Rebel Roundup - 2/23/10 - Let me try to explain this to you.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Feb 23, 2010 9:22 AM EST
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PrintOle Miss WR Andrew Harris leaves team | Brandt
The wide receiver with teeth of gold and a heart to match has left the Ole Miss Rebel football team, per the EotC. Harris, a once four-star recruit out of Hargrave, never saw much playing time over the past two seasons. Having seen him up close and in person at a practice during his freshman year, I can say that Harris was a real physical specimen who seemingly did not live up to his potential.
Sprints Endorses Admiral Ackbar for Ole Miss Mascot | Team Speed Kills
It's only mentioned in passing in this particular link, but I just wanted to point out that the whole Ackbar deal has really picked up some steam. I've seen it on about ten blogs, a few of which aren't football or Star Wars related per se. If nothing more comes of this, we can at least know that we've got a few folks laughing with us as opposed to at us for a welcomed change.
Cards Prospect Bittle Shut Down, Examined | STLtoday
[HT: The Mahatma] Scott Bittle's shoulder problems, the very problems which derailed his chances with the New York Yankees and caused him to return to Ole Miss for his senior season, have resurfaced. This time, it seems that this will likely end Bittle's chances with the Cardinals, if not baseball altogether.
A Disgustingly Large Portion of Y'all are Missing the Point
As everyone knows, today is the day on which students will vote on a mascot referendum. The two options which will be presented to the students are:
- Yes, I do support a student-led effort to develop and propose a NEW "on-field" mascot to
represent the OLE MISS REBELS. - No, I do not support a student-led effort to develop and propose a NEW "on-field" mascot
to represent the OLE MISS REBELS.
What does this mean? What doesn't this mean?
The DM did already try to explain it, but too many zealots concerned with wrapping up their personal heritages in a man wearing a cartoony foam suit either missed that issue or completely misread everything that was written in it. By my interpretation, neither a yes nor a no guarantees a new mascot. Conceivably, "yes" could win and, although such a student-led effort would be "supported" by the election, it could technically never formally be enacted. Realistically though, if "yes" does win, there likely will be a mascot committee or initiative of some in pursuit of options which undeniably will not include Colonel Reb, nor will it likely include Admiral Ackbar (sorry, y'all). "Student-led" will likely mean an ASB-run effort which, somehow, will be misconstrued as not being student-led by the Colonel Reb fanatics (because the "S" doesn't stand for "student" or anything). If this is to happen, my suggestion to the student initiative is to keep "no mascot, plz" as an option because many folks truly feel that to be the best way to approach this snafu.
The next part I am going to say very slowly: voting. no. does. N O T. mean. Ole. Miss. will. not. get. a. new. mascot.
Per the verbiage, a vote of "no" simply means that "if we do get a new mascot, I don't want the student body to be involved in it."
If an overwhelming "no" vote wins, the administration could easily just swoop in, say "here's your new (shitty) mascot," and be done with it. The folks who are encouraging a "no" vote with some sort of roundabout idea of bringing Colonel Reb back are only choosing to further silence the voice they claim to be so dearly jihading for. They think they're "sticking it to the man" by voting "no" when, really, they're just giving the man more direct control over the issue. As I see it, the only advantage voting "no" can present is, if the "no's" were to have it, the students can easily wipe their hands clean of whatever lame-ass mascot the administration could come up with.
Voting no will not bring Colonel Reb back onto the field. Nothing any of y'all can do will bring Colonel Reb back onto the field. Not even your half-assed threats to end your biennail contribution of $250 to UMAA is going to scare the administration away on this. Those of you who want the Colonel back aren't fighting a losing battle; you're fighting a battle that was "lost" seven years ago.
I don't care what our new mascot may become, nor do I really give a shit if we ever get a new mascot. What I do care about are thousands of people who seemingly care more about some misguided crusade to expel some imaginary threat to their poorly-defined identity than the betterment of their university.
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Call me crazy but I'd vote "no" too
Ole Miss will get a new mascot in the coming years. And although the administration hasn’t handled everything perfectly thus far, hindsight is indeed 20/20.
That said, I’d rather them decide what mascot we adopt, via an advertising firm like Cirlot or whomever, and not some 19 year old kid jockeying to join the hallowed ranks of Ole Miss Hall of Fame students.
