Mascot Focus Group

[CajunNation]

A Spirit Leader is supposed to be a crowd pleaser, not an identity maker, although you do want one that fits and has no negatives.

I think that might be impossible. All have negatives.

I come from the school of thought that ALL of your efforts as an athletic department must be geared towards achieving your primary objective.

We strive to be the best university in this state in academics and athletics. We seek the Louisiana designation as recognition of those efforts.

If we are striving to be THE University of Louisiana in the classroom and the athletic field, then shouldn't we spend every waking moment making sure all of our marketing efforts are geared towards developing the LOUISIANA brand?

So, looking for a mascot/spirit leader leads me to the Catahoula, the State dog, a dog with roots in Louisiana, the Swamp, and our French ancestors.

With any endeavor we undertake in marketing, the question must be asked first, "Does this advance our cause to be known as The University of Louisiana?"

Alas, I fear that our administration is clueless on this matter. It is obvious to me that they have no desire whatsoever to brand this university as Louisiana. They have tried for decades to brand us the Ragin Cajuns nationally.

Failure.


Plan B? They ain't no plan B.

[anhil8tor]

I think we can all agree to disagree here.. .There is no way we can all agree on a mascot or spirit leader are any of that. Lets hope the focus group hits a home run.

[Just1More]

I think we can all agree to disagree here.. .There is no way we can all agree on a mascot or spirit leader are any of that. Lets hope the focus group hits a home run.

Just leaving it up to a "focus group" produces "Cajun Man" or "Cayenne". The thread was not to have all of us agree on a single concept. I think it was intended to throw some ideas out there and take the criticism. The best ideas are those that can take a good beat down and possibly surface as a highly supported long-term features at UL (very important to me... since we are begging for a national identity... but never seem to understand that national identities are usually garnered by programs that stick with something until it becomes a "tradition"). I like to see people throw ideas out and take the compliments and beat downs. If people would shy away from beating up the contributor and just stick to throttling the idea, workable raw ideas will surface.

This site has been around a while, and it is becoming a repository for a lot of things "UL". If any group at or of UL is not routinely, or at least occasionally, checking out the dialogue that goes on at this site... armed with thick skin... they are not very intelligent. You can get a lot of quick and dirty UL fan responses (and quick and dirty can be one of the most untainted glances any researcher can get) by checking out this site.

[Cajun_in_NM]

I always wondered, while both in school and out, why we wanted to have a standard mascot.

I bring up the comparison to the U of Tennessee. They are the Volunteers (Vols) and have Smokey as their standing mascot (hound dog) being led by either cheerleaders or the UT Vol Man.

Now, I think we could be of the similar variety...have the Catahoula dog (name him whatever) and have him be led by a guy that is the UL Cajun Man (not the old Cajun Man). The Cajun (i.e. the Vol) could be a guy in white boots, cover-alls, red/white checkered shirt, and a hat of some sort. While this is not determinate of any race, all students could apply for the role and we would have a walking mascot like West Virginia, Notre Dame, and Tennessee - all the while having the dog as the game day spirit 'thing', like Tennessee.

It isn't perfect, but would suffice the moniker of Ragin' Cajun, and would give the ability to have a spirit 'thing' (dog). Neither is a degraded item and all of us would be proud to see them on TV or in media. Also, if we had people of different ethnicities in different years, we could use the ignorance of the nation to embrace not only Cajun heritage, but also Creole heritage and use the 'Louisiana' branding, on a national scale.

Thoughts????

[Boomer]

I am sure that the media would get the crawfish thing wrong and we would be the Lafayette Lobsters---They have given us their mascot in the past------I guess this is another reminded that we are Louisiana UL!!!!! Keep pushing!!!!

[Just1More]

I always wondered, while both in school and out, why we wanted to have a standard mascot.

I bring up the comparison to the U of Tennessee. They are the Volunteers (Vols) and have Smokey as their standing mascot (hound dog) being led by either cheerleaders or the UT Vol Man.

Now, I think we could be of the similar variety...have the Catahoula dog (name him whatever) and have him be led by a guy that is the UL Cajun Man (not the old Cajun Man). The Cajun (i.e. the Vol) could be a guy in white boots, cover-alls, red/white checkered shirt, and a hat of some sort. While this is not determinate of any race, all students could apply for the role and we would have a walking mascot like West Virginia, Notre Dame, and Tennessee - all the while having the dog as the game day spirit 'thing', like Tennessee.

