Blaze Needs to Go
by 12sharks on Jun 8, 2008 10:54 PM PDT
Email
PrintI'm just going to come out and say it:
I hate Blaze the Trailcat
Not in the sense that I hate the Hamburglar or the Noid or Mr. Yuk, as he's not really bad peoples, but damn if he's peoples at all. I have truly come to despise this 'character' (if that's the nomenclature most fitting), this mockery in foam and fur, this non-entity, this one-step-above a magical, pan-sexual, non-threatening spokesthing.
Do I really need him imploring me to cheer for the team to score 100 points while decked out in racist pseudo-Peruvian poncho wear and banging on some bastardized conga drum? No.
Do I need him taking on the Hippie and Blazer Fan in some barbaric tricycle race that conjures overtones of the 3rd Reich and the Roman Empire's gladiatorial days? No.
Do I prefer my mascots ill-defined, mischievous and a little bit shady? Well, I suppose so, but not if it's under the dewy-eyed, identity-devoid and ultimately somewhat-sociopathic umbrella of character unto which Blaze portends himself (HIMself??).
I Continue..
The Blazers, on their site, hang their hat on defining a Trailblazer as such:
1. a pioneer or innovator
2. someone who makes a new path
Sounds familiar? It shouldn't, at least in our approach to mascoteering (yeah, I think I just made that word up). Will the jury kindly look upon evidence A and B, as provided below:
Trailblazers:
Nuggets:
See a resemblance? That is, in this poster's opinion, not very Trail-Blazing. I honestly can't say I have the interest in researching which mascot came first, but seriously - the problem goes deeper.
Firstly, TrailCat? TrailCAT? What, for the purposes of, oh, I don't know, just kicking around the philosophical bean, is a Trailcat? In a show of undoubted self-absorbtion, nearly all the results in a convenient Google search return a hall-of-mirrors-like reference to the mascot after which the term 'Trailcat' was purportedly named (that is, eschewing such results as snowmobiles, cat play tunnels and truck tires). From which Madison Ave. brainstorming session is this taxonomy derived, exactly? Were there focus groups involved? Were experts of any distinction audited?
When I think Trailcat, the most cogent association I can come up with is the dog Seaman that Meriwether Lewis enlisted in his and William Clark's monumentally-arduous task of charting the Louisiana Purchase. Certainly, I'm not advocating replacing our 'beloved' Blaze with a mascot named 'Seaman' (oh the indignities), but is this really the best we can do?!
Seattle has Squach, the Timberwolves have Crunch (hey, he IS a wolf, after all) and the Celtics have Lucky. Lucky's even a human, for crying out loud! Isn't that a little more akin to our order (as Trailblazers, e.g. humans who blaze trails) than a feline? Plus, he's a LEPRECHAUN - if selecting one of the tiniest incarnations of humankind (real or fantastic) to represent a professional basketball team isn't trailblazing, I don't know what is!
"So," I hear you say, "enough griping - where's the snappy answer Mr. Complainer?" Well, I'm not so sure I have one. When I think Portland, I think drunkards, stolen shipmen, strippers and roustabouts; none of which would make a family-friendly focal point of a multi-million dollar business venture.
But how about, oh, I don't know, a Lumberjack/Frontiersman?
I can see the correlation there, as could Stephen Vincent Benét (elements of kidnapping and rape notwithstanding), and I know I'd be much more confident in pulling for our franchise when our team is personified by a burly, axe-wielding tree-chopper than the obscure confusion I get from cheering on something that I'm pretty sure doesn't really exist.
Hey, at least it isn't Trade Talk..
136 comments
|
6 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Yes, please.
I’ve never liked Blaze and never will. Get something new.
Oden+Roy+Aldridge+Rudy=Dynasty. Believe
I Love..
How, just before midnite on a Sunday, 3 people vote on a BEdge post within 15 minutes. Let’s all give ourselves a pat on our backs.
"Well, Travis just showed us that we can go to Travis Outlaw." - Nate McMillan
I was going to take a break from posting
But, I can’t resist.
I vote No.
Hear me out please.
I was at a game at the end of the year against Sacramento. A Time-Out had been called. The game was good and I just wanted the action to get back on the floor. Blaze was out there doing dunks and he was just wasting my time. Roy and company got back out on the floor and I was pumped for some more great play.
Then, I felt a tug on my right elbow. I looked over and my son whispered in my ear, “Where’d the puppy go?” A three year old can get pretty emotional about a darn dog. From then on, I had to keep one eye on Blaze and one eye on the game.
But I must say that that game was the best I’d ever been to.
That was my son’s first game.
My son thought he was a puppy.
Who am I to disagree. I think a trailcat is something like a terrier. ;)
I like Blaze
The Timbers have (had?) a Lumberjack. And the Lumberjax are Lumberjacks, so that wouldn’t blaze much of a trail.
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEY
Thats right, isn’t/ I kinda like balze 2.
"See all the green underlined thingies? All those are over five recs. Then your post down there in the purple--it has 0 recs :( So it doesn’t make it in the "recommended" section." prezofdeath
Celtics over the L*kers, lesser of the 2 evils. But not by much.
oh man thats lame
I like Blaze also. As long as he stays out of my yard, and someone gets him nuetered, he can stay. oh and I am not cleaning up after him.
"See all the green underlined thingies? All those are over five recs. Then your post down there in the purple--it has 0 recs :( So it doesn’t make it in the "recommended" section." prezofdeath
Celtics over the L*kers, lesser of the 2 evils. But not by much.
Sorry..
But you’re (parkinglotj & Section323) both wrong.
A) Blaze is, all apologies to your son’s skills in taxonomy, not a puppy. Were he the aforementioned canine on the Lewis and Clark trip, I’d have never made this post. I’m speaking on relevance, accuracy and association here. Cuteness and its saccharine effects on youth could be debated regardless of our mascot’s incarnation (including lumberjacks).
B) The Timbers and Jax are, as we all know, teams who play different sports. That effects the ‘blazing-ness’ of selecting a relevant mascot for OUR team, in my mind, zero. Were there to be a pee-wee football team called the Celtics in Boston, I doubt the NBA team would hold a round-table meeting to come up with a new name.
You do raise an interesting point, though: Were we to take the MOST Trailblazing mascot as our rep, who would it be? A banana slug (crap, taken by Santa Cruz) – a Christmas tree (oh shoot, Stanford)? Maybe we could push the envelope to the extreme and go for a.. I dare not fill in the blank.