Many of the complaints, from students not involved with ASB, are centered on these 19 year olds and the great decisions they make. ASB isn’t bad, I’m not saying saying that. I just think they get bored sometimes and look for things to change.
Ya, damn those 19yo kids who grow up to be Chancellor of this Great American Public University!!
I'm a Rebel, but I bleed the cherry and silver of the Lobos.
by Role Player on Feb 23, 2010 10:16 AM EST up reply actions
Hell, I'll bet Bob and Dan,
if you asked them “would you trust your 19-year-old self?” would both say HEEEEEEELL no!
Said it once, will say it again…college students are just rebellious teenagers no longer under their parents’ immediate supervision. I know, I was one.
Yes, I live in Starkville...WHO did I piss off in a past life?
by Queen Hoka-Hotty-Toddy on Feb 23, 2010 10:47 AM EST up reply actions
Maybe the sarcasm was laid on a little thick with "hallowed"...
This was not meant to offend HoFamers. Many of them go on to do great things. But the jockeying I spoke of is ridiculous; on this, we can agree.
Oh absolutely
i’d say more than half the inductees (recently at least) don’t deserve to be there or have made getting on there a particular goal.
I was just having fun...
HofF is one of those hot-cold things. I would assume members of the HofF to be honored and humbled when they see Robert Khayat and well—i-guess-it-is-an-award feeling when they see a lot of the others.
I'm a Rebel, but I bleed the cherry and silver of the Lobos.
by Role Player on Feb 23, 2010 12:03 PM EST up reply actions
Correct Me if I'm Wrong
(I had already graduated in 2003 when all this started) but weren’t the “Rebel Bruiser” and “Mr. Clean Reb” designed by some so-called professional firms?
I don’t like where this is going either way because our administration has an amazing way of screwing up anything it touches. They have the opposite of the Midas touch. We haven’t had a mascot since 2003. I’m fine with no mascot on the field. I just don’t like the idea of one being force-fed onto us. I forget who pointed it out (in an earlier post) but Michigan doesn’t have a guy in a suit on the sidelines and I don’t hear them complaining about it. I’d never once even noticed that Michigan didn’t have a mascot. So I don’t care if we don’t have one either. We can just be the Rebels for the next 3 or 4 years until they decide to change that to something else as well. I know they say we’ll “always” be the Rebels but I really don’t believe it.
I appreciate the attempt to be progressive and open and accepting to everyone but there’s not a damn thing in the world that’s going to change the history of Ole Miss, Mississippi, or the South in general. They can change the name of the school to “That School Up North” (then Dan Mullen would be forced to call us something else) and there would still be an asterisk next to it that led to some footnote that said, “This school was once called Ole Miss and in 1962 they had a riot when the school integrated and the once had a mascot that was an old slave-owning plantation owner named Colonel Reb.”
Really, enough is enough. Just let it go already.
by Catfish Row on Feb 23, 2010 10:35 AM EST up reply actions
I think the main reason Michigan doesn't have one is this:
Ugly little bugger, ain’t it?
Now they could do the OTHER “Wolverine” but Hugh Jackman would cost an arm and a leg (and need to free up all his fall Saturdays).
Yes, I live in Starkville...WHO did I piss off in a past life?
by Queen Hoka-Hotty-Toddy on Feb 23, 2010 10:44 AM EST up reply actions
In addition to being "ugly"
The wolverine is, like most mustelids, remarkably strong for its size. It has been known to kill prey as large as moose. They often feed on carrion left by wolves, so that changes in the population of wolves may affect the population of wolverines.
Armed with powerful jaws, sharp claws, and a thick hide, wolverines may defend kills against larger or more numerous predators. There is at least one published account of a 27-pound wolverine’s attempt to steal a kill from a black bear (adult males weigh 400 to 500 pounds).Wolverines have been known to harass and attempt to intimidate wolves and cougars.
Adult wolverines have no natural predators.
UGA bit an Auburn player a few years ago. Imagine what one of these would do to someone if it felt threatened.
Yeah
But if they really wanted a fuzzy guy in a costume on the sidelines they could “cute it up” some.
by Catfish Row on Feb 23, 2010 10:52 AM EST up reply actions
Or go the "Red Dawn" route
They can hire C. Thomas Howell and get him to dress up in camo and yell “WOLVERINES!!!”…I hear he’s cheap nowadays.
