Stop The Mascot Insanity!!!
Now that Beano Cook has weighed in on the Native American collegiate mascot hoopla it's time for the only opinion that matters on this subject... mine.
As someone who, quite possibly, could be 1/16th Native American I feel like I should have a say in whether or not Florida State, Illinois, etc. need to change their mascots/ nicknames. I've thought long and hard about it and spoken with some of my 1/16th-Native American brothers and the concensus is this... keep the mascots. Personally, I doubt if I would even know what a "Seminole" was if not for Florida State. And aren't a lot of towns, cities and states named after tribes too? Do we need to change those as well? Instead of Illinois, the state will now be called New Scotland or something.
Frankly, if we're going to start changing college mascots we need to start with an area a little more pressing. We need to be changing one of the 5 million or so "Wildcats" into something more original. (How about the Northwestern "Purple Cobras"?) Here are some college mascots that need some work...
As someone who, quite possibly, could be 1/16th Native American I feel like I should have a say in whether or not Florida State, Illinois, etc. need to change their mascots/ nicknames. I've thought long and hard about it and spoken with some of my 1/16th-Native American brothers and the concensus is this... keep the mascots. Personally, I doubt if I would even know what a "Seminole" was if not for Florida State. And aren't a lot of towns, cities and states named after tribes too? Do we need to change those as well? Instead of Illinois, the state will now be called New Scotland or something.
Frankly, if we're going to start changing college mascots we need to start with an area a little more pressing. We need to be changing one of the 5 million or so "Wildcats" into something more original. (How about the Northwestern "Purple Cobras"?) Here are some college mascots that need some work...
- Syracuse Orange. They dropped the "men" at the end a few years ago to be more PC. They should have added "Crush". Just think of the natural sponsorship tie-ins!
- Pitt Panthers. (You knew I had to pick on Pitt!) Ahh yes, I've heard the stories of the legendary panthers that use to roam the North Side and pounce on diners outside the Oakland Primanti's. How about a mascot more indigenous to their surroundings, like the Pitt Polish Sausages?
- Temple Owls. If you're going to pick a bird mascot, don't pick one as lame as the "Owl". Try something like the condor or the puffin.
- Stanford Cardinal. Their mascot is a tree and their nickname is a color... leave it to all those tree-hugging liberals on the left coast to come up with that crap. Better yet, why not just change the name to the Stanford Communist-Sympathizers? The mascot can be the beheaded statue of Lenin!
- USC Trojans & Michigan State Spartans. If we're going to change nicknames/mascots because they are offensive we should change these too. I'm sure there are some descendents of these folks who are outraged everytime "Sparty" the Spartan takes the field.
But there is one mascot we can all agree upon... the rugged, original, and classic Nittany Lion! Quite simply the most kick-ass mascot in the world...
Roar Lions Roar!!
posted by The Commish at 3:25 PM
5 Comments:
Mt. Nittany is the name of the mountain that surrounds State College (hence, Happy "Valley"). Prior to the stadium expansion a few years ago, you a perfect view of it from inside the stadium. The "Nittany Lion" refers to the mountain lions that use to roam hills of Mt. Nittany many, many years ago.
Ironically, I believe Mt. Nittany may have be named after a Native Indian... but don't tell the NCAA that. They'll make us change it.
i thought this might help you answer vince's question...
Myth:
The word "Nittany" is derived from Princess Nita-nee,a member of the Native American tribes who once lived in central Pennsylvania.
Fact:
Princess Nita-nee was "invented" by author and publisher Henry W. Shoemaker and has no basis whatever in fact. Shoemaker's mention of the princess first appeared in print in 1903. At that time he attributed the tale to "an aged Seneca Indian named Isaac Steele." Shoemaker, a well known Pennsylvania folklorist, later admitted that both Steele and Nita-nee were "purely fictitious." http://www.psu.edu/ur/about/myths.html
REAL origins of "Nittany"
http://www.psu.edu/ur/about/nittany.html
The word "Nittany" seems to have been derived from a Native American term meaning "single mountain." (Since a number of Algonquian-speaking tribes inhabited central Pennsylvania, the term can't be traced to one single group.) These inhabitants applied this description to the mountain that separates Penns Valley and Nittany Valley, overlooking what is today the community of State College and Penn State's University Park campus. The first white settlers in the 1700s apparently adopted this term, or a corruption of it, when they named that mountain, i.e., Mount Nittany or Nittany Mountain. Thus by the time Penn State admitted its first students in 1859, the word "Nittany" was already in use. http://www.psu.edu/ur/about/nittany.html
I know that may be a little overkill but I coulden't help myself
The Nittanyproudfoot
Thank you Nittanyproudfoot for that informative, if long-winded, explanation.
That mascot looks like a bear to me.
hey at least it's better then Pitt's Mascot, that thing looks like an angry hampster to me
Post a Comment
<< Home