"Well, Travis just showed us that we can go to Travis Outlaw." - Nate McMillan
a jay?
"See all the green underlined thingies? All those are over five recs. Then your post down there in the purple--it has 0 recs :( So it doesn’t make it in the "recommended" section." prezofdeath
Celtics over the L*kers, lesser of the 2 evils. But not by much.
Fantastic Post
I really thought I was going to hate this discusion but it must be late enough for me to think about this.
What about a guy dressed in trapper attire with some sort of flame throwing contraption? Even if it was a guy inside a foam human head it could work. As long as the foam head was flame retardant of course.
They could set up logs for him to burn X’s into during the breaks or a log with a scale going up to 125 pts. After each quarter he could climb the log and burn an X at the Blazers current score. I am sure any 3 year old would love a guy burning stuff.
By the way PLJ, thanks for an honest perspective. It is easy for us childless guys to forget that kids/family guys see things a bit differently.
PTB Liberation Day - 2/10/04
Yeah
and PLJ, I didn’t mean to throw any salt on you and your child’s experience. I’m more speaking on the infantilization of Blazerdom and, more acutely, the misrepresentation that currently represents us.
I’m sure we could find a happy medium – just not something so ridiculous (i.e. let’s not go Hello Kitty).
"Well, Travis just showed us that we can go to Travis Outlaw." - Nate McMillan
How about a walking woman in a prairie dress?
"Besides, AnntheFan will be here any minute to #25 you." T Darkstar
by annthefan on Jun 9, 2008 1:09 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
+1
"See all the green underlined thingies? All those are over five recs. Then your post down there in the purple--it has 0 recs :( So it doesn’t make it in the "recommended" section." prezofdeath
Celtics over the L*kers, lesser of the 2 evils. But not by much.
maybee
hil clint or jess jackson, both r trailblazers, right?
"See all the green underlined thingies? All those are over five recs. Then your post down there in the purple--it has 0 recs :( So it doesn’t make it in the "recommended" section." prezofdeath
Celtics over the L*kers, lesser of the 2 evils. But not by much.
Blaze the DogKat
Wasn’t Blaze a Dog AND a Cat when he/she first came out? Like the marketing-whozits who thought him up couldn’t decide which way to go, so they combined it, and out came that monstrosity? It’s like that Simpsons episode where Homer becomes the voice of that focus-group driven dog character for Itchy and Scratchy. Can’t remember the name, and no I won’t look it up.
It’s like that.
Blaze is very, very lame and reeks of the old management team. And naming him “Blaze” at the height of Jail-Blazery was just dumb.
I dunno WHAT a good mascot would be except… none? Or how about an anthropomorphic championship trophy. A Lumberjack seems kinda in the same vein of a dog named Seamen.
Though that dog was a Newfoundland, right? Those are cool dogs.
Annthefan has a good idea: a female mascot. Has that been done? I’m not a mascot expert, I’m sad to say. A dunking prairie woman would be kinda cool, with a little bonnet and a blankie she could quilt. For funniness she can pretend to die of smallpox or polio or some other olde-tymey illness. To teach the kids what our forefathers/mothers went through to get us to the Paradise of Portlandia.
If Blaze was around when I was a dumb kid, maybe it’d be okay. I think mascots need to be grandfathered in, or they are by default super duper lame. Maybe the Blazers just need to stick with Blaze until everyone alive before Blaze was around is dead and buried, and all the Blazer fans grew up with Blaze and love his scampish ways. To speed up the process, a genocide would work. Then Blaze would finally be accepted.
Mortimer
by Mortimer on Jun 9, 2008 3:17 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Also
I know Blaze is available for parties… has anyone invited Blaze to a party, or know someone who has?
That seems like the sort of thing that would be abused for ironical reasons.
I bet Blaze is a good guygirlthing if we took the time to get to know it. We’re just too uppity to let someone new into our lives, and if we’d just let our guard down it could be the best thing to ever happen to us.
I love you, Blaze. I like when you do the thing where you do that stuff that is good because it is nice. It’s my favorite.
m0r71m3r
It was Poochie
And this is totally bizarre, because this morning the phrase “Poochie, you look like you have something to say! Do you?” came into my head for what I thought was no reason. Now I know…
"... and with the thirteenth pick in the 2008 NBA draft, the Portland Trailblazers select: David Bowie, of space." Draft Bowie!
Hahahahhahha!! You're such a stinker. Although, as halftime entertainment, your idea might be a real winner.
"Besides, AnntheFan will be here any minute to #25 you." T Darkstar
Exactly
Blaze is very, very lame and reeks of the old management team. And naming him "Blaze" at the height of Jail-Blazery was just dumb.
I always thought of Blaze as a cross between Chester Cheetah and Puff the Magic Dragon. That is one cool cat. And those cannons that shoot out the T-Shirts? I thought they looked like bongs.
Cha-lu-pa! Cha-lu-pa!
MLB2PDX!!! (someday...)
by The Cactus Leaguer on Jun 9, 2008 11:15 PM PDT up reply actions
Change it to God or an Angel
Players always thank God after the game. Paul Pierce said God sent an angel down to fix his knee. After games we could have our God mascot at all the press conferences to heckle the opponents. When the opponent gives credit to God, our God mascot could pop his jersey in the opponents face and say, “I didn’t do crap for you. It was the dark lord.” Then everyone would think our opponents were satanists and they would convert to Blazerdom.
Maybe people would be offended if we had God as a mascot. We might have to go with angels. My plan would work with angels too. At press conferences the angel could have a cell phone and say, “I got the big guy on the phone and he says it was Satan who was helping you.”
I gotta text KP my idea.
"lowest common denominator - every time I think you hit rock bottom you sink it deeper into the shale" -- bow4meow
Yeah
But I want him to carry throwing stars and nunchucks and wear some sort of Zorro like mask.
"lowest common denominator - every time I think you hit rock bottom you sink it deeper into the shale" -- bow4meow
I think for a long time
the Blazers didn’t have a mascot, right ? I personally liked that, was proud of it, the team seemed brighter than the other ones without a mascot…
Why did they bring one in ? For merchandising I suppose, but sometimes, even if it’s of course a business, I think we shouldn’t always do things just for money, Paul Allen’s pockets are deep, we don’t need the small extra money this kind of buffonery brings…
Also I think we got rid of Wallace, Wells, Patterson and co because they were clowns, so why keep one that can’t ball or jump without a trampoline ?
