Not diggin the "pepper" mascot

[CajunCanaille]

_ Thanks, but after the email barrage I sent two weeks ago, I don't think they would take me. lol

I'm kind of split on the Houla and the Gator. I like the idea of having one of those beautiful Catahoula's on the sidelines but a dog can only do so much as far as crowd interaction. I like the gator because that is more of a "mascot" suit type mascot but the national view IMO will be that we are posing Florida Gators. That's why I like the Catahoula. _

I understand your point about the gator but if you design it different (i.e. different color, different look, etc.) I don't think that people would confuse it. Think about it. Their are plenty of bulldogs out there and no one confuses them. So while I like both mascots, I would rather the bullgator but I would in no way be opposed to the catahoula. We will discuss more over a beer at Legends in about 30 mins.

Also, if you are worried about fan interaction with the Catahoula.....I guarantee he would do more for the crowd than our current mascot who just sits down with the cheerleaders.

[HoustonCajun]

_ Thanks, but after the email barrage I sent two weeks ago, I don't think they would take me. lol

I'm kind of split on the Houla and the Gator. I like the idea of having one of those beautiful Catahoula's on the sidelines but a dog can only do so much as far as crowd interaction. I like the gator because that is more of a "mascot" suit type mascot but the national view IMO will be that we are posing Florida Gators. That's why I like the Catahoula. _

I'm not sure I would worry about looking like we copied Florida. Look at LSU and Clemson. Both Tigers. Both stadiums are known as Death Valley. Both play Hold That Tiger. No problem with either school. There aren't many Gators out there and if UL and UF have some similarities, then we are in good company. We remain unique with Louisiana Ragin Cajuns vs. Florida Gators.

[CajunCanaille]

Either way, I think we all agree that the pepper is not what ANYONE wants.

[NOCajun]

_ The Chicken was a fun character to watch, but in no way was a mascot. It has absolutely NO RELATIONSHIP to the university. We are not the UL Chickens. Now, if we had a Bull Gator, for example as a mascot, having the person who performed the Fabulous Cajun Chicken do the same act in that mascot uniform would be priceless. In addition to our moniker, Ragin Cajuns, and the Fleur de Lis, our university symbol, we still need a mascot. The pepper is out and, if used, should be used only as the accent on Ragin'. The red Bull Gator, named Fideaux, from a previous thread was outstanding (could someone post that again). It works in a uniform and we could build a sanctuary around the stadium for it. Also, the State dog, the CatahoULa is another excellent mascot. Both, either, have ties to the university. We have a swamp on campus with a Bull Gator in it. We are also The University of Louisiana, so adopting the State Dog as our mascot also is valid.

I wish the university would put together a committee to address all of this and make a final selection. We don't need to pay an outside advertising firm $40,000 to redesign our logo or come up with a mascot. We have it all right here and we have the right people on this Board to sit on the committee. _

Fun thing is, if someone still has the old IceGator mascot costume, all they'd have to do is put a UL football uniform on over it and it would be perfect.

[CajunNation]

I'm not sure I would worry about looking like we copied Florida. Look at LSU and Clemson. Both Tigers. Both stadiums are known as Death Valley. Both play Hold That Tiger. No problem with either school. There aren't many Gators out there and if UL and UF have some similarities, then we are in good company. We remain unique with Louisiana Ragin Cajuns vs. Florida Gators.

Clemson and lsu-br ARE the Tigers.

We are the Ragin' Cajuns. If we roll out a gator mascot, people will confuse us as being the Gators.

With a group of people as a nickname, unless you have an actual person as a mascot, the leprechaun at Notre Dame, your mascot almost by definition has to be, at best, a background figure. It's something that adds background as to who you are without confusing people.

Tennessee VOLUNTEERS have a dog mascot, a coon hound.

Texs A&M AGGIES have a dog mascot, a collie.

The beauty of the Catahoula is that it is original, is not confused with a bulldog to where people will assume you are the bulldogs, and it is tied to the state.......a state that we want to have as our name.

The only way we can have a mascot that can be front and center, with the crazy guy in an animal suit that everybody just loves and doesn't cause mass confusion as to who we are is to change our nickname to whatever that mascot is.

