Paws and she loves to ride the merry go round and ferris wheel and I'm fine with that. She like Austin Jackson because she got a bobblehead of his at a game. A lot of us that use this site are hardcore types that would be into a team anyway, but the fact that I can get my daughter to break away from her princesses to watch the Tigers with me for 20 or 30 minutes at this age is nice, and I think those marketing type things make a difference.
people might not like it, but this is pretty spot-on.
I can buy that small children would go for a mascot - but they are only a small portion of the stadium-going crowd.
But, there's no way my wife and I would get to any Tigers games if there wasn't something to keep my daughter entertained. By the time we buy three tickets, a few rides on the ferris wheel, a few drinks, dogs, and ice cream, the Tigers have well over $100 that they wouldn't have had without something to keep her busy.
Small children may be only a small portion of the crowd at football games, but they make up a much larger portion of the crowd at other Michigan events, such as women's basketball, women's gymnastics, and baseball--and probably men's basketball as well. I could see a mascot--if a decent one could be designed--being a real drawing card for some of these other sports.
or so it seems. Indiana University expanded its stadium and the area around it to make it more family friendly. Kids can play football on turf and have other games to occupy them while the adults talk about how awesome it will be to beat Purdue later in the season.
Even Purdue tried to change its mascot to make it more appealing to kids. The nicer-looking mascot was voted back to the original, but Purdue still showed a willingness to cater to the family.
The fact is, if DB wants more butts in the seats, maybe families are the way to go. You sign up an alumnus, you get one person on the list. You sign up a Michigan family, you get them, their kids, their fellow alumni, etc.
I'm not an economist, I'm a law student, but this seems to make sense. If you make it fun for the whole family, a whole family would be more likely to go.
If we do get a mascot, though, I just hope it doesn't wear a skirt (I'm looking at you, Sparty)
The whole cutesy mascot idea is perfectly in line with DB's corporate pandering philosophy.
Even as a little kid, I thought the Detroit Lions mascots were disgustingly stupid. My friends and I were fans of Michigan during all of our growing-up years and were fine without a mascot.
Michigan is one of the few teams that eschewed the whole silly mascot idea. Now he wants to bring it back? I'm ready to puke and shit at the same time.
Every time DB opens his mouth, I wish he'd find another pizza company to run and get off our lawn.
You were exceptions than, not the rule. Most kids think mascots are cool and they create a family friendly atmosphere. Like how one poster mentioned Comerica Park and all the fun they provide kids. Can we give things a chance before we chew them out? If it's a bad idea we'll drop it. Christ some people sound like kids not wanting to eat their veggies before trying them out. You don't stay relevent in this day and age without trying new things. Does no one try changes at their jobs or professions? DB is an athletic director charged with leading a department into the future, not a museum director. Nothing is wrong with tradition, but it's not everything, and new traditions are made everyday.
How about:
Dave Brandon really leaves me with a cold, icy feeling in my bones. I am not fond of the man.
Firing RR? Hiring Hoke? Ushering in the new stadium renovations? Hockey in the big house? Night game against ND? Legacy uniforms? It can't merely be his interest in pursuing a mascot?
Not hiring Hoke in December. The whole God-awful coaching search.
Not killing spin-master Special K and letting the bodies hit the floor.
Selling out the University for any penny he can find.
Let's not kid ourselves. Dave Brandon doesn't care about little kids at games; as we've said kids have grown up loving Michigan for decades. He sees a potential revenue stream. That's all he cares about.
We need a new tag to go along with "Brady Hoke Gets It." "Dave Brandon Doesn't Get It." or "Dave Brandon Gets It... if it brings money."
I agree about some of commercialism stuff (though I think it's a little hypocritical for fans to demand 27 competitve varsity sports teams and then criticize the AD for trying to find ways to fund them), but I definitely disagree about the coaching process.
If Brandon had hired Hoke in December, you'd better believe a lot of Michigan fans would be pissed off that he "didn't try to get Harbaugh" and would view Hoke as a consolation prize. They would be convinced that Harbaugh would have taken the job, just as legions are convinced to this day that Miles was waiting by the phone in '07. There would also be plenty of disgruntled RR supporters convinced that, given a month to prepare, he'd have beaten Miss State. Waiting a month made the decision on RR clearer and also made it clear that Harbaugh wasn't coming.