Big Foot
back in the ‘80s, Dale Schlueter used to dress up in a 8-9’ Big Foot outfit and go stomping around the MC during timeouts
So when Seattle relocates, the Blazers should dump the frailcat and bring back Big Foot
Maybe they can alter the old costume and have Duckworth wear it?
SQUATCH!
I’m down…. Squatch is our answer as soon as Seattle abandons the NW.
We should consider renaming him though….Squatch sounds a lot like crotch…..not very becoming for a hairball that size.
"Rudy Fernández ha confirmado hoy que la próxima temporada jugará en el Portland Trail Blazers"
Big Foot > Squatch
We’re talking about 2 different mascots. Portland had Big Foot BEFORE Seattle ever had Squatch. Big Foot never touched a trampoline. But he did demolish things at midcourt (when Portland played Houston, he would step all over and destroy a toy Rocket, etc) Very old school, the MC crowd went nuts every time Big Foot emerged from the tunnel at the MC
You Go Fan
"Always Willing, Ever Able" - rivbike.com
"If you don't want to get banged. Don't go in there" - Van Gundy
I believe in and that Bigfoot should be the new PTB mascot
this is not man in a monkey suit!!! Patterson Footage
If you dont talk to your cats about catnip, who will?
Dude, Blaze is HARD!
He is what you had all hoped Przybilla would be.
Did you ever see that video during the games when he was battling the Sonics’ Sasquatch? Or the Jazz’ Bear – he staright up KILLED those dudes – blew them up, dropped cars on them. Some straight Gangsta stuff. It was like a Scorsese Video. Scary!
The LAST thing I would want would be Blaze at my kids’ party – stealing all the presents, spiking the punch, hitting on my Milf wife. But who would you want coming off the bench in a Mascot Brawl?
Blaze, baby, BLAZE.
Ball Don't Lie
by bothteamsplayedhard on Jun 9, 2008 8:02 AM PDT reply actions
One thing Blaze has that Joel needs
Soft hands.
If you meet the Buddha in the lane, feed him the ball. --Phil Jackson
If you meet Greg Oden in the lane, drop the ball and run. --MiledAnimal
I sorta like Blaze
and my granddaughter (almost 12) spends more time watching him than the game. I think we need a mascot simply because the other teams have them and there are the mascot birthday parties which are pretty funny – we were at Blaze’s season before last and I’ve seen clips from other arenas. We do need to be represented. Maybe they do need to redesign the mascot, but any focus groups (or whomever) needs to include kids so we don’t come up with something way above their heads or rated other than PG.
How about Princess Rose who flies about the arena using some sort of Cirque du Soleil contraption dropping gift certificates on fans. Her dunks could be way more acrobatic than the standard mascots’. She would also have her mischievous streak snatching popcorn from unwary people (a la Cirque) and playing tricks on the other mascots via the video. Her rose topped scepter would contain silly string or water or glitter – whatever the scenario calls for. I can’t see HER attending boys’ birthday parties but as a Princess she would have an entourage including acrobats and court jesters and troubadours.
Forgot to add
a comment about the “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” photo and reference. It’s waiting for me on TiVo right now. Hated the painted Oregon scenery, but still loved the movie.
He's an ORPHAN for BlazeSake!
You can’t just re-orphanize after adopting him can you?
If I had my way, I’d take the Ptown Timber’s mascot any day of a fortnight. Talk about creative! Waving a chainsaw around and cutting a slab off the trunk and raising it to the air in victory everytime the score a goal…that’s just awesome!
Now think about a Timber Jim as Mr. Trailblazer, going out to center court weilding a chainsaw…How much would that pump you up? Can you imagine the fear it would strike into the hearts of the visiting team w/ the sound of a chainsaw screaming w/ the smell of gasoline in the air? SWEET!
Or even better seeing Mr. Trailblazer perform death-defying (literally) dunks while swinging the chainsaw around!
I didn't mean to turn you on
Tag Team Mascots!
What they should do is get another mascot to play opposite Blaze. Bring in Buck the Dog (sorry, Charles Barkley McLovin’s been taken) and have them do the Spy vs. Spy routine. Run around the crowd and do clown-ish behavior.
I’ve been to a few Circ de Sole shows in Vegas, and they’ve got very entertaining “clown” acts running throughout the show to engage the audience between acts. They don’t try and dumb the show down to the kids, rather they make it entertaining for adults who are young at heart.
by Steve The Hedge on Jun 9, 2008 10:30 AM PDT reply actions
Well..
If I’m ‘engaged’ by an entertaining clown act while I’m at a Blazer game, there could be trouble.
"Well, Travis just showed us that we can go to Travis Outlaw." - Nate McMillan
OMG!
This may have already been mentioned, but in case it hasn’t, I’ve mad it clear that I have the BEST IDEA FOR A MASCOT EVER and the Trailblazers are welcome to pay me for it.
I want a foam-headed Lewis & Clark duo, accompanied by a suggestively dressed Sacagawea.
What could be more fitting and original than Lewis and Clark doing flip-dunks on opposite baskets during timeouts? I just got goosebumps thinking about it.
MAKE IT HAPPEN!
BLZRS FRVR
by nightbluefruit on Jun 9, 2008 11:08 AM PDT reply actions 4 recs
I don't like that idea
I LOVE IT!
A sexy Sacagawea, a dunkin’ duo of Meriwether and Lewis, what else could ya want?
And when we play a team with an animal mascot, M & L can shoot them with their musket or catch them in a bear trap. Then skin the beast, separate the meat, and again everyone learns about our pioneer heritage.
Without Lewis and Clark discovering Oregon, none of us would even BE here!
Mortimer
I'm just waiting for the movement to grow.
The L&C&S Mascot team is so obvious it actually pains me to think it only exists in my head.
Just spread the word. This HAS to happen.
BLZRS FRVR
by nightbluefruit on Jun 9, 2008 11:25 AM PDT up reply actions
Always the funny one Mortimer .....
Meriwether and Lewis are the same person, the L&C party didn’t shoot muskets, and of course Oregon had been visited by ship long before L&C got here. Then of course there were the ‘Indians’ but if memory serves me they followed L&C into the Oregon country by 100 years or so.
Since it wouldn’t hurt to show/remind everyone that our food originates outside of grocery stores, I like your idea of trapping, skinning and meat cutting right there in the Rose Garden. A bit messy perhaps but it could have the affect of making our opponents a little nervous.
