Rebel the Black Bear ties to eat small child...
- Thread starter fishwater99
- Start date
"Momma, you told me not to talk to strangers but he said he wanted to 'hep' me. Momma, what does 'hep' mean?"
doesn't agree with OP4 that mascots are for children. I mean we're constantly told by the black bear apologists that mascots are lame and only around to entertain the kids. Look how entertained that little terrorized hospital patient obviously feels.
Nice job, bears. The gift that keeps on giving. To the kids, of course.
Nice job, bears. The gift that keeps on giving. To the kids, of course.
Mascots ARE for kids. Michael Thompson put it best when he said something about giving kids something to build their connection to the university.
That's the goal of the mascots. If you are over 12, you don't really care about mascots anymore, but more than likely when you were 3, 4, 5 years old, you built your first connection to the university via the mascot.
That said, they received so much damn pressure from people wanting the mascot to look tough, that they made it somewhat scary looking.
It still doesn't look as scary as Clemson's mascot.
Regardless, I'm just glad it has debuted, and the kids can start building their connection. My kids will love it, once they get past the teeth.
That's the goal of the mascots. If you are over 12, you don't really care about mascots anymore, but more than likely when you were 3, 4, 5 years old, you built your first connection to the university via the mascot.
That said, they received so much damn pressure from people wanting the mascot to look tough, that they made it somewhat scary looking.
It still doesn't look as scary as Clemson's mascot.
Regardless, I'm just glad it has debuted, and the kids can start building their connection. My kids will love it, once they get past the teeth.
I hate to divert attention away from the ridiculous Rebel Black Bear, but you're right... The Clemson mascot is just creepy.
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Scary is not the word. I think child molester creepy is the better description. Maybe you could have the mascot drive out of the tunnel in one of those windowless vans, similarly to how Bully rides out on his Dog House, and instead of cheerleaders pulling it, you could have a few select young fans running from it.
Surely there's a skit or something we could find even if its just this youtube classic...
<span id="temp-1"><span> <span id="temp-0"><span> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CVS1UfCfxlU?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="never" height="390" width="480" ></embed> </span> </span> </span><span> <span id="temp-1"> </span> </span> </span>
<span id="temp-1"><span> <span id="temp-0"><span> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CVS1UfCfxlU?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="never" height="390" width="480" ></embed> </span> </span> </span><span> <span id="temp-1"> </span> </span> </span>
I realize you're trying your best to find it funny, but mascots are mascots and nicknames are nicknames. Mascots are for the kids to have some attachment to the school.
I used to think Alabama was the Elephants when I was a kid. If I was in an Alabama family, I would've eventually figured it out, but I still would've loved that Elephant as the first connection to Alabama, and that's the whole purpose of the thing. Do UT kids struggle with determining whether or not they are the Davy Crockett's or the Hound Dogs not the Volunteers? Do Auburn kids struggle with understanding whether they are the War Eagles or the Tigers? They probably don't care.
I'm going to have much more difficult discussions with my kids than trying to explain that we're the Rebels with a Black Bear for a mascot when they finally figure it out. That one will be a piece of cake. I'm just glad they're going to have something to take pictures with that represents Ole Miss to them.
I used to think Alabama was the Elephants when I was a kid. If I was in an Alabama family, I would've eventually figured it out, but I still would've loved that Elephant as the first connection to Alabama, and that's the whole purpose of the thing. Do UT kids struggle with determining whether or not they are the Davy Crockett's or the Hound Dogs not the Volunteers? Do Auburn kids struggle with understanding whether they are the War Eagles or the Tigers? They probably don't care.
I'm going to have much more difficult discussions with my kids than trying to explain that we're the Rebels with a Black Bear for a mascot when they finally figure it out. That one will be a piece of cake. I'm just glad they're going to have something to take pictures with that represents Ole Miss to them.
We needed a mascot. We're trying to distance ourselves from the images that don't need to be associated with a public university.
What would you have done differently?
It's a crap situation having to change your imagery, but if it needs to be done, it needs to be done. How would you have done it better? Seriously, I'm curious to know what would've been better.
What would you have done differently?
It's a crap situation having to change your imagery, but if it needs to be done, it needs to be done. How would you have done it better? Seriously, I'm curious to know what would've been better.
This is the beginning of the end of the Ole Miss Rebels... In 10 years you will be the Mississippi Black Bears... Get used to it Bruiser..
Or you could have gone with a James Dean-looking character. Leather jacket, duck tail, etc. You already have the penny loafers.<div>
</div><div>But in all seriousness, out of the few options that I saw, I would've gone with the horse named Rebel (old-timers could've probably been satisfied by being reminded of the confederate cavalry) or the lion (I was actually thinking you had a hook with the Rebel-Lion/'rebellion' thing.)</div><div>
</div><div>Oh well, I don't know why I'm spending time thinking about this... Good luck. I'm glad we don't have to deal with it.</div>
</div><div>But in all seriousness, out of the few options that I saw, I would've gone with the horse named Rebel (old-timers could've probably been satisfied by being reminded of the confederate cavalry) or the lion (I was actually thinking you had a hook with the Rebel-Lion/'rebellion' thing.)</div><div>
</div><div>Oh well, I don't know why I'm spending time thinking about this... Good luck. I'm glad we don't have to deal with it.</div>
While I think that may be on the horizon, I wouldn't lose my head over it.
