Grassroots Campaign for the Next UL Mascot

[AirBill]

Believe me I am brutally aware of this. I’m working to spread Albineaux through as many young alums and current students as I can.

On Twitter, he has had hundreds of positive reactions. I’m seeing him spread like wild fire already on Instagram. Al could be the one of the coolest mascots in the state, if not the country. People my age, I’m 28, and below are seeing that too! I’m finding people who have never posted about UL ever, or they proudly wear purple and gold regularly, share Albineaux! I think a good portion of women don’t want to wear just letters or another FDL on their clothing. So UL’s branding hasn’t catered to them in a long time. That’s why I’ve had numerous girls message me saying they would wear an Albineaux sweater or shirt, TODAY! Y’all don’t know how happy it makes me to see people repping their school that don’t usually do.

That’s what a mascot is supposed to do right? Make people feel proud of where they come from. Inspire. Make them feel respected.

Speaking of respect, a Northwestern State fan account with like four thousand followers retweeted Al! That’s nuts! All of our past mascots just got us laughed at. Al might be the first one that could be shown to our rivals and be respected. Possibly admired. Possibly envious.

That’s what scary about all this guys is…we’re so close. I really really think this is it, and could be so special. I wish Dr. Maggard & Dr. Savoie could see the interactions or excitement I’m seeing for Al. Otherwise, all this could be for nothing. UL fans will continue to want to fill the void and our students will resume missing out on experiences kids across the basin have regularly. I’d be so sad.

Lastly, thank you for everyone’s compliments on here. I’ve seen RP be really divided about a lot of things but it really is comforting to see WAY more unity here then on the fans of Ragin Cajun Football Page.

Cory, I'm 57, and I've seen all of the Ragin' Cajun mascots since the 1970s. This one tops them all, and it's not even close. Al blows them all out of the swamp!

From this old man, great work, and thank you for everything you do!

[Turbine]

This morning I was able to talk about Al on 103.7 The Game with Raymond Partsch. I really appreciate those guys taking the time to put Al on more airways!

I’m going to share a fun idea I had with you guys. I see quite a number of people suggesting ideas for mascots that are things we eat—a crawfish, a pepper, boudin, etc. Wouldn’t it be more fun to have a mascot that is know more for eating rather than being eaten. Imagine this:

We have so many bird mascots in our conference. Imagine Al holding up a sign saying “You’d look good over rice” to Gus the Eagle from Georgia Southern. Or Al doing a whole bit where he walks by the CCU chicken mascot with a normal size pot once, measures, and sees it’s not big enough. So throughout the game he just keeps coming back bigger and bigger pots until there’s one big enough for him. And now Al is trying to convince the Beach chicken to get into the pot. Or during a timeout an mc asks, “Al whatcha cookin today?” Al hands him a piece of paper. “Herd Rice and Gravy?? This looks good Al but where are you going to find a bison around here?” And then Al turns and faces Marshall’s bison mascot. Suddenly the mc is trying to hold back Al from chasing after the bison. The idea of every mascot visiting Cajun Field is under the threat of being turned into a Cajun dish by a hungry gator is hilarious to me.

I like what you're cooking up.

Original skits like the ones mentioned are the type of thing that made the Cajun Chicken so memorable.

[AirBill]

Here's a thought...how about we have Al as a spirit leader (student in costume) and you offer a Catahoula to patrol the sidelines too. Then, we hit all the animal bases, while showing our unique flavor.

[babysitter]

This is getting a lot of blow back on the UL Football Fan FB page...that's your guarantee that its basically a good idea...most there want CajunMan back...

Actually some people want the Bulldog back. Not sure what would be wrong with that to be honest.

[Airden]

This morning I was able to talk about Al on 103.7 The Game with Raymond Partsch. I really appreciate those guys taking the time to put Al on more airways!

I’m going to share a fun idea I had with you guys. I see quite a number of people suggesting ideas for mascots that are things we eat—a crawfish, a pepper, boudin, etc. Wouldn’t it be more fun to have a mascot that is know more for eating rather than being eaten. Imagine this:

We have so many bird mascots in our conference. Imagine Al holding up a sign saying “You’d look good over rice” to Gus the Eagle from Georgia Southern. Or Al doing a whole bit where he walks by the CCU chicken mascot with a normal size pot once, measures, and sees it’s not big enough. So throughout the game he just keeps coming back bigger and bigger pots until there’s one big enough for him. And now Al is trying to convince the Beach chicken to get into the pot. Or during a timeout an mc asks, “Al whatcha cookin today?” Al hands him a piece of paper. “Herd Rice and Gravy?? This looks good Al but where are you going to find a bison around here?” And then Al turns and faces Marshall’s bison mascot. Suddenly the mc is trying to hold back Al from chasing after the bison. The idea of every mascot visiting Cajun Field is under the threat of being turned into a Cajun dish by a hungry gator is hilarious to me.

Even I laughed at this. I'm warming up to it.

[CajunNation]

Actually, MAT,, I think it's the most important thing. Kids have to want to hug the mascot and parents will want to take pictures of their kids with it.

And, as soon as that happens, parents sign off on the mascot and it grows from there. Absolutely the #1 priority as far as I'm concerned.

My dream is to go into local toy stores and see stuffed (insert mascot here). My dream is for parents to rent out (mascot) to appear at their kids' birthday party....

[Turbine]

Actually some people want the Bulldog back. Not sure what would be wrong with that to be honest.

Tuesday night.

[Turbine]

...

Several breeds of dog.

Which ones are the Catahoula Leopard?

[fanof71]

Several breeds of dog.

Which ones are the Catahoula Leopard?

Who let those dogs out???

[JayWalker]

Several breeds of dog.

Which ones are the Catahoula Leopard?

I owned a Catahoula and the answer is...all of them.

Different coloring and ages.

But the very first one looks like the one I had. Name was Atchafalaya...Chaffey for short.

[CajunNation]

..Which ones are the Catahoula Leopard?

All of them. You know full well Catahoulas come in many different colors, and not all of them have crazy eyes.

[CajunEXPRESS]

All of them. You know full well Catahoulas come in many different colors, and not all of them have crazy eyes.

That’s the only cur to represent Louisiana. Beautiful, nobility in this country

[Swamp]

Actually some people want the Bulldog back. Not sure what would be wrong with that to be honest.

To this point, the Bulldog (the bar) is actually the most popular bar amongst the students again. Literally #1 spot for them to go out. With the Strip gone and downtown having turned into skid row, the Bulldog is where our target audience is (filling the Swamp).

[Turbine]

All of them. You know full well Catahoulas come in many different colors, and not all of them have crazy eyes.

Well if they are that hard to spot and identify the Catahoula Leopard is unusable as a defining character.

[KajunKrazy]

Because green is not a school color.

White is one of our school colors.

Guys, this really isn't that hard.

That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Is green a florida school color? No. Are tigers purple and gold? No. Is Alabama's elephant crimson? No. Is Tennessee's Blue Tick orange? no. Is Tx A&M collie burgundy? no. In all those cases you can put the jersey on the mascot that is school colors. No schools colors are the color of there mascot.