Alum comment #1:
"First off, let me preface this by saying that I kind of like the new nickname, if for no other reason than it is finally something that is our and ours alone. If people grow to accept and, God forbid, even like it, I think it could be a great thing.
Anyway...
This whole thing has really brought out something I'd always kind of felt below the surface at Marquette, but never wanted to admit to myself existed: insecurity.
As much as people detest this new nickname, it seems the real problem most people have with it is that other schools may make fun of us. Even writing the term "make fun of us" makes me feel twelve.
Some dude in the Tribune fears that next time were in the 'Ville, they'll be "laughing in our faces". I'm heading to the Kentucky Derby this weekend and I've got to say, that game we lost by 47 is A LOT more embarrassing than a nickname (cont'd below)
Related links:
(original post) The value of transparency
Dwayne Wade's reaction: "Awh...I got to call in on that one."
MU Fan reaction: "Do they want a precipitous drop in donations, now that they've pissed off both young and old alumni?"
See additional comments in the "continue reading" link and feel free to add your own.
Alum comment #1, cont'd:
And people at DePaul will be "shooting spit balls in our faces". Is that really what you're afraid of? I mean, it's DePaul for God's sake! What grounds do they have to EVER act superior to us? And if you're lucky enough to actually find a DePaul fan amidst the GOLD when MU travels next year to the AllState Arena, please let me know. I'd like to shake their hand...then wash mine.
Seriously though by the time the next men's basketball season rolls around (and that's really all this is about. Not to offend anyone, but even if the 14 people in the stands make fun of the 'Golden Girls' when they travel to Rutgers next year, I think they'll survive), do you really think people will care?
Hawaii was the Rainbow Warriors, have you ever ripped someone for that? Probably not, for one reason: THEY LIVE IN HAWAII!! How can you compare to that?
Syracuse is the Orange and when they won the National Championship a couple years ago (remember that? We were there? Got killed by 30 or so?) was there any talk about how they were represented by a color? Or that their mascot was an orange, smiling ball? No, everyone was too in awe of Carmelo Anthony and the 2-3 zone.
Ask a Harvard grad, do the peons calling up "CCRRRRIMMMMMSSSOONNN" from below really affect them stacking their money in their ivory towers?
The same idea applies here. Does this nickname make you less proud to be a Marquette student/alum? Does it take away from the memories you have of Marquette or the pride you get from having gone there? Do you really think that THIS is what we'll forever be known for? One of my buddies said it best: to him, MU will always be "Marquette" first and everything else second.
The guy in the Trib even had the gall to call us "the biggest joke in college sports". Really? A football coach who rats out another team for questionable player activity, when his OWN TEAM has multiple convicted felons? A baseball coach calling HIS OWN players derogatory names? People who attended UW-Madison? The possibilities are endless for worse examples out there than us.
Speaking of 2003, when we lost by 30 in the Final Four, the other schools there had more than enough fodder to rip us for the weekend. But rather than walking around defeated in the N.O., hiding our GOLD, sheepishly admitting that we may not have belonged in the first place, we instead stumbled around drunkenly, proclaiming what we'd done, praising what those 3 weeks had done for us, individually and as a group, forecasting it as the beginning of much more to come. We'd known all along that Marquette had greatness within it and, for 3 weeks, the rest of the country got a glimpse of that as well.
And if Dwyane hadn't shown up in Milwaukee and March 2003 never happened for us, would this have even made the Page 4 news? Would it have dominated Chicago sports talk radio today? Be happy that this is even being talked about outside of campus. Be hopeful that maybe one day everyone will grow to embrace the GOLD, giving us an identity that the Golden Eagles never could (or did). Be happy that we can finally stop stealing Michigan's logo and have one to call our own.
I'm not asking everyone to love the nickname, I'm just...I don't
know what I'm doing, but stop worrying about what other people are
going to say. That shouldn't be the determining factor in all this. The
nickname is supposed to be OUR thing. Right now, it certainly doesn't
feel like OUR thing, but like I said, if people grow to like it, I
really think GOLD could be a great thing at Marquette. And if it never
catches on and they end up changing it...well then it'll be just as
successful as past MU nicknames everyone
pines for so badly."
Alum comment #2:
"I guess I should pick up that shiny GOLD casio watch after all... it has a calculator built in after all.
The only real shit thing about the Golden Eagles to me was that it turned Marquette into a team with absolutely no history at all. Legacy is what college sports are all about. And after dumping the Hill Toppers name in favor of the more hardcore Warriors, we went the other way and chose the most ubiquitious and timid name in sports history. Golden Eagles sound like a community college mascot. "Welcome one and all to New Durban County: Home of the New Durban Golden Eagles." And it was even more offensive because it was a symbol of our University kowtowing to a handful of ridiculous picketers. Christ almighty, do away with the racist idiot in a foam suit, but don`t change the identity of the University.
Anyway, the GOLD is hardly any better. Its just a reminder that we went to a school without any balls that once again is determined to wipe away any sports tradition we`ve ever had. Now all we`ve proven is that the Marquette administration is unable to withstand internal AND external special interests. And also that they`re too arrogant to admit their mistake and go back to a name with real tradition.
We deserve to be the Gold or the Golden Tu-tus or whatever crap name the puss ass administration choses until we have the sack to stick with one mascot and make it our own. We might as well call ourselves the Golden Kerry. This wishy-washy bullshit disgusts me. Its an embarassment and a disgrace. At least we`ll only have to suffer the GOLD until the prospecters association of Northern California decides to take a mild and largely disorganized stand against us.
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