The whole actual coaching search took one week and had few leaks. We still don't know what exactly went down in the "five cities in six days" other than that he apparently contacted Miles and then hired Hoke. Contrast this with the absolute fiasco in November-December 2007, when we flailed about for three weeks before RR fell into Bill Martin's lap. The comparison between the two is night and day.
While I happy for the athletes who get an opportunity, and don't begrudge them, I'm not thrilled we're adding sports in a time of economic distress, where we should probably be holding or trimming. Eventually they're going to hit a limit fans can't pay for.
And even if someone thinks the PROCESS was a disaster, it was still loads better than the process (small p...yeah, yeah that's what she said) the previous time, no doubt. Now whether that means the last one wasn't so bad, or the previous one was horrendous, that's for every individual to decide.
I don't really care either way about a mascot. I do agree with the aspect about little kids liking it and making it family friendly.
All the DB hate on this board is getting pretty damn annoying. The man understands tradition--he does but he also realizes there is another big part of the fan base.
"I'm struck by the fact that when opposing teams come to our stadium, and they bring a mascot, all of our young fans are lined up to see if they can get a picture taken with it, whether it's the Penn State Nittany Lion or Sparty," Brandon told Michigan Today. "That's a little annoying to me.
WOW! What an asshole this guy is. What say we storm Schembechler Hall with a with pitchforks?
If DB brings a mascot into the big house. I'm going to have an aneurism.
is watching you poop...with an ax in his hands.
HEEEEEERE's HERBY!!!
Given our choice seems to be a walking box of curly fries or a mascot, I guess we have to bite the bullet on the mascot. Although watching the curly fries flee in terror from a real wolverine would also be acceptable.
On the topic of wolverines rage issues. A friend of mine was working a project to tag and track wolverines. He went to take one out of a humane trap, it twisted free and got a piece of him. Long story short they had to air lift him back to an ER room for three digits worth of stitches. Wolverines are fur, pointy ends and anger issues basically.
I wouldn't be opposed if it's done right.
Of course, any time you go to change/add anything there's going to be a collective group of people grumbling "This is MICHIGAN. We are better than X." Where X, of course, is whatever change is being considered.
At some point you guys are going to realize that a mascots target demographic isn't guys over 20 without kids who post on mgoblog all day. Little kids love mascots, parents like when their kids are happy, the school likes it when parents by shit to make their kid happy. A mascot makes sense, it doesn't actually hurt you at all and makes kids happy, not really all that hard to see why it makes more sense than not to have a mascot.
Parents will buy their kids plenty of M crap without the mascot. Mine did. I did for my kids. I also have for my new grandson.
Get off my lawn.
I concur with BlueHills. Get off my lawn as well. In fact, stop walking on other people's lawns as a general proposition, ok Sonny?
If we do get a (costume) mascot, it better look a hell of alot better than that maize and blue, tiger/bear looking paper mache thing that MSU students made in 2003....right before we beat them.
I'm not a fan of the mascot idea but if Brandon is hell-bent on doing it, he should make a costume version of the 1920's or 30's era wolverine with the sailor hat.
I think that one would be the best option. You don't want it to look too cutesy like Willy. The retro version has an edginess to it without causing trauma to small kids.
the only acceptable mascot at this point is a giant shoelace with wings.
Why doesn't Dave Brandon stop messing with the tradition. When the team starts winning again, all of this crap about revenue streams, expanding demographics will all get flushed down the crapper. winning sells jerseys. Winning sells tickets at higher prices. Winning sends the team to bowl games outside of the state of Florida.
Because Brandon is an ego-driven corporate dweeb who has to put his fingerprint on everything.
New stadium additions? Hey, nice job. Win. But it wasn't you, DB.
New mascot? C'mon. That's just fixing something that isn't broken. We don't have enough distractions happening all over the freaking field with the cheerleaders, the pom girls, the band, the flags, the soliders, the flyovers, and everything else?
C'mon. Enough already.
Why do you hate the troops?
On the contrary, I love the troops. I love them in their service to our country and I love the tradition of having them on the field.
Contrast that wonderful tradition that means something with a guy walking around in a giant stuffed animal costume.
