Live animals, Willy the Wolverine, Rich Eisen, Groupon, and DB's mascot hopes
Fascinating read for any Michigan fan in Michigan Today about why Michigan doesn't have a mascot:
http://michigantoday.umich.edu/2011/06/story.php?id=8003&tr=y&auid=8513…
i'm ok without a gameday mascot. there are plenty of traditions on gameday to fill even the Big House
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.
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 coolAy, 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 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.
<br>
<br>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.
...a trial balloon (hoping that's the case, anyhow).
Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon says the school has discussed the possibility of a mascot for the Wolverines, but that it's "not an active project."
There was a bit of a stir when Brandon was quoted in the online magazine Michigan Today saying the university is "interested in doing a mascot but it has to be something that fans love."
Brandon tells The Associated Press that a mascot is something Michigan has discussed because the school wants to connect with younger fans. However, he says there's "no timetable" and no current project to come up with one.
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.
where is that?
And union terminal seen from 75
We don't have a mascot?
Bo was everything we stand for at Michigan. RIP big guy!!!