Now, who wants to change our Ragin Cajun nickname?

Not me.

[Turbine]

Tennessee VOLUNTEERS have a dog mascot, a coon hound.

Texs A&M AGGIES have a dog mascot, a collie.

The beauty of the Catahoula is that it is original, is not confused with a bulldog to where people will assume you are the bulldogs, and it is tied to the state.......a state that we want to have as our name.

The Bull Gator is a "Louisiana Yard Dog" or so I have been told.

The problem with the Catahoula is that no one outside of Louisiana, and only about 10% of those in Louisiana could even properly identify one. They are an unknown breed and doesn't bring self marketing credentials like a Bull Gator spirit leader would.

[ULtimateCajun]

_ The Bull Gator is a "Louisiana Yard Dog" or so I have been told.

The problem with the Catahoula is that no one outside of Louisiana, and only about 10% of those in Louisiana could even properly identify one. They are an unknown breed and doesn't bring self marketing credentials like a Bull Gator spirit leader would. _

We would make the Catahoula nationally known! ;-) I now want a catahoula btw after looking them up on google, I just don't have a yard to let it run around. I'd totally name it Cajun! Maybe one of these days.

[Turbine]

We would make the Catahoula nationally known! ;-)

Well UL did make Ragin' Cajuns nationally known, but for some reason has lost its touch.

When The University of Louisiana is nationally known, then we can tackle the common knowlege equation of the Catahoula.

In the meantime the Louisiana Bull Gotor is already nationally known.

PS I would love a Catahoula for a pet as well.
igeaux.mobi

[CajunNation]

The Bull Gator is a "Louisiana Yard Dog" or so I have been told.

The problem with the Catahoula is that no one outside of Louisiana, and only about 10% of those in Louisiana could even properly identify one. They are an unknown breed and doesn't bring self marketing credentials like a Bull Gator spirit leader would.

The Bullgator would be an excellent idea if we were the UL Gators. I think it would cause confusion. When we had the Chicken and the Bulldog roaming the sidelines at the same time, it was a lot of fun for sure, but I can't tell you the number of fans from other schools who would question me as to just who the heck we are. The Bulldogs? The Chickens? They just didn't get it.


To me there are 3 options we have for a mascot.


1) A physical representation of our nickname, CAJUN MAN. We've tried it before, and while I think it could work, I don't think there are many that want to go down that road again.

2) An obscure spirit leader/lovable abstact thing. It seems to work for WKU and "the blood clot", not so much with "the flaming vegetable".

3) A mascot that doesn't confuse people like the Bulldog, Chicken, or Gator, but serves a purpose very well in that it further defines who you are. That is the state dog of LOUISIANA, the CATAHOULA.



It could be present at the football games and it could have a page in every gameday program in every sport dedicated to it's long history in the state and it's ties to the fighting spirit of the RAGIN CAJUNS.

You won't be able to promote it like "the flaming vegetable" or the "Bullgator" with its logo on everything, but that is how it should be. RAGIN CAJUNS and UL/LOUISIANA should be center stage.




It boils down to this. While they are many who seem to be very eager to rally around a "thing" that we can be entertained by, wear on our clothes, and put on a bumper sticker, that is a bad idea for the UL RAGIN CAJUNS. We should be rallying around the CAJUNS who are busting their tails on the field of play.

Either embrace RAGIN CAJUNS as our nickname, or change it to the Bullgators, Bulldogs, or whatever animal you want to plaster on your clothes and cars.

[Turbine]

State reptile

State canine

It's a wash


igeaux.mobi

[Turbine]

The other thing is . . . you could go to any other university in the country and look at their mascot’s artificial habitat and find some schools that have literally spent millions to theirs make attractive and comfortable.

UL has a Bull Gator habitat on campus that is worth far more than any other schools mascot habitat in the country. In fact it is so valuable it could not be duplicated for any amount of money. In other words it is priceless.

And right under our noses for over 100 years.

[Clutch0364]

Guys me and a friend of mine discussed this issue today and we already have the best mascot in college sports. Chris the cotton candy man lol think of the possibilities!