Seriously a great idea NightBlue!
by TwoDeep on Jun 9, 2008 11:52 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
This Is Why I Do This
I knew there was a problem, wasn’t sure of the solution. Put it to the BEdge crowd and shiz gets taken care of. I don’t know if I ever would have come up with it, but it’s PERFECT!
Imagine foam versions of these heads that are 6x normal proportion slam-jamming while doing a backflip off a trampoline (and through a ring of fire)! Awe-SOME!
We could even have their Newfoundland dog made into some super-cartoonish creature for the kiddies and Sacagawea(s) as cheerleaders (though I have no problem with a female mascot, as has been mentioned in other comments).
It’s like some bizarro world where history=fun in an awesome way. LOVE IT.
"Well, Travis just showed us that we can go to Travis Outlaw." - Nate McMillan
by 12sharks on Jun 9, 2008 11:57 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
You're all welcome
for the L&C (&S) Mascot team idea.
Now take it to the streets and get this thing off the ground. If enough of us talk about it management is bound to honor the fans and pay me a handsome sum for my awesome idea.
BLZRS FRVR
by nightbluefruit on Jun 9, 2008 12:27 PM PDT up reply actions
Don't trust everything you read
I got my trusty diary of Meriwether Lewis that he wrote on his expedition by my side, and he said Lewis and Meriwether are two seperate people and a bad translation with a Spanish newspaper was the reason for the confusion.
Indians are a myth, like sasquatch or gnomes. I haven’t seen any proof they actually existed, or discovered America first.
One of my favorite bits in the diary of the expedition was an encounter with a bear; the first time they see one they take great care to face it and kill it, and it dies with one shot. They start laughing and go “that’s it? Bears ain’t nuthin’”. Next time they see a bear, they lazily laugh and try to shoot it… and shoot it… and shoot it. It doesn’t go down, and starts chasing all of them down. They end up jumping into a ravine (I believe) and hide from the bear. They realized bears are tough from then on.
No reason for the story, I just liked imagining them all cocky and getting their lunch served by a big bear. It’s a BEAR, geniuses!
And of course, when I say muskets, I mean “whatever old gun they shot with back then”. I know it’s like 40 years before L & C, but I imagine Last of the Mohicans type guns.
Everyone knows no boat had made it to Oregon for fear of sea monsters and falling off the edge of the Earth. People seem to forget this, but Lewis and Clark actually thought they discovered Russia when they reached Oregon. They thought the pacific ocean was the widest part of the Nile river. If they were born today, most scholars believe they would be deemed legally retarded.
Big foam headed Lewis and Clark, or just strapping young men wearing olde-tymey costumes, both are fine with me. They should rescue Sacagawea from bears or pirates or terrorists for haltime/time out shows.
Mortimer
Good explanation Morty.
I understand better now, although I know Indians do exist and that they walk single-file …. at least the one I saw did. I remember that story about the L & C party encountering their first Grizzly (they had lived around much easier to kill Black Bears). They ended up with awesome respect for the huge Grizzly’s unbelievable power.
P.S. I hope the Native Americans don’t feel we’re picking on them. The Corps of Discovery would not have been successful without all the help they received from the Indians all along the way (bet they are sorry they helped now). And I can envision this pretty little Indian maiden on the floor during games representing Sacagawea. Nobody is sure of the proper pronunciation of her name so I will call her Little White Dove because I always liked that song about she and Running Bear jumping in the water and swimming out to each other (the river was too wide to swim), and that their heads touched and their lips met as the raging river pulled them down …. where they would always be together in that happy hunting ground. That song still tears me up.
by TwoDeep on Jun 9, 2008 3:53 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Actually the concept of "Discovery"
is obviously something wrong and perhaps even racist.
The Midnight Rambler
by amlmart1 on Jun 9, 2008 10:11 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
Your FACE is racist
My cousins are Indian and my fiancee is part Indian as well, and she says you are racist and that Indians hadn’t even HEARD of Oregon before Lewis and Clark found it.
The Indians back then were all “doy doy doy” and Lewis and Clark taught them to be noble and one with nature.
Ok, I understand the worries about a hot Sacagawea prancing about at Blazer games, acting as an assistant to our heroes, Lewis and Clark. We can either make her REALLY hot, so everyone is happy, or really ugly so no one says we’re just having her out there for eye candy. Or, just have Lewis and Clark out there :-(
OR BETTER YET: Have really sexy scantily clad ladies play Lewis and Clark, with big foam heads on their pert bodies.
Someday I’m gonna go back to Spain and make my own Corp of Discovery, claiming those lands in the name of Mortimer. The wild natives of Spain are simple folk, but goodhearted for the most part. We’ll be doing them a favor by assimilating their best basketball players into our fold, and giving small pox to the rest. I’ll force the survivors to work in paella mines, finding me the yummiest paella to be found within the Earth’s crust.
I have not decided if I will “strongly suggest” that the savages of Spain worship our lord and savior, Kevin Pritchard, but I am leaning towards Yes.
Mortimer
Doy-Doy
Doy-Doy is an inexpensive Turkish restaurant in the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul. The food is pretty good.
by chickenmelt on Jun 10, 2008 10:01 AM PDT up reply actions
None of us would even "BE" here....
hehehe! Count the basket, Mortimer for two plus the accidental pun.
by BlazersOrBust on Jun 9, 2008 6:08 PM PDT up reply actions
W/Out L&C none of us would be here
classic. Mortimer, didnt you ever learn about Manifest Destiny?
If you dont talk to your cats about catnip, who will?
Love the L and C idea
but “a suggestively dressed Sacagawea” sounds incredibly offensive.
Boomshakalaka
I don't know .....
Native Americans may not mind being represented by an attractive (does that equate to sexy?) and important member of one of their tribes. Suggestively dressed …. hmmmm. I think a pretty, fringed buckskin dress could be sexy without being suggestive, although almost any clothing can be suggestive on the right woman or at the very least sexy.
And sexy.
"lowest common denominator - every time I think you hit rock bottom you sink it deeper into the shale" -- bow4meow
Everything is offensive to someone.
I’m offended by Blaze, for one.
BLZRS FRVR
by nightbluefruit on Jun 9, 2008 4:14 PM PDT up reply actions
something tells me...
... making a legendary guide into a slut would offend more people than a goofy cat. If you are going to have a Sacagawea character, I’d make sure you consult the tribes to get their consent, and then make the costume semi-historically accurate.
For the record, I find the Cleveland Indians logo, the name “Redskins” and the Braves’ tradition of the “tomahawk chop” all offensive.