That's not what the school or the experience is about to me. Southerners, for whatever reason, have a really hard time dealing with change. I don't quite understand that. Often, change is for the better, and maybe if we didn't resist change so much Mississippi wouldn't be 50th in the US in so many areas.
If it's deemed best we change our name to the Black Bears, then that's what we'll do, and I will be fine with that. I'm for anything that helps out the university. If we were really so concerned with tradition, we'd demand to be changed back to the Flood immediately, and you'd demand to go back to being the Aggies or the Maroons. Do you think your alums at the time threw a fit when you changed from Aggies/Maroons to officially being the Bulldogs?
I could see Rebels eventually changing if the mascot change doesn't help change the identity of the nickname. And if it does have to change, it has to change, and we'll move on and still be the same university we were before.
On that note, I really doubt "Ole Miss" will ever have to change. The issue with the imagery is its connotation in current society. Many of the SEC nicknames and mascots have Confederate origins (LSU for example), but people don't think Confederacy when they see or hear Tigers. The same can be said for "Ole Miss". People see or hear that, and they think of the university. "Rebels" is another story, which is why I could see it having to change at some point if the connotation doesn't eventually shift for people.
That's not what the school or the experience is about to me. Southerners, for whatever reason, have a really hard time dealing with change. I don't quite understand that. Often, change is for the better, and maybe if we didn't resist change so much Mississippi wouldn't be 50th in the US in so many areas.
If it's deemed best we change our name to the Black Bears, then that's what we'll do, and I will be fine with that. I'm for anything that helps out the university. If we were really so concerned with tradition, we'd demand to be changed back to the Flood immediately, and you'd demand to go back to being the Aggies or the Maroons. Do you think your alums at the time threw a fit when you changed from Aggies/Maroons to officially being the Bulldogs?
I could see Rebels eventually changing if the mascot change doesn't help change the identity of the nickname. And if it does have to change, it has to change, and we'll move on and still be the same university we were before.
On that note, I really doubt "Ole Miss" will ever have to change. The issue with the imagery is its connotation in current society. Many of the SEC nicknames and mascots have Confederate origins (LSU for example), but people don't think Confederacy when they see or hear Tigers. The same can be said for "Ole Miss". People see or hear that, and they think of the university. "Rebels" is another story, which is why I could see it having to change at some point if the connotation doesn't eventually shift for people.
but please explain how the LSU Tigers have their roots in the Confederacy. I hate LSU as much as the next guy, but I just don't see the connection.
For that matter, I don't see a connection with any other major university. You might make an argument for Tennessee, but that nickname originates from the Battle of 1812; NOT the Civil War. In fact, Tennessee was the last state to leave the Union and the first to rejoin after the Civil War.
For that matter, I don't see a connection with any other major university. You might make an argument for Tennessee, but that nickname originates from the Battle of 1812; NOT the Civil War. In fact, Tennessee was the last state to leave the Union and the first to rejoin after the Civil War.
<p align="justify"><font size="3" face="Book Antiqua">"The Louisiana Fighting Tigers was the nickname of Wheat’s Battalion, a Confederate Zouave unit made up primarily of New Orleans dockworkers, who were said to have fought furiously at the Battle of Bull Run and throughout Virginia in the American Civil War. LSU’s 1896 football team was nicknamed Tigers in honor of this Confederate Civil War unit, after the team went undefeated that year. The school’s mascot eventually became the LSU Fighting Tigers, which then spread to all sports teams of the school. "
http://scvcamp133.webs.com/lsuconfederateflag.htm</font></p>
http://scvcamp133.webs.com/lsuconfederateflag.htm</font></p>
I can't remember them all, but a lot of Southern school nicknames have some sort of Confederate origin, but like I said, they are names that don't still carry that connotation, and obviously, you proved my point in that you (and the majority of people) don't know the origin, and all you see is a Tiger, or whatever else.
That's the point. It's all about what it means to people today. The swastika wasn't always a negative symbol until the Nazi's started using it as one of their symbols in their attempt to obliterate a race of people. Symbols have different meanings, and so do names, and often the meaning of that name or symbol changes over time. If the perception of a symbol or name still has a negative or divisive connotation to most people, then I understand and completely agree with my university distancing itself from those symbols/names.
And again, that's the reason I think "Ole Miss" will not have to ever be dropped, though I think "Rebels" COULD eventually find its way to the chopping block.
Very few people think Confederacy or "Ole Missus" when they think of the term "Ole Miss". To most people, the term "Ole Miss" is as innocent as the LSU Bengal Tiger. The meaning has changed so much that it no longer is associated with its original meaning.
That's the point. It's all about what it means to people today. The swastika wasn't always a negative symbol until the Nazi's started using it as one of their symbols in their attempt to obliterate a race of people. Symbols have different meanings, and so do names, and often the meaning of that name or symbol changes over time. If the perception of a symbol or name still has a negative or divisive connotation to most people, then I understand and completely agree with my university distancing itself from those symbols/names.
And again, that's the reason I think "Ole Miss" will not have to ever be dropped, though I think "Rebels" COULD eventually find its way to the chopping block.
Very few people think Confederacy or "Ole Missus" when they think of the term "Ole Miss". To most people, the term "Ole Miss" is as innocent as the LSU Bengal Tiger. The meaning has changed so much that it no longer is associated with its original meaning.
