FB: Empire 8

[Doid23]

Wow, those were the best they could come up with? Lake Beast?? FLYING SQUIRREL? LOL

Wow, I thought someone was making this up. Then I read some of the stuff, and realized that this was serious (although that could be debated given the three choices). The good news is, they are all so ridiculous, that the answer will be D) None of the above. Nice response by Welch.

[union89]

Doid,
Mark John should get proper credit here.....Ithaca will forever be the, 'CornBombers' in Union College lore.

[AUPepBand]

IC alums are petitioning for rejection of the three finalists. Found over on Facebook posted by a Bomber whom Pep met in a Wendy's in Georgia while en route to Florida on an AU Habitat trip. Pep posts the online petition here for Bomber posters.

http://www.petitiononline.com/ICMacot/petition.html

On Saxon Warriors!

[BoSox0322]

Im sure I missed a lot and  it has already been said but this is absolutley ridiculous.  How stupid can you be to compare the Ithaca Bombers to War?  Its a pilot or a plane or whatever... who gives a crap... I think its a great and differenciating name... i would love to see the names and titles on that 19 person panel that picked these three names... or the person that actually thought about this and thought it was important enough to make a change.  Sounds to me like someone is trying to make a name for themselves ... and whoever this person or persons is... is completely concerned about the wrong things... how about having fun and stop being concerned about idiodic things like this.  I literally thought it was a joke when I first heard this... One of the panel members said in the article in the post standard in syracuse that it  speaks to his generation and how bad the current wars are and 9/11... REALLY? Somedody saying Ithaca Bombers makes you think of that? Absolutley ridiculous... when does it stop

[BoSox0322]

Well, over at IC, the discussion of the moment is the proposed new mascot to be used with the Bombers name (they are adamant the name is not going away with this).  You can take a look at the options here:

http://ithaca.edu/mascot/finalists/

Being honest, I am not overly thrilled with any of the three proposals here.  I don't have anything against adopting a mascot, but none of the ideas really strikes me as demanding to be selected.

EDIT to add-

Football coach Mike Welch was asked his opinion of the trio of ideas by the Ithacan.  Here's what they have him saying:

Though I applaud the efforts of the committee, which was given a very difficult task, I would not be happy with any of the three finalists.

I am a 1973 graduate and have been a coach at Ithaca College for 27 years. Over these many years, I have seen the efforts to change the name or develop a mascot for our school. This new attempt has brought similar results.

I feel the name is the symbol. The word Bomber is a symbol for our commitment to excellence in everything we do. The word Bomber is a winner. The more I look at other colleges and universities and what we have at Ithaca College, this spirit is rare. It is a spirit of family, hard work and commitment to not only win in life, but to do it the right way, to do it with class. Though the efforts are noble, I do not know how you can improve on that.

great response from Coach Welch.. could not agree with him more

[BoSox0322]

It's AU Spring Break and Pep is on the 33-passenger Alfred University bus with 30 other passengers, bound for De Land, Florida where, in four-and-a-half-days, they will build a house up from a concrete slab together with a family who will one day soon occupy and enjoy a decent, affordable home built to code that can be expected to stand the test of tumultuous times (and hurricanes). This will be the 19th house that Alfred University students have constructed in De Land, Florida since 1997.

Habitat for Humanity's Collegiate Challenge....a refreshing break from the traditional collegiate Spring Break!

On Saxon Warriors!

nice work +k

[labart96]

Hey Pep -

Looks like Alfred's getting a couple of Clarkstown kids to enroll in Mayberry this fall:

http://www.section1recruiting.com/ (scroll to bottom of page).

[AUPepBand]

Hey Pep -

Looks like Alfred's getting a couple of Clarkstown kids to enroll in Mayberry this fall:

http://www.section1recruiting.com/ (scroll to bottom of page).

Nice find, TGP....+K 

AU's back-up QB TJ Kilcarr hails from Clarkstown South....the kid is the real deal and could be starting elsewhere. But he's a humble team-oriented kid who appears happy to have a role with the Saxons. He's a real asset to the team as evidenced by his being elected a team captain for the 2011 season. If the Clarkstown recruits are anything like TJ, then Coach Murray's got some great kids.

Kilcarr didn't disappoint Pep when called upon in the 2009 Fisher game at Growney. This highlight clip tells most of the story but an outstanding game by Kilcarr. Pep knew he'd keep the Saxons moving the ball.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVk1KA_MX0M

[Bombers798891]

A little late to this Bomber mascot discussion, but wanted to offer my opinion

I tend to look at things from a "What's the downside?" perspective. Normally, I look at something and say, ok, the positive impact of [insert project] might be minimal, but it's not like it's going to have some negative effect. Normally, this is where I'd fall on this whole mascot thing, because seriously, it's a mascot. It's largely inconsequential. It makes sense that a school might want one. Even if it positively impacts only a small segment of the student body and alumni base, it's hard to imagine most people would do more than shrug and not really care.