Boomshakalaka
ooooooh
that is a valid point. the whole cowboy and indian thing might not be so good, especially with the gender mix. Its an idea with possibilities but would need some sirious forthought. This is why we have non gender specifick cartoon charictors, that have been copy and pasted from others teams. the problem with being original is also not being able to predict with accuracey the future outcome.
"See all the green underlined thingies? All those are over five recs. Then your post down there in the purple--it has 0 recs :( So it doesn’t make it in the "recommended" section." prezofdeath
Celtics over the L*kers, lesser of the 2 evils. But not by much.
Your points are certainly valid
But they apply to the entire concept of mascots, not just one portion. The Sacagawea piece of my suggestion is intended as a joke, I fully understand how offensive this is and by no means think it would ever get approved by any tribe much less the TB brass. That said, I have a feeling there would be (and so far have been) no opponents to the L&C tag team. Why is the trivialization of Sacagawea’s figure more offensive than the same done to Lewis and Clark? Aren’t the roles of the two explorers being severely diminished in the same way hers is? You could argue that Sacagawea’s position as a minority-both as a Native and a woman-in this country makes the commoditization of her figure all the more unforgivable. Yet isn’t this logic essentially arguing for special treatment? If the goal is equality, shouldn’t it be true equality—as in, equally privileged and equally open to criticism?
The answer from the masses is currently a resounding “no,” but it’s still an interesting loophole in the logic that argues for some concept of “equality.” I am in full agreement with you: tomahawk chops, “Indians,” “Seminoles” and so on all stereotype without conceivable apology. But so do less discussed and more “acceptable” monikers such as “Vikings,” “Cowboys,” “Fighting Irish,” et. al. The act of turning differentiated human groups into commodities to define sports teams is something far more universal and central to human behavior than I think a lot of people realize. This all goes back to the violent base at the heart of all sports and competition.
Let me make it clear in closing that I agree with you: Sacagawea as a mascot would be offensive. But so would L&C. And so are a large portion of the mascots and nicknames currently in use.
BLZRS FRVR
by nightbluefruit on Jun 10, 2008 9:09 AM PDT up reply actions
great take
I think there are a couple things to keep in mind. First, I don’t have a problem with Indian mascots if they are done right. For example, Florida State has worked with the Seminole tribe to make their mascot accurate and the tribe considers it an honor. That’s why they got an exception from the NCAA allowing them to keep their mascot.
Second, I agree with you that there are some questionable non-Indian mascots. I do think its different since the white people basically came in, genocided the Native people and stole their land. There are a couple of European soccer clubs (Tottenham Hotspur and Ajax of Amsterdam) that use Jewish symbols, which leads opposing fans to chant anti-semitic things. Mascots in poor taste is indeed a wider issue but I’d be more careful with genocided populations than with other people.
I think I took issue with the “suggestively dressed” part of the Sacagawea idea, not the idea of having a Sacagawea character.
Boomshakalaka
Seminole Trouble
There’s a huge level of moral relativism in the model you propose. Florida State University works with the Seminole tribe and comes to an agreement about how best to represent them and gains approval and suddenly the obfuscation and trivialization of tribal images and heritage is no longer offensive. How is the decision reached within the tribe to support this specific representation? If it’s done democratically, it can be assumed there would be dissenting members of the tribe who continue to find the use of their ancestry offensive. Is a mascot or nickname only offensive if a majority of the commoditized individuals are offended? No doubt FSU has large amounts of financial gains to protect in maintaining the Seminole tradition at their university. Would buying the support of the tribe make the "cleansing" of the imperialist act of taking the tribe’s identity for their school any less effective? Even should the case be that the entire tribe votes unanimously to support FSU and their continued identification as "Seminoles," isn’t it not only likely but in fact probable that members of other unrepresented tribes could be offended by imagery supposedly only associated with the Seminole people but in fact strikingly similar to reductive, racist caricatures employed by the likes of the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians?
The notion that the consenting objectified people make the act of objectification any different than in cases that lack explicit consent blurs the impact of the action itself. Being (maybe surprisingly) familiar with the subterfuge involved in contemporary tribal politics, oftentimes tribal "consent" amounts to a microcosm of pre-1994 South African "democratic consent" to apartheid and segregation (Admittedly, I have NO familiarization with Seminole tribal groups and would never claim to).
Arguing consented vs. forced subjugation mirrors the arbitrary legal argument of manslaughter vs. self-defense: no matter what man-made structure we want to impose in order to rank and dominate a gradient of motivations, the end result is someone dead.
You see how cloudy the entire thing can get. Again, sports are a violent function of différance. The lines that are constantly drawn and re-drawn in the sand are both arbitrary and aggressive; the assignment of nicknames and mascots is a "cartooning" of this function.
BLZRS FRVR
by nightbluefruit on Jun 10, 2008 2:41 PM PDT up reply actions
Further
Also of import: the suggestion that commoditizing the victimized people is more heinous and condemnable than the commoditizing of the victorious aggressor follows popular but faulty logic. Should we choose to eliminate those subject to the widespread genocide perpetrated by the federal government from the realm of mascots and nicknames, your argument states, we would cease to repeat the trauma qua signifier of the original unspeakable act. Essentially, the mirrored subjugation of Native people (first literally, then figuratively through mascots and nicknames) perpetrates and regenerates the original act ad infinitum in the realm of the symbolic. However, if we are to accept this model, we can argue the same applies to nicknames based on conquering and genocidal parties. The very definition of "cowboy" as a nickname depends on its opposition and past literal aggression towards Native people. The phrase "cowboys and indians" is inseparable from the nickname of the Dallas team. The continuation of the "cowboy" nickname repeats the Native trauma in the same way the "redskin" nickname does. There is further a participle trauma which identifies the "cowboy" as the ceaseless perpetrator of genocide in the realm of the symbolic.
The same holds true for nicknames like "Vikings" (which specifically capitalizes on known Nordic brutality, especially towards Celtic nations) and "Knights" (Christian brutality towards Muslims, and vice-versa). The oppressor is defined by the oppressed interminably. In order to defeat the propagation and symbolization of literal trauma through the symbolic function of nicknames and mascots both oppressed AND oppressor must be removed from the playing field (excuse the pun).
BLZRS FRVR
by nightbluefruit on Jun 10, 2008 2:57 PM PDT up reply actions
Finally
The addition of "suggestively dressed" is meant to draw attention to the more subversive and clandestine trauma in sports nicknames and mascots: the paradigm of the (read: sexually) aggressive and dominant male as a constant foil to the helpless and sexually conquerable female. Hence the constant play between the frequently sinewy male (even when the subject is not necessarily gendered e.g. cougar, duck, trailcat) mascot and the "suggestively dressed" female dance team.