Yes, I live in Starkville...WHO did I piss off in a past life?
by Queen Hoka-Hotty-Toddy on Feb 23, 2010 10:55 AM EST up reply actions
And At Halftime
have a “can you piss into this radiator” contest against C.T.H. on the 50 yard line.
by Catfish Row on Feb 23, 2010 11:05 AM EST up reply actions
Reason the best mascots happen organically:
I had already graduated in 2003 when all this started) but weren’t the "Rebel Bruiser" and "Mr. Clean Reb" designed by some so-called professional firms?
This.
Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Destroying your traditions since [YEAR REDACTED].
by Ivory Tower on Feb 23, 2010 12:19 PM EST up reply actions
I voted
yes. because i’m tired of the bullshit it’s creating. i’m tired of the dm. i’m tired of the asb. and i’m just a freshman. i didn’t want the administration to make us the ole miss magnolias (DEAR GOD NO…). i figure the asb might just maybe be able to choose (for the students) a slightly less eh.. god awful? foam figure roaming the sidelines.
when in doubt, fist pump.
Or maybe they could leave the "let's keep it mascot free" as an option.
I really think that’s the way to do it. Come up with some mascots, but leave “no mascot” on the ballot.
Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the Culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Take a picture, trick.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Feb 23, 2010 11:54 AM EST up reply actions
i agree
completely
when in doubt, fist pump.
by Run It Again on Feb 23, 2010 1:06 PM EST up reply actions
Me too
I’m fine with or without one, but honestly, college football did fine for decades with just marching bands and cheerleaders. Talk about tradition…there’s your REAL tradition!
I place all the blame squarely on the shoulders of the Walt Disney Company. If it wasn’t for them there wouldn’t be this obsessive need for dudes in foam outfits.
Yes, I live in Starkville...WHO did I piss off in a past life?
by Queen Hoka-Hotty-Toddy on Feb 23, 2010 1:15 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Perhaps...
If the YES vote wins today, the legacy of the “we want Col. Reb or nothing” movement will be a continuously stalling “student led” mascot selection process which will forever keep a mascot off the sidelines.
Maybe the displeasure of the student body of how the administration handled this whole mascot fiasco could in fact be our mascot!!!
Wow...
…maybe it’s the YES vote that’s actually a trap. Make the students run around in circles trying to decide something that they have NO REAL POWER to decide, because no matter what it will be the administration’s final say anyhoo. For fuck’s sake these students have a hard enough time deciding important things like:
Wild Turkey or George Dickel?
Natty Light or Beast?
The pink Nike shorts with the black trim, or the black Nike shorts with the pink trim?
Yes, I live in Starkville...WHO did I piss off in a past life?
by Queen Hoka-Hotty-Toddy on Feb 23, 2010 3:28 PM EST up reply actions
whiskey
Wild Turkey or George Dickel?
by Queen Hoka-Hotty-Toddy on Feb 23, 2010 12:28 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
For me in my poor college days, it was either Evan Williams Black, or Evan Williams Green. I’d get Jim Beam if it was a special occasion.
Col
I don’t understand your hate of Col. Reb
The only misconceptions you hold towards him have been instilled by your youth and those that want to change him. You have been brainwashed into thinking that for whatever reason, his appearance is intimidating or offensive. If Mascots offend people, then we don’t need a fucking mascot. If people are so easily offended that they have to take out their low self esteem on a cartoon, it isn’t the mascot that is the problem.
I’m offended by sagging pants that fall 10 inches below the boxer waist line, but I’m not inclined to start a petition to remove them. I’m offended that 90% of the student population at Ole Miss wears North Face apparel every day of the year….but I’m not inclined to remove this tradition either.(talk about a sheep….jesus folks, quit trying to be just like everyone you see!!)
I could care less now if we have an on field mascot. I have lived this long without one, so I can continue…..but I grew up a Rebel and a lover of Col Reb.
They can burn him in effigy before the next football game for all I care, but he will still be the mascot I associate with.
It's way, way more complex than this.
People (namely, current Ole Miss students) have no clue how the Old South imagery truly damages Ole Miss. It keeps great out of state students, potential new professors, donations, and corporate partnerships at bay. I know a lot of people would answer “well fuk them i dont care what they thikn” which, really, is a disgustingly provincial way to think.
Colonel Reb doesn’t bother me personally. He doesn’t. I have a ballcap, necktie, and (don’t laugh) apron with Colonel Reb logos. However, I do see how his presence at football games and as a part of the university easily benefits our detractors.
Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the Culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Take a picture, trick.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Feb 23, 2010 11:58 AM EST up reply actions 3 recs
Not That I'm Disagreeing With You
Because I’m not. I’m totally with you on your rationale. But don’t you think another reason why top-notch professors and students go to other schools has something to do with our lack of perceived academic quality? I knew people who had gotten into Ole Miss with ACT scores of 16. Not a student, multiple students. I know the admissions have gone up a little bit since the mid-90’s but I know it’s not up to the level of schools known to be “competitive” like Vanderbilt or even Georgia.
by Catfish Row on Feb 23, 2010 12:19 PM EST up reply actions
That's the fault of the government of the State of Mississippi,
not Ole Miss.
Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the Culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Take a picture, trick.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Feb 23, 2010 12:23 PM EST up reply actions
I do not and it is not because I have blinders on. If the university gave two shits about great out of state students, potential new professors, donations and corporate partnerships, they wouldn’t continue to market Col Reb or hold the license to his image. I bet they make more money off his image than donations and corporate partnerships combined. They teach marketing in our Business School and I would say that the push to market a mascot that isn’t offensive to all is what we need.
I say we become the rainbows…how can a rainbow hurt someone’s feeling…oh wait…blind people can’t see rainbows…..
What truly damages Ole Miss is a past that we can not change and a mentality of people that will not let us forget it. If outsiders can’t move past it, why would they ever suspect we should.
People have tossed the word "outsiders" around quite a bit during this discussion.
What if an alumnus or alumna who is looking to donate six-figures decides to hold off because of Colonel Reb? Are they outsiders? People have even called Dan Jones, a Mississippian who earned his doctorate from Ole Miss before serving as the Dean of the School of Medicine, an “outsider” which, frankly, is ridiculous.
So I guess I’m asking who you mean by outsiders, GrndStneCboy.
Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the Culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Take a picture, trick.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Feb 23, 2010 12:27 PM EST up reply actions
Then I would say that alumnus or alumna would be a hypocrite!
Seriously, is that your best argument? I don’t like the stance that in order to receive money you have to perform some sort of trick or stunt or do something in return. I’m not a fan of whoring out the university to have them do what others will pay to see them do.
What if (since it is a hypothetical) someone wanted to give the university 10 million if they keep Colonel Reb but hold off it they don’t? Are they rich racists?
The outsiders are those who always mention Ole Miss in a negative light or always feel the need to bring up 1962 each time they talk about Ole Miss. It is those people that can’t move on from the past, not Ole Miss. Look at the Presidential debate for instance. All that media in town and all talk about our change from bad to good. But its the mention of the bad that stirs the pot of never forgetting. Would this happen at any other university? No, they would only be talking about the current status, not 1962. You think when Alabama won the national championship this year that the media was talking about George Wallace on the steps of University trying to keep blacks out in 1963?
by GrndStneCboy on Feb 23, 2010 12:44 PM EST up reply actions
Like it or not,
that’s exactly what rich alumni and interested corporations do.
Rich alumni with deep pockets routinely say “sure, I’ll give you this eight-figure check… if you do something for me in return.”
What, did you think the Croft Institute was named for Joseph Bancroft for just being a swell fellow? Hell no; he gave Ole Miss millions of dollars. The same goes for the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, Hollingsworth Field, The FedEx Academic Support Center, The Gertrude Castellow Ford Center for the Performing Arts, and numerous other “tricks” or “stunts” the university has pulled to get millions upon millions of dollars in donations.
This happens at schools all accross the country. It’s not something that will be changed anytime soon so we’ve got to play it to our advantage.
And “rich racists?” You are literally the first person in this entire comment thread to use the term “racist”. Please don’t put words in people’s mouths. Nobody said supporting Colonel Reb is racist in and of itself. Hell, just a few comments ago, I said that I don’t have a problem with Colonel Reb. We’re saying that, as a university, supporting Colonel Reb isn’t pragmatic or wise.
Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the Culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Take a picture, trick.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Feb 23, 2010 12:55 PM EST up reply actions
yep, but under a normal situation, anyone that is an alumni and is giving money back to the university didn’t seem to have a problem with Colonel Reb when they were they were here.
And those places are named in honor of the donators, not because they say “it must hold my name”.
