Stupid UM Mascot Article at Detroit News
There is another stupid mascot article over at the Detroit News, calling for Michigan to relent and add a Mascot. (Link: http://detnews.com/article/20110803/OPINION03/108030411/1131/sports0201/What%E2%80%99s-the-fuss-Michigan?-Just-get-a-mascot-already) I hope Dave Brandon doesn't cave to this idiocy, and that Michigan gets back to its regular winning ways. I wish there was some way for the alumni base to make clear their feelings on this.
August 3rd, 2011 at 12:43 PM ^
August 3rd, 2011 at 12:44 PM ^
August 3rd, 2011 at 12:46 PM ^
Good one.
August 3rd, 2011 at 12:53 PM ^
And Minneblowta? Lack of words to retort to this...
August 3rd, 2011 at 12:50 PM ^
August 3rd, 2011 at 12:53 PM ^
This article is a very good peek into the dumbing down of the American public.
August 3rd, 2011 at 12:54 PM ^
I say Dantonio "accidentally" falls in the cage...
Lunch.
August 3rd, 2011 at 12:58 PM ^
We need a mascot so that kids grow up to be Michigan fans?
I think we're doing just fine.
Michigan Stadium is unimpressed by your lack of intelligent writing.
is a live wolverine gnawing on Brutus Buckeye's butt.
and loving it.
A Minnesota guy doesn't understand UM traditions. That's fine; it's to be expected.
Let's face it - a football mascot is a taste thing. Those with good taste are against it.
Those with lowbrow tastes and a burning need to have a mascot are free attend MSU games and revel in watching Sparty. As far as I'm concerned, Dave Branding's last day on the job at Michigan can't come too soon.
I'm somewhat willing to think that some version of this has a reasonable possibility of becoming the mascot down the road: http://www.mden.com/shopping/product.cgi?ADR947+0998 considering that they are selling versions of this shirt in the M Den. It just kind of seems to me that this might be a trial balloon to see if this takes off.
Does anyone happen to know the history behind this wolverine logo? The only time I can remember seeing an actual wolverine on a piece of Michigan gear is this plastic cup that my dad had that I put my pens and pencils in, but that wasn't the same logo is this one...
I don't know the full history of that wolverine logo, but shirts bearing its image were sold at Ulrich's back in the 70's.
Thanks for the info, I just wasn't sure if it was something MDen or whoever designed in the last few years to look retro. Apparently it is legit.
It would make for an interesting costume I guess. I'm not really moved in either direction by the mascot debate.
It's legit, and in fact, used to be very common. In the '80s I had a pennant and mini basketball with that logo. The only thing is that I don't remember the wolverine's lip sticking out that much. (I no longer have the old items to compare, though.)
Yep, as a kid, I remember those blue mesh jerseys with white sleeves ... they had a Maize script Michigan across the front and the Wolverine head printed on the sleeves.
Probably because they are navy and yellow, at least according to Adidas' idea of colors. I didn't see the "navy" shirt in person, but I did see the "yellow" one and it is most definitely a distinctly different color from the neon yellow that Adidas is trying to pass off as maize that is only almost everything else that the M Den sells. The kind of funny (read: sad) thing is that the color of the "yellow" shirt is actually much closer to what someone would actually consider maize to be, but Adidas lives in this weird world where maize is actually neon yellow and yellow is actually maize.
Christ almighty, the MDEN is offering a free teddy bear with a $150 purchase and for one heart-stopping moment I thought THAT is what you were referring to.
Haha. Wow. I didn't see that when I first posted the link. That would be... uh... something...
wish there was some way for the alumni base to make clear their feelings on this.The Detroit News itself had a poll on this issue, and it was 2-1 opposed. Brandon confirmed that there are no plans for a mascot. People can relax.
Me why we don't have a mascot. My immediate answer, without even thinking, was "Because we're not douchebags." That's all that needs to be said about getting a mascot.
Well said. What was their reply/reaction?
I believe in situations like this it is normal for a Notre Dame fan to claim "potty mouth" and offer some of his vinegar and water that he carries around in his manbag.
and changed the subject haha. But today I told another one of my ND fans that story and he laughed until he realized that ND has a mascot and then he just said "Fuck You".
"A mascot can bring hope. A 48-28 home loss to Wisconsin sits better when (insert name) Wolverine and Bucky Badger troll the sidelines waiting for the chance to throw down."
Oh yeah.... this guy gets it all right.
I think that's what attracts most people to Michigan in the first place - we don't need a mascot as our identity. "Michigan" is our identity, and that, in and of itself, is more than enough. Maybe that's arrogant, but I know that's how I felt in middle and high school, before I was lucky enough to attend this fine institution.
Gotta give props to the author for mentioning the Philly Phanatic - hands down the best mascot in sports.
What, no love for the Stanford Tree?
Paraphrasing the article, then my opinion.
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<br>You should have a mascot because he'll make the game more exciting.
<br>-I am already over-excited when I'm in the Big House.