When I said we have enough distractions, I meant there's a lot already happening. I also love the cheerleaders, the band, and the flyovers, and so on. I mean that the plate is full and we don't need another thing on the field.
"Distractions" was a bad word choice. I simply couldn't think of a better one at the time.
camo jerseys for players and coaches--looking in your direction, osu and oregon.
I think a mascot would be fine. Just make it look cool and not cartoony. I like the Willy name, go with something like that and debut him by him running down the tunnel in a surprise type thing at halftime and beat up the EMU mascot or something like that.
Sign off now and we promise not to tell your Mom & Dad you were using the computer without asking.
Beat up the EMU mascot? What has Swoop ever done to you? Sheesh.
I think a mascot would be fine. Just make it look cool
Ay, there's the rub.
Most mascots look cartoony, though. Just look at our rivals. Sparty and Brutus look about as cartoony as you can get.
But not the ND guy dressed like a leprechaun. He just looks like a tool.
If we have to get a mascot it should have nothing to do with a Wolverine. My two top choices are Clippy the office assistant or The Noid from Dominoes fame. Nothing would throw off a spread teams timing like avoiding the noid.
On one of my copies of Office, I actually downloaded a dolphin that I saw on one of our Japanese employee's computers....He was pretty cool.
Whether to make a Dolphin Mascot/Rosenberg joke....or make a "The Cove" joke about being concerned what state the dolphin was in on your Japanese employee's computer....Everyone make your own joke.
after following Michigan football for over 40 years is that we don't have a LIVE wolverine mascot. And don't tell me that it would be too vicious to have on the sidelines. Hunter Thompson had TWO, count em, TWO pet wolverines on his ranch! If a wolverine is raised from infancy by humans it can be tame, more or less, in their company. I'm sure if Brandon put the word out to fans for a tame live wolverine for a mascot, we would soon have one snarling on the sidelines.
I'm no advocate of a mascot, but if DB is going to TRY one...I hope he don't also burden us with a cutesy name, too.
(as someone else suggested in the comments in the MIchigan Today article Victor Valiant posted the link to...one obvious one would be Victor...)
Two live Wolverines, male and female, named Victor and Hail(ey), respectively.
I am opposed to any cheesy fake mascot, and I think real wolverines are, uh, problematic. However, I do have fond memories of Whiskey and Brandy pushing the ball around at halftime.
Here's a pretty comprehensive recap of the Michigan mascot story: http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2011/06/story.php?id=8003&tr=y&auid=8513677
Please no! I love the fact that we are one of the few programs without a mascot. Please don't parade some idiot along the sideline. This would turn me against Brandon
I'm pretty sure the author is wrong about at least one thing:
Yost was a visionary but he was also a competitor. He built Michigan Stadium so that, some day, it could be expanded to fit some 300,000 football fans. (Michigan Stadium is not even halfway there more than eight decades later.)
Like a tall tale, this number keeps getting inflated. The story used to be Yost wanted it to hold 140,000 fans, and built footings put in that could eventually support that. In recent years, sportswriters have been claiming he wanted 200,000 seats. This is the first time I've seen 300,000 claimed.
I'm having trouble envisioning any mascot that won't be Bucky-lite or way too goofy. I have a hard time believing families are going to decide to buy tickets for the first time because Michigan added a person running around in a giant manbearpig suit. Isn't there, y'know, a waiting list to get season tickets as it is?
I understand DB's impulse to wring all of the possible revenue out of Michigan football. At a certain point, you're damaging the brand. Would a mascot itself mean the end of the M football tradition? No, but soon it will be the "Wilbert the Wolverine T-Shirt Toss sponsored by TCF Bank." I can appreciate the night game, understand the merchandising of the fauxbacks, but adding something that substantively redirects attention and changes the game experience starts to really alter the Michigan Football atmosphere.
Also, I'm real tired of the "DB understands and respects the tradition" line just being said for the sake of it. Who would've thought we'd have a box of curly fries at a Michigan game, even if it was the commercialized Big Chill? I know that the "Arby's" logo prevented me and a ton of other students from buying Big Chill merch. I understand modernizing and increasing revenue, but maybe, just maybe, if he's trying to add things that alter our tradition he DOESN'T really understand its importance? Sure, I'm sure he knows the tradition, but it's kind of clear he doesn't respect it or its importance.