But lets use your analogy shall we…
what is the price tag on the name “Rebels” to the university?
by GrndStneCboy on Feb 23, 2010 1:02 PM EST up reply actions
If we're putting a dollar amount on it,
$500 million.
Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the Culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Take a picture, trick.
by The Ghost of Jay Cutler on Feb 23, 2010 1:11 PM EST up reply actions
I'll take $480 mil if you've got it today.
Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Destroying your traditions since [YEAR REDACTED].
And those places are named in honor of the donators, not because they say "it must hold my name".
But they do have a say, and it’s not just Ole Miss. I’ll give an example for “that school out east” I currently work for; Dave Swalm gave millions to build the new chemistry building on the Drill Field, BUT a. it had to house Chemical Engineering, b. it HAD to have his name on it, and c. it HAD to be the exact mirror image of Lee Hall on the other end of the Drill Field…which is why it looks STEWPID but that’s not the point. YES, donors get a say and they can put “either you do this, or I don’t give you this” conditions on it. It happens on EVERY college campus, ALL the damn time.
Yes, I live in Starkville...WHO did I piss off in a past life?
by Queen Hoka-Hotty-Toddy on Feb 23, 2010 1:29 PM EST up reply actions
Things we're not going to start:
"that school out east"
Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Destroying your traditions since [YEAR REDACTED].
by Ivory Tower on Feb 23, 2010 1:49 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
I think he's talking about Scott Hall and Kevin Nash
and their inability to overlook our past history.
There's a darkness on the edge of town.
by Evil Betty on Feb 23, 2010 12:45 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Er, seriously?
You wrote: I bet they make more money off his image than donations and corporate partnerships combined.
Think about this for a second. The basketball practice facility cost over 10 million – all donations. The Residential Colleges cost over 10 million a piece – all donations. The indoor practice facility probably cost 30 million – all donations. The Fed Ex academic Support Center – millions in corporate partnership. Do you think that Colonel Rebel merchandise brings in 10 million a decade? Maybe two decades? And I’m just counting merchandise with the Colonel on it – including merchandise that someone would buy because it was Ole Miss no matter what it had on it.
Let’s talk about what really matters here – how much Ole Miss would make if we tied our rabid fanbase to the selling power of Star Wars! Admiral Ackbar as mascot shirts would buy Dan Jones a Millenium Falcon to drive around Oxford in.
by the ghost of traditions past on Feb 23, 2010 1:05 PM EST up reply actions
That's Two C. Thomas Howell References in One Thread
I always get nervous when things like this happen.
I think it’s supposed to snow again in Shreveport today too.
Strange things are afoot in the cosmos.
my two cents
Yes, I find it hypocritical that the university continues to make money on a mascot that they publically decry. It pisses me off, but there’s not a damn thing I can do it about. As for the vote, if I had one, I would vote “yes,” and then, on a subsequent ballot, I would vote “no mascot.” We don’t need one. As an alum who, if I get my way, will have no say in the final decision, I trust, perhaps foolishly, that the students will make a decent choice. As for the Colonel Reb apron, I too have one. Not ashamed. It shouldn’t be too long before it will be warm enough to break it and the grill out of hibernation.
by LucaBrasiSleepsWithTheFishes on Feb 23, 2010 1:06 PM EST via mobile reply actions
You can enjoy these symbols in the privacy of your own home.
I supported Dr. Jones in this FDWL mess. But on the way home from Dallas I blasted that shit from my iPod. I did not feel at all like a hypocrite.
Red Cup Rebellion - Changing the culture of Ole Miss Athletics
Destroying your traditions since [YEAR REDACTED].
by Ivory Tower on Feb 23, 2010 1:10 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
should read:
“about it.” Damn dyslexia.
by LucaBrasiSleepsWithTheFishes on Feb 23, 2010 1:20 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I think the University keeps the license on the Col. Reb logo because
they know if they don’t keep it, someone else will certainly acquire it and quite possibly use it in damaging ways, and there would be nothing the school could do to stop it. By holding the license, the school controls its use.
Yes, they also make money off the image. Perhaps there is a solution to that along the lines of donating whatever portion of the proceeds they get from the sale of logo-clad merchandise to a general scholarship fund for minorities. That way, when you buy that Col. Reb apron, you’re also helping a minority student get an education.
Don't try and lay no boogie woogie on the king of rock 'n roll.
This makes sense.
It’s always nice to see logic return to the conversation.
Catch it in ur mouth like ur last name Moss...
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