The problem is, there seems to in fact be an overwhelming negative opinion surrounding this decision. Now, some of it, the more I think about it, seems hyperbolic. Heck, Cortland State has a mythical creature as a mascot, and, for all the things we can make fun of Cortland for--and there are a myriad--I don't think anyone's really poked fun at the fact that dragons are creatures of legend. Is a Phoenix that different?

But, regardless of if the criticism is off base, it is there, and I'm starting to think that if something can inspire this much scathing commentary, it's a misguided effort. Purdue recently attempted to modify its mascot, and was met with a similar response. They went back to the old one.

If Ithaca College truly believes a mascot will help with the marketing and promotion of the school, well, I'm not a business major, so I won't argue it. But is that worth alienating what seems to be a rather significant portion of the students and alums?

Curiously, how many schools out there have a mascot and nickname that are two separate things? The committee had their reasons for taking something relating to "Bombers" off the table, whether or not you agree with them. But it seems to me that most schools have a nickname that lends itself to a mascot to avoid precisely what seems to be occurring here: a widespread state of cognitive dissonance.

It all reminds me of Jim Gaffigans take on Easter:

"What should we do to celebrate?"

"How about eggs?"

"How does that relate to Easter?"

"Alright, we'll hide them."

"I'm still confused"

"Don't worry, there's a bunny."

[labart96]

TGP's recommendation:

[bomber3]

I'll throw my two cents into the ring on the IC mascot conversation for what its worth.  As a registered alum, I filled out my mascot survey and relayed my displeasure with the selections as well.  The current list isn't the best long term solution for the topic/issue but rather the best that could be thought of at the moment - which is not how it should be done.  I am told there are behind the scenes political motivations surrounding the change but exactly what those reasonings are, I am unsure of.  Regardless, Coach Welch hit the nail on the head with his comments.  If I sat down for an hour and tried to explain it better I don't think I could have.  Who cares if you can't explain what a Bomber is or the origins of naming?  Sure, there are plenty of other schools with non-matching nicknames & mascots (Cornell, Stanford, etc.) and sure Cortland has a dragon but the Bomber name is unique and storied.  In my opinion, these suggestions cheapen the Bomber name for either a play for publicity or someone's own edification.  19 people sat in a room and honestly thought it was a good idea to suggest a flying squirrel?  Yikes.  I have an odd feeling these is an overlap of individuals on the mascot committee and the group responsible for suspending a number of the players the first game this season.  If it ain't broke don't fix it.

In other news, the Bomber schedule looks ROUGH.

[AUPepBand]

At Alfred, we had a so-called "mascot," designed back about 1950 by an Alfred Alum who also studied at Kansas University. His design, while original, has some similarities to Kansas' Jayhawk image.

There was a day when Li'l Alf' was painted on an Alfred University bus and appeared on Homecoming signs. Pep owns a navy tie with purple and gold L'il Alf' images on it that at one time was sold among Saxon clothing and accessories. Pep also is in possession of several rain ponchos that a Pep Band predecessor had designed with the Li'l Alf' character on the back with a trumpet.

Pep has always liked the Li'l Alf' mascot but there are some through the years who thought it was too cutesy. Seriously, were the character on the side of an Alfred University football helmet, it would look pretty goofy. But it wasn't designed for that purpose. Pep believes it characterizes Alfred's quirky existence...a small yet comprehensive university in the middle of nowhere that nevertheless puts up a great fight in the competitive world of higher education.

Ironically, when current students see the L'il Alf' mascot, they love it! In fact, likely against some administrators' wishes, the senior class t-shirt a few years ago sported L'il Alf' and the seniors LOVED IT.

So, it would appear that Ithaca College's attempt to adopt a cutesy mascot is meeting much resistance from among the alumni and, perhaps, even the students....while at Alfred, the student and alumni attempts to revive Alfred's cutesy mascot are being ignored and perhaps discouraged.

On Saxon Warriors!

[labart96]

Awesome sorry Pep.  If you ever need an alias TGP thinks Lil Alf would do just fine

[AUKaz00]

They even renamed the L'il Alf Cafe the Cyberspace Cafe.  What's that even mean?!?  Am I supposed to eat virtual food or drip my cheeseburger grease onto a keyboard?  L'il Alf needs to start appearing around campus like Waldo...

[Knightstalker]

They even renamed the L'il Alf Cafe the Cyberspace Cafe.  What's that even mean?!?  Am I supposed to eat virtual food or drip my cheeseburger grease onto a keyboard?  L'il Alf needs to start appearing around campus like Waldo...

Or like Kilroy.