It isn't perfect, but would suffice the moniker of Ragin' Cajun, and would give the ability to have a spirit 'thing' (dog). Neither is a degraded item and all of us would be proud to see them on TV or in media. Also, if we had people of different ethnicities in different years, we could use the ignorance of the nation to embrace not only Cajun heritage, but also Creole heritage and use the 'Louisiana' branding, on a national scale.

Thoughts????

I like the Catahoula being included. I can't see the unveiling of another "Cajun Man" not backfiring on us.

[cajunvol05]

A Spirit Leader is supposed to be a crowd pleaser, not an identity maker, although you do want one that fits and has no negatives.

This is a great discussion and one that will likely not result in a solution that satisfies everyone. I like the idea of a mascot that relates to the fans and becomes part of the event. Remember the Cajun Chicken....

When I think of Ragin' Cajuns, I think of people who are passionate, happy, and willing to work for wha they believe in. I particularly believe Ragin' Cajuns have great perspective when it comes to family, friends, and community.

Tailgating at football and the fan bases at baseball and softball are reflective of how our fans have infused our culture into sporting events. I believe we need to design a mechanisms for bringing our culture into our venues. In order for this to work, we need to embrace our culture and look to it for insight. So what is a Ragin' Cajun?

This is difficulty because we are talking about the spirit of a people/region. I believe this spirit takes a physical form when you go to Mardi Gras in the country....courir de Mardi Gras.

Elements -
- big, beautiful horse
- Capitain...the traditional chant goes something like Capitain, Capitain, wave your flag so we can run!
- Runners - regular, ordinary folk...the salt of the earth
- Costumes - craftsmanship, pride, passion, and creativity - traditionally they were worn to mock the establishment on this one day
- community - everyone participates in the gathering of ingredients and comes together for a party
- food - it's what brings friends, families, and strangers together

I would like to recommend using the persona of "Le Capitain" on a beautiful horse to lead the Cajuns out of the tunnel. There is a traditional chant that can be sung by the fans and Le Capitain does not let "the Cajuns run" until the crowd is at a fever pitch. Capitain runs to mid field and then he brings the horse to the top of the field. Kids can take pics with the horse during the game. Capitain is then assisted by "runners" in costumes that serve as yell leaders during the game.

What schools use horses and riders?
Florida State
Southern Cal
Central Florida
Rutgers
Texas Tech
OK State

We have a huge equine industry and I am sure there are ample farms that would love to help us in this endeavor (Maybe Jake is interested?).

Plus, it provides a theme that people understand and one that they can get involved. How many schools have licensed Mardi Gras costumes? Can you imagine a Cajun Field/Cajundome student section in Mardi Gras costumes?
Ok....here come the naysayers...I realize LA has a mask law. Either ask for an exemption during sporting events (Mardi Gras is an exemption) or simply tell people they can wear hats but no masks.

When I think of Ragin' Cajuns, I think of people having fun...regardless of context.

Google "courir de Mardi Gras" and look at the images. I think the world of these people and I think their spirit is personified in the direction of university. Plus, the events of Mardi Gras on the prairie are easily translated to our sporting events. Our university needs to give us something we can relate to. Something that we can embarce and something where we, as fans, can participate in. Great venues are intimidating because the fans are part of the event and create an edge for their teams.

BTW...what is A&M's mascot? Who are the yell leaders?

I believe choosing a new mascot without considering how this mascot interacts with fans and creates a great environment would put us back to where we have been....Cajun Man, Pepper, etc.

[Turbine]

Interesting cajunvol05.

In the 1920's the UL cheerleaders wore court jester costumes so your idea is not that big of a stretch.

[Just1More]

Wow. I like cajunvol05's concept.

[cajunvol05]

I can't paste pics into this post on my phone, but here a couple links to pics...

Students entering the game - http://entertainmentguide.local.com/...0&keep_ratio=1

Mardi Gras Indians - http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/cnishared/..._New_Orlea.JPG

Le Capitain - http://www.louisianarambles.com/images/news/cp1.jpg

http://www.dailyyonder.com/files/ima...mardegras.jpeg

http://www.fodors.com/wire/mardigras-eunice.jpg