In conclusion, GET OFF MY LAWN.
I have a stuffed wolverine that's wearing a blue t shirt with a block m on it and is wearing a maize sailor hat. If the mascot looked like this I'd have no problem with one. I'll see if I can find it and post the picture because it's the only one of it's kind I've ever seen.
edit: mother has it at work. Once she brings it back I'll post a picture.
I also like the old school wolverine with the block M t-shirt and sailor hat. And wasn't Willy the Wolverine generally popular, especially with the students? I definitely remember him roaming the sidelines for a very short time. I'm not sure a Wolverine is particularly marketable as a mascot, but if Penn State can market that carpet remnant they call a Nittany Lion, then anything is possible. I used to like the old days when the cheerleaders would pick up the opponents mascot and run him in to the goalpost groin first. Back to the Nittany Lion--that thing looks to be about the same quality as the gorilla suit from "Trading Places."
Unless its live...do not want.
I have a feeling that what Brian mentioned is starting to come true, you give one inch you give a mile, DB is slowly bur surley corporatizing (is that a word?) the Michigan brand into one that sells out every bit of marketing space and will soon be having bobblehead giveaways and ketchup/mustard races during TV timeouts.
Other Brandon trial balloons:
University of Michigan Men's Glee Club (founded 1859) "Glee" show.
TV show where he and Gene Smith trade lives and share mascots.
"American Mascot Idol" TV show where winner gets to wear fur suit and prance around on the field; panel of judges to include the Ohio U mascot guy, Big Bird, Terrelle Pryor, and whoever currently lives in Keith Richard's skin suit.
Wait...did I forget Barney the Dinosaur? I'm all for Barney being on the sidelines at games.
That could be a remake of "Trading Places".
(And doesn't Glee owe us one since we gave one of ours to them?)
As long as Barney is eaten by a live wolverine, I'd be all for that.
The state of Michigan does not have any wild wolverines left, unless some naturally migrated back to the state from Canada that I am not aware of. Being a Wildlife Biologist, I follow many wildlife issues, especially ones in Michigan. Having a reintroduction plan for wolverines would be a suitable first step in bringing the population back. It kind of sounds strange to be called the "wolverine" state when we no longer have wild wolverines in the state, then again California still has the Grizzly bear on their state flag.
I listen to 97.1 on a daily basis, and when news came out a couple years ago that the last remaining wild wolverine passed away the Karsch and Anderson show had a survey on what should be some possibilities of a mascot for the University of Michigan? I remember someone's response was that the mascot should be a painting of that last wolverine from photos taken of him.
And I think I spent most of the game watching the xheerleaders sneak up on him to ram his crotch into the goalposts. In hindsight, I apologize to my father for NOT WATCHING THE GODAMNED GAME! I am sure I missed a lot of great of tackle runs.
Please db, break this chain of ADD at sporting events. for the adults.
As an alum and someone fond of this particular non-tradition, I am fine with no mascot. My kids, however, like to have their photo taken with every plush-like figure, life-size or handheld.
Thinking back when I was a young lad, I could have cared less about a mascot. I wanted to see Bo yell, Jamie Morris run, Greg Skrepenak dominate, and Mark Messner destroy people. If I had seen Sparty back then, I would have kicked him in the shin.
Sparty's one step aheaad of you. He wears shinguards called greaves.
Maybe you could kick him under his skirt.
I sat down with my kids to watch "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic" on Hub Network because I foolishly have digital cable and I couldn't resist my daughter doing the guilt face saying, "Will you watch my show with me?"......we could have the first mascot that is Flash animation like this show.
I don't know what it is about cincy, but I was trying to google for pix from a mascot baseball game I suffered through (trying to watch the Cubs a couple years ago) and found that cincy puts on all sorts of scary games involving herds of mascots...click play if you dare:
either a live, rabid wolverine, or nothing, I say.
Cincy is just weird, man. Give me Cleveland with family and comforting road construction any day.
I'll have to agree with you about Cleveland Vs. Cincy. Although Cincy has the prototype for the Brooklyn Bridge and one of the first skyscrapers.
Concrete reinforced frame skyscraper and the model for the superfriends headquarters, the justice league.
We don't have a mascot?
Bo was everything we stand for at Michigan. RIP big guy!!!