<br>
<br>The Phanatic makes Phillies games more fun.
<br>-Baseball is a generally less eventful game, even then I don't feel the need for Paws at Comerica.
<br>
<br>Mascots are awesome.
<br>-No, no they are not. As far as mascots go for me, the only lasting stunts that mascots pull are the ones that embarrass the school.
<br>
<br>It would be awesome to lift the mascot and carry them around the stadium after a win.
<br>-How about we continue the whole "the team, the team, the team" idea and not put anyone above the team.
Let's Face It, Playing For A Little Brown Jug is No Longer Relevant to Today's Players
Maize and Blue are so last-century; suggested new UM colors: Taupe and Teal
Yost Fieldhouse: Why Continue To Renovate That Space When You Have a Fantastic Joe Louis Arena Just Down the Freeway.
Writing idiotic things to piss off his writers? He'll fit in perfectly around Sharp, Parker, and Rosenberg.
i didn't have a problem being a michigan fan when i was a kid despite the lack of a mascot. in fact, i hated people dressed up in costumes all together. never sat on santa's lap or posed with the easter bunny and i'm sure i would have steered clear of a guy in a wolverine costume just the same.
This is MICHIGAN Mr. Katzenstein, M-I-C-H-I-G-A-N, not Minnesota and their frickin' Gopher.
DB (our Beloved "ADocious" Marketing Extrodianaire) should strike a cross promotion with Marvel and use Wolverine "The Man Beast" for our masoct. And this guy below is ready to report for duty!
(snapped @ Comicon a couple of weeks ago)
Photoshop away boys and girls.
Proof he's been dressed in that garb since the 70's.
I am block-copying the email I just sent as a response to the author of that column. (Detroit News doesn't seem to allow for "comments." Hmm. Good thing.) I did it before reading everyone's reactions here, but I think, we are all on the same page.
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You wrote, "Children, for the most part, don't understand tradition."
So, that means, just using your own words, you are a child too.
Look, I went to Michigan, not Minnesota, so I won't pretend to understand the "other" U of M's traditions. Like the boring and, let's be honest, downright ugly school colors. That's a kind of a tradition the Gopher fans seem to like, so there it is. I’m not in position to mock it.
But you didn't go to Michigan, so you DON'T understand OUR traditions. And our tradition includes no stupid mascot. You know, maybe the fact that everyone else has them is precisely why it IS a tradition at Michigan. We won't go there just because everyone else has one. Maybe we like not having one, as a tradition that separates us from that school in Ohio, that Catholic school in Indiana, Sparty, and everyone else we face.
And the argument that "childen" love mascots? Michigan has over 100 years of football success, and frankly, I don't see any waning of attention of children over 100 years regarding the program. Maybe your point is that, had Michigan had one for 100 years, we'd have had MORE fans than we already did. But is the lack of a mascot holding back kids from being Michigan fans? Maybe really your point is, at Minnesota games, kids are bored and want to high-five the mascot. Go to a UM game, please -- try to find any bored kids. Good luck to you. I think kids at UM games would rather high-five Denard Robinson instead of some zit-covered kid in a smelly costume.
I think someone who went to a school where athletic success was relatively non-existent doesn't understand Michigan football tradition -- or Kentucky basketball, etc. Michigan's traditions are the HELMET, the FIGHT SONG, the BANNER, and all of the success. Those are what kids are taught are meaningful.
Minnesota doesn't have those traditions, so stop importing yours on ours and claiming you know what's best for us.
And I won't retort that maybe you weren't smart enough to get into Michigan in the first place.
I cant argue with your points. But I will say this. What harm will it do? Will it destroy Michigan Football? Will it make us lose games? No and no. All the traditions we have today started out as either an innovative or mold breaking idea. At the time of their inceptions many of our traditions were met with resitance. Arent we glad today that the people who made those decisions years ago had the balls to do so?
Why do we have the biggest stadium in the country? Because one man had the vision to set the ground work decades before it was logistically possible to 100k-200k people in one place for a football game.
Why do we talk about "the team, the team, the team!"? Because one man had the vision to hire an unpopular coach from ohio to lead the Michigan football program.
Is a mascot on the same level as these things. No. But it wont destroy what Michigan footbal is. If RR cant do it, a mascot cant either.
Its sad to think that so many alumni think that it can.
Will it destroy the football program? No. Do I want one? No!
A nose ring won't destroy my beak, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea.
Fair enough.
My POV is this. Having a mascot isnt cool. Unless Michigan does it. Because were awesome and everything we do is awesome.
My son is 7 and has never wanted to hug a mascot. Quite frankly, when he was younger, mascots scared him. Now, he kind of thinks their stupid. He's a good Michigan Fan!
It would be unbearably hot for the person inside considering the warm-climate bowl games in which we consistently play.
Let State have their blow up doll and all the Pizza Bowls they can play.
I don't mind if we get a mascot just as long as he doesn't wear a skirt like some other mascots