BLZRS FRVR
by nightbluefruit on Jun 10, 2008 3:31 PM PDT up reply actions
Thank you, professor.
Honestly, I’m not sure if that was a genuine loony-left-wing rant, or merely an excellent satire of such.
I’m leaning to the latter—someone who seriously trafficks in the former ought not participate in a sport as racist as basketball. :)
Of course, if it is the former, I’m probably in trouble now…
by EngineerScotty on Jun 10, 2008 3:42 PM PDT up reply actions
All interpretation is satire
I’m not going to straight out answer your question—that would give away the irony.
However: I am a sports fan and I think a Lewis and Clark and Sacagawea mascot team would be the most mind-blowingly awesome thing in sports.
Hopefully that’s a clue.
BLZRS FRVR
by nightbluefruit on Jun 10, 2008 3:53 PM PDT up reply actions
nightblue
Whether as satire or not, you’ve brought up some very interesting points. For people like me who are offended by many of the native mascots (despite not being native myself), where to draw the line is a challenging question.
Its been interesting to discuss this with you, even if you are humoring me :)
I think an L/C/S mascot team could be fabulous if done in good taste.
Boomshakalaka
The Logical Extreme
Firstly, I don’t see this as a loony rant satire as such; I actually didn’t find much of anything left-wing about the points NBF raised, if you look at what they’re actually saying. Most of the topics covered were takes on philosophical points taken to an extreme, which isn’t to say the post(s) represented anything other than an overly-covered description of our current cultural climate, its constituents and the opinions some of them may have. Hope I’m not missing out on the humor here, but I just thought it was a sort of ‘meta point-counterpoint’ response.
To be subjective, I’d say that attitudes toward team names such as ‘Vikings’ and ‘Cowboys’ have always bothered me much more than ‘Indians’, ‘Redskins’, etc. for much the same reasons as NBF laid out in their post: if naming a team after a people is offensive, why not do away with it altogether? How can it be o.k. for some and not others? Names like ‘Packers’ and, yes, ‘Trailblazers’ notwithstanding (as they’re more in reference to the industries/histories of their cities’ populace), I think that all teams named after ethnicities are racist. To me, however, it’s a racism I can live with. I’m Irish and feel no ill-will towards Notre Dame. Granted, I’m not exactly a subjugated minority, but I think the principle still remains.
That said, we could take this conversation a whole step further and extend it beyond ethnicities to cultures, classes and communities. For example, I read an article a couple years ago about the public outcry after a semi-pro basketball team from Syracuse was named ‘The Bullies’. Despite the fact their mascot was a bipedal bull with huge muscles and named after the team owner’s affection for the Chicago Bulls, it became a lightning rod of criticism, made national news and was targeted by at least one anti-bullying foundation (they exist?! where do they get their funding?). They wound up changing their name to due ‘public outcry’ over the team’s insensitivity. Apparently, naming a team ‘Bullies’ glorifies bullying, but ‘Indians’ belittles a people for the same offense. What if we named a team ‘The Criminals’? Would that denigrate the act of committing crimes? Incur a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all those who have broken the law?
For the sake of argument, what exactly IS safe, here? Animals seem to be o.k., buildings, acts of nature, etc., but even ‘Packers’ and ‘Trailblazers’ could fall into the ‘offending by misrepresenting category’ (surely not all inhabitants of Green Bay are in the meat-packing industry, or at least approve of it). Likewise, ‘Cowboys’ does represent an occupation long-associated with Texas and her ranches manifold, while Minnesota is filthy with Norsemen (I know, I used to live in Wisconsin) – do they move out of the ‘offensive’ category?
"Well, Travis just showed us that we can go to Travis Outlaw." - Nate McMillan
How about plants?
Teams could name themselves after state plants. The Blazers can re-name themselves
The Oregon Grapes. I kinda like it.
"Besides, AnntheFan will be here any minute to #25 you." T Darkstar
Hm..
I think that’s what got us Blaze to begin with.. if ya see what I’m smokin’.
"Well, Travis just showed us that we can go to Travis Outlaw." - Nate McMillan
Wow!
Juuust….wow!
"My favorite relative was Uncle Caveman. Us kids would visit him in his cave. He would eat one of us from time to time. It wasn't till years later that we realized Uncle Caveman was a bear"
Jack Handy
by 92wastheyear on Jun 10, 2008 7:41 PM PDT up reply actions
Just Sayin'
If the Team changed it’s Name to “The Portland Trail Cats”
All would be right with our world.
"Always Willing, Ever Able" - rivbike.com
"If you don't want to get banged. Don't go in there" - Van Gundy
Naah.
Name ourselves after Oregon’s #1 cash crop.
Not trees, or wheat…
No, the Portland Dimebags. :)
by EngineerScotty on Jun 11, 2008 9:58 AM PDT up reply actions
The Need for Clarity
I really believe everything I typed. I didn’t mean any of it figuratively.
The irony is in the “logical conclusion” you’d draw from it that we need to seriously overhaul mascots and nicknames. I disagree. We just to need to recognize the place that sports occupies in the structure of our society.
BLZRS FRVR
by nightbluefruit on Jun 10, 2008 10:07 PM PDT up reply actions
Apologies If I'm Misunderstanding You a Second Time..
I read your first set of posts and came away with, essentially, this:
1. There’s a great deal of, as you said, moral relativism involved with attitudes concerning a sports team’s name and identity.
2. Linking said sports team to a person or culture (or anything, really) is an abstraction. It’s the application of a symbol.
C. Symbols sometimes make people feel weird. Sometimes, people argue about that feeling, what the symbol represents and who is in the right to claim ownership of the symbol. And that adds another layer of abstraction.
So, when I wrote my “logical extreme/conclusion” post, I did so taking the aforementioned points into consideration as I interpreted them. I wasn’t suggesting we overhaul team identities one iota – in fact, I was really trying to make a case against it. I’m not crazy about the status quo, but I’d much sooner have the Bullets back than make things more politically-correct. That notion may have been muddled by the fact I was responding more on the wavelength I took from your posts; I basically thought that if you could make a case for a Viking or sinewy cougar being offensive you could make a case for nearly anything, as well. I saw the landscape of our discussion spanning the ever-widening theatre of humanity at large. Hence my reference to my imagined ‘Criminals’ squad and the real (yet short-lived) ‘Bullies’ team. I’m not offended by either. It’s my personal take on those two concepts: not threatening, doesn’t make me uncomfortable, doesn’t offend my tastes. People can feel one way about clipper ships or lakes or chunks of gold or SSTs or, say.. magic, others can feel another way. In fact, in this whole wide world I’m sure no two people share the exact same opinion on the subject. It would be ridiculous for the Orlando team change their name because of said ambiguity in the populace, however.
