The Campaign for Albineaux continues…

[ZoomZoom]

Alright. So there's a section in the Phase 2 presentation about this very thing. From the start, I have always said I am open to a name change, but it would just have to come from the fans or the university. But I'll give y'all a sneak peak of what I wrote.

Albineaux is an albino alligator- not a white gater, but specifically an albino alligator. Whatever his name can be, albinism is intrinsic to the character. Al having albinism is important because it ties his origin on a similar path with the origin of the Cajun people.

Albino animals in the wild have a low survival rate. Obliviously the white makes them easily spotted, making it hard to hunt, and even harder to hide. These objectively beautiful creatures have something they can not change about themselves that puts them in danger in their natural born habitats. However, once you take them out of that environment and put them in a safe place, they thrive--so much so that people from across the world come to marvel at how special they are.

Albineaux came to live in Cypress Lake the same way the Cajun people came to Acadiana. Under threat from the British, Cajuns had to migrate across two countries just to settle on land that was barely desirable at the time. But look at them now, world renowned and the envy of cultures across the planet.

We can say, "The Ragin Cajuns embraced Albineaux because Cajuns know the plight of Albineaux."


If you're wondering how appropriate is the name Albineaux, well he's actually more PC than you think. The word "albino" is an acceptable word in the Albinism community; what's important is how it's used. People with Albinisim hate when people call them "an albino." Which is understandable to me because I am a very proud Black man, but I would take issue to someone calling me "a black." Using descriptors like nouns can be very dehumanizing (making it offensive), but used like an adjective can be empowering. Albineaux is proud to be albino. His name is a great example of how to refer to people with Albinism in short hand. You can call him albino, because that's what he is and that's his name sort of, but never call him AN albino.

I hope all that clears up some things.

Appreciate your passion.

[Winning]

We need a large mascot that can cover up all the empty seats in the student section.

[Turbine]

. . . I think they black . . . one of our school colors . . . but albino is the ticket . . . leave the feelings home . . .

About as close to black as you can get on the dark gray scale but that Campus Swamp keeps rubbing on making the rest of the collegiate world green with envy.

[Turbine]

Well it happened in Florida (Orlando) but that's just the latest case.

It has happened (been found) in Louisiana a few times.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67667226

"For the first time since a nest of leucistic alligators was discovered in the swamps of Louisiana 36 years ago, we have the first birth of a solid white alligator ever recorded"

[ManAboutTown]

The mascot is great, and your hard work is certainly appreciated. That said, I do not think the University will accept it because of the ''albino" part. As stupid as it sounds, there are people inside and outside of the university that will try to make something out of this that you clearly do not mean. I hope I am wrong, but I think this might cause a lot of controversy. If I understand correctly, you are a person of color, so I know you have no racist intent; but times are such that certain people would like to grab any little tidbit and make something out of it. I hope I am wrong. I have 7 grandchildren and I have been trying to get them interested in UL sports, so I think a great mascot would help.

Regardless, good luck.

The university won’t “accept” it because it wasn’t their idea. And that’s the ONLY reason.

[CouillonCinema]

More images from the next presentation.

[Ragin9221]

The university won’t “accept” it because it wasn’t their idea. And that’s the ONLY reason.

Spot on brother !!

[Turbine]

The university won’t “accept” it because it wasn’t their idea. And that’s the ONLY reason.

I'm not saying you're wrong but if true I would add Ragin' Cajuns wasn't their idea either.

[ZoomZoom]

I'm not saying you're wrong but if true I would add Ragin' Cajuns wasn't their idea either.

But that came from within the university.

[Turbine]

But that came from within the university.

True, a coach.

[CajunEXPRESS]

But that came from within the university.

This university was a different place when that happened. A lot has changed, for the worse, in the last four decades. This place used to rock all the time.

[CouillonCinema]

The university won’t “accept” it because it wasn’t their idea. And that’s the ONLY reason.

The university can be moved if enough people are moved. We saw that with the Ticketmaster thing. We saw it with the vintage collection. We saw it with the adoption of the “Ragin Cajun” nickname.

We saw it with one of my mascot inspirations “The Fabulous Cajun Chicken.” Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t that start with just Russel wanting to entertain Cajuns fans at games? He had passion and creativity, and he shared that with everybody. The university embraced him until they needed a character that better reflected the university (and could be run by students). That would have been a good play but the character after him wasn’t born from a fan’s passion like the chicken was, but from a marketing firm. Because there wasn’t enough passion and creativity around Cayenne, here we are talking about needing a mascot. Mind you, we are talking about getting ANYONE mascot, and not a NEW one. Cayenne isn’t even in the ring to compete anymore. He’s been gone for ten years and a lot people didn’t even know that until I started kicking up dust with my first Albineaux presentation. That’s how much of a failure Cayenne was. I never want our fanbase to go through that again.

Focusing on the word “compete,” I believe competition breeds excellence, right? That’s why I’ve poured so much into this next presentation. Albineaux has to be great in order to make sure whatever character they are being tight lipped about right now is also great. Otherwise, we’ll be talking about mascots twenty years from now.

[Crawfish]

You are preaching to the choir. It doesn't really matter what we all think here, it depends on what the administration thinks. In its present form, I think they will reject it. I hope I am wrong.

[facelessjonmoon]

More images from the next presentation.

Those are some high quality images. Nice work!

[CouillonCinema]

A.I. had a hard time generating a courir de Mardi Gras outfit. My apologies on the inaccuracies. I hope this still coveys the idea.

Almost presentation day for Phase 2. One section is about SKIT POTENTIAL. A mascot that is associated more with liking to eat (like a gator) rather than being eaten (like a pepper or a crawfish) makes it more relatable to Ragin Cajuns fans (who love to eat).

In this picture, you could see what could be a fun day when the Coastal Chanticleers come to Cajun Field. Imagine Al dressed up in traditional Courir de Mardi Gras outfit going from one tailgate to another begging for ingredients to the Chanticleer gumbo.

This will not only be a way to get the entire fanbase in attendance engaged, but also a fun way to show off the uniqueness of Acadiana’s culture. The cULture should show the best parts of the culture.