Now, you could draw a pretty wide margin between how people feel about magic and how people feel about the word ‘Redskin’, but isn’t it ultimately just a word, a concept, an agreed-upon notion? That was kind of what I took as the meat of your argument, that while a team’s name may sound insensitive, it’s really our (collective and individual) associations with that word that make us uncomfortable. And, beyond that, it’s really the history and actions at the source of that association that could be perceived as ills in our society. To me, that’s so far outside my appreciation for sports that to debate what is right and what is wrong based upon my subjective feelings on symbolically-linked concepts is sort of a waste of time.
Of course, arguing the finer points of the matter on some semiological level just before midnite on a Tuesday in a post that praises tag-team windmill dunks by long-dead historical figures is THE SWEET SPOT and totally worth it!!
To close, sorry if I didn’t get my point across (I was at work and had to write it on the sly), and let’s cite something a wise someone said only yesterday:
“Everything is offensive to someone.
I’m offended by Blaze, for one.”
Loud and clear; couldn’t agree with you more.
"Well, Travis just showed us that we can go to Travis Outlaw." - Nate McMillan
A numbering system, 1 through 30. Team names change yearly
depending on last years record. It’s the only way.
"Besides, AnntheFan will be here any minute to #25 you." T Darkstar
You got it right.
In summation: if we are offended by mascots we are offended by the symbolic order. If we’re going to walk that line we should therefore also be offended by sports. In closing, let’s get to work on L&C&S, like, yesterday.
BLZRS FRVR
by nightbluefruit on Jun 11, 2008 8:40 AM PDT up reply actions
is "...and,yeah..." meant to signify "and came up with the best mascot in the college ranks" ?
it better.
BLZRS FRVR
by nightbluefruit on Jun 9, 2008 12:26 PM PDT up reply actions
Obviously...
although Stanny the Xmas Card-Tree can’t hold a candle to the awe-inspiring Benny the Beaver.
Never realized before but I guess there’s one school who actually has a mascot which has reason to fear beavers, next thing I know it turns out that trail cats eat lakes!
I like the idea of NO mascot
We already have like 18 dance teams. A stunt squade, drums streamers t shirts and a jr version of all of the above.
I have always thought that “blaze” should just be a huge green leaf… if you smell what im smokin..
He is so stupid.
What would be TRAILBLAZING… is the idea that we could, gasp, attract kids 2 games w/o this weird animal. And im sorry, my son is 3 as well he will be 4 in a month. He didn’t care about Blaze @ all… and if you kids are more interested in the mascot of a sport then maybe you shouldn’t waste the money on taking them.. im just sayin
That which prematurely arrives at perfection soon perishes. - Marcus Fabius Quintilian (35-95AD) Roman Rhetorician, Critic
Blaze may be stupid
but at least he doesn’t wear a do-rag. “Hip-Hop the rabbit” is a sad animal.
"No, you're not imagining things: Black America is ecstatic." -Errin Haines, Associated Press writer
by Junior Del Norte on Jun 9, 2008 12:12 PM PDT up reply actions
OMG that is embarrasing
That which prematurely arrives at perfection soon perishes. - Marcus Fabius Quintilian (35-95AD) Roman Rhetorician, Critic
Hip-Hop the Rabbit!!???
That’s the most absurd thing I’ve seen in a while. It made me giggle until I got tears in my eyes. Thanks for posting it.
Blaze is almost as lame.....he's only a doo-rag away.
"Rudy Fernández ha confirmado hoy que la próxima temporada jugará en el Portland Trail Blazers"
I say
he’s only a do-rag, miniature sidekick named “Lil Blaze”, urban superhero backstory, huge muscles, and sleek pair of sunglasses away. Other than that I agree.
"No, you're not imagining things: Black America is ecstatic." -Errin Haines, Associated Press writer
by Junior Del Norte on Jun 9, 2008 4:19 PM PDT up reply actions
As long as L&C are our mascots
and I get my paycheck, I’ll be happy.
BLZRS FRVR
by nightbluefruit on Jun 9, 2008 12:25 PM PDT up reply actions
Artist's Rendering of Our New Mascots
"Well, Travis just showed us that we can go to Travis Outlaw." - Nate McMillan
by 12sharks on Jun 9, 2008 1:50 PM PDT reply actions 6 recs
OMG I am a genius
That is the raddest thing I have ever seen.
BLZRS FRVR
by nightbluefruit on Jun 9, 2008 2:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Love it!
Especially if the foam heads look EXACTLY LIKE THAT. Oversized and looking like they were lovingly created off of a 19th century painting a la Terry Gilliam.
Yeah
I like their sorta-frowny faces, too.
"Well, Travis just showed us that we can go to Travis Outlaw." - Nate McMillan
Yeah
That cracked me up. Sweet and whatnot. I really loled.
"lowest common denominator - every time I think you hit rock bottom you sink it deeper into the shale" -- bow4meow
Those would be the best mascots in the world
"lowest common denominator - every time I think you hit rock bottom you sink it deeper into the shale" -- bow4meow
I KNOW!
I have been yelling about them here on BE FOR A YEAR and only now is anyone listening to me. My friend and I practically incorpo9rate this idea into everything we say to one another. THIS IS MY MAGNUM OPUS. Now please get it off the ground - into the sky - like two explorers majestically windmilling dunks over a row of chairs…
BLZRS FRVR
by nightbluefruit on Jun 9, 2008 4:17 PM PDT up reply actions
I'll join your quest
If you’ll join my quest for an interview of the Sweat Wiper Uppers. We are stronger untied, with one voice for the truth, we can overcome.
Join me for a greater knowledge of all that is Blazerdom, and I will join in your quest for the ultimate mascot. Together we can achieve the ultimate of Blazer fandom perfection.
"lowest common denominator - every time I think you hit rock bottom you sink it deeper into the shale" -- bow4meow
I went to grade school with a sweat wiper-upper
She was a year ahead of me and was a wiper-upper in 1978-9. She said the worst part wasn’t the sweat, it was the players who would ‘farmer blow’ on the court.
Ahh
That is the nastiest. I never thought about that. It takes away some of the glamor.
"lowest common denominator - every time I think you hit rock bottom you sink it deeper into the shale" -- bow4meow
Lewis' slightly far-off/wandering/indifferent face adds many points.
Coach/Butthol '09: We shall overcome.
Holy God
that picture made me laugh harder than anything else I’ve seen today.
by BlazersOrBust on Jun 9, 2008 6:11 PM PDT up reply actions
Adobe just called
They’re revoking your Photoshop privileges.
lol, just kidding. That’s one awesome pair of high-flying mascots.
That was truly a ROFLMAO. Thank you.
MLB2PDX!!! (someday...)
by The Cactus Leaguer on Jun 11, 2008 12:42 AM PDT up reply actions
Thanks, guys
I was thinking about making it my avatar, but I think a lot of the message would be lost at such a small size.
"Well, Travis just showed us that we can go to Travis Outlaw." - Nate McMillan
Put him in a crushed velvet suit
with a golden scepter, Cadalac, platform shoes, and a pimp cup. Play the sound track from SemiPro. I love it.
My favorite teams are the Blazers and any team that is playing the Lakers.
Last I checked...
Trailcat’s were on the endangered species list.
Better leave him alone.
Blake brings it up on the right, swings it to Webster on the elbow, he moves around the key and passes to the low left block for Aldridge, Aldridge jukes baseline, turns back in and finds Roy cutting down the seam, ROY THROWS IT UP AT THE RIM FOR ODEN WHO THROWS IT DOWN FOR THE TWO HANDED MONSTER JAM!!! BOOM-SHAKA-LAKA!!! -Wheeler '08-'09
i can't wait
by you'vegottomakeyourfreethrows on Jun 9, 2008 2:58 PM PDT reply actions
Looks kinda like the Stanford Tree
What we need is not a tree, but an Ent.
by EngineerScotty on Jun 9, 2008 5:03 PM PDT up reply actions
After all, the only thing older than Treebeard
is Greg Oden.
(In case there’s any Tolkeinistas in the audience, PLEASE no whose-older-Treebeard-or-Tom-Bombadil flamewars…)
by EngineerScotty on Jun 9, 2008 5:04 PM PDT up reply actions
That one is easy.
Tom Bombadil was represenative of Tolkien himself. Therefore of the world Treebeard was the oldest living thing. Tom Bombadil was outside the world and thus why he never left the forest. It was tolkien’s place to mess around but never to leave or stray for that would change the world in which the story was taking place.
I mean, if he had left the world and influenced it, he might have said something like “dude, why don’t you just fly those giant rocs into mordor and drop the freaking ring into the freaking volcano and call it good?
"We play for one thing and one thing only, and that's championships." - The Devil Spawned
Don't you think
the Ringwraiths would have had something to say about that aerial incursion?
by BlazersOrBust on Jun 9, 2008 6:12 PM PDT up reply actions
Not if they had sent the Ring by air after the black horses were "drownded"
There was a period of time during the council of Elrond when the wraiths were unhorsed and were returning in shame to Sauron to get refitted with their flying mounts. The skies around Mt. Doom were undefended and an eagles carrying a brave rider could’ve easily flown in and deposited the master ring into the cracks of doom.
But that would have shortened the story by several thousand pages and today JRR Tolkein would a obscure British history professor
holy sweet jesus!!!
I’d SOOO be up for an ent!!!
If we had an Ent we’d be envy of geeks everywhere and they’d be fans for life. Seriously! That would be sweet!!!
OKay… i admit… i’m a geek.
"We play for one thing and one thing only, and that's championships." - The Devil Spawned
what is an
ent?
"See all the green underlined thingies? All those are over five recs. Then your post down there in the purple--it has 0 recs :( So it doesn’t make it in the "recommended" section." prezofdeath
Celtics over the L*kers, lesser of the 2 evils. But not by much.
Ever see the "Two Towers"?
The walking, talking trees are known as “Ents”.
Just don’t ask the ent to sing the national anthem…..
by EngineerScotty on Jun 10, 2008 10:52 AM PDT up reply actions
It Ent Me Babe
"Lenny Suckerpunch Never bet on me" - Elizabeth "The Lizzard" Lowblow
by Lizzy Lowblow on Jun 10, 2008 11:34 AM PDT up reply actions
That's Greg Oden
Holding lil’ Rudy Fernandez and lifting him to the basket for his first NBA basket. They’re buddies!
Mortimer
El Mago in the left hand...
...lookin’ ta assist.
"Always Willing, Ever Able" - rivbike.com
"If you don't want to get banged. Don't go in there" - Van Gundy
Rad...an air-freshener for the Rose Garden.......
you suppose he could bring 20 of his tree friends and hang out in the mens bathrooms next to the urinals??
"Rudy Fernández ha confirmado hoy que la próxima temporada jugará en el Portland Trail Blazers"
you have long words
they make long writing.
Blazer is prettier than the other cat. I’d definitely date him first if I were into dating guys… and cats… or men in fur suits.
Blaze doesn’t annoy me as much as the canned noise and the giveaway/promos and things that break up the excitement of the game. At least he’s cooler than the denver cat.
"We play for one thing and one thing only, and that's championships." - The Devil Spawned
Sorry
I guess I should have just made the post read “LOL it like retearded”
"Well, Travis just showed us that we can go to Travis Outlaw." - Nate McMillan
I've never given any thought to Blaze or anything
But I do see a striking parallel in terms of image and design and persona with him and Robo-Duck. Robo-Duck was a terrible, terrible marketing scheme maybe 4 or 5 years ago to phase out Donald and phase in this ugly, scary, futuristic looking duck. It is now widely considered as the biggest marketing flop in recent UO history.
Blaze always reminded me of him. Does anyone else know who I’m talking about, other than Dave (Addicted to Quack)?
Coach/Butthol '09: We shall overcome.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
NBA Playoffs Content Module
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
FanShots
Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.
Recommended FanShots
Recent FanShots
In Association With
Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sport
- Jrue Holiday needs to shoot more for Sixers to win, according to Doug Collins
- Create-a-Caption: Jeff Pendergraph scares his Pacers teammates
- James Harden is a cake now
- Mike Miller loses shoe, plays two possessions without it, Pacers don’t score (VIDEO)
- Larry Bird calls his Indiana Pacers ‘soft’ following the team’s physical Game 5 loss to Miami
