29 years ago today...

[wadesworld]

Do you have a reminder on your calendar to bump this thread every year?

Who doesn't have a daily countdown going every day of the year for this?

[manny31]

When this thing went down I was a couple years out of MU....I, along with a few other people threw in some money and we paid for a billboard on I-94 NB south of MKE. The billboard had the image of a Sturgeon and the caption was

"If it can't be the Warriors it has to be the Sturgeon"
Sponsored by the Society for the preservation of the Sturgeon....

All done very tongue in cheek... Well one of the Milwaukee radio stations found out who did this and they interviewed me. I played it so straight.... Going on about the society for the preservation of the Sturgeon and how the Sturgeon was a mighty and noble fish....Stanford is the Cardinal, MU should be the Sturgeon...Blah blah blah....Stupid I know but at the time it provided a bit of humor....

[Lennys Tap]

25 long years of travesty.

The arc of the logo universe is long, but it bends toward justice. 

Warriors forever!

+1. When the Warriors glorious history is written our era as the Politically Correct Eunuchs will be but a small (albeit embarrassing) footnote.

[Dr. Blackheart]

When this thing went down I was a couple years out of MU....I, along with a few other people threw in some money and we paid for a billboard on I-94 NB south of MKE. The billboard had the image of a Sturgeon and the caption was

"If it can't be the Warriors it has to be the Sturgeon"
Sponsored by the Society for the preservation of the Sturgeon....

All done very tongue in cheek... Well one of the Milwaukee radio stations found out who did this and they interviewed me. I played it so straight.... Going on about the society for the preservation of the Sturgeon and how the Sturgeon was a mighty and noble fish....Stanford is the Cardinal, MU should be the Sturgeon...Blah blah blah....Stupid I know but at the time it provided a bit of humor....

Classic.

[Jay Bee]

Guarantee there are folks on this board who PRAISE the name change. Sad! 

#WarriorsForever

[Dr. Blackheart]

I think I have repressed memory syndrome, but how did we wind up with the Golden Chicken again?  I remember why we dropped Warriors and I remember the Gold debacle, but not how we wound up with this jewel. What's the connection? 

[MU82]

When this thing went down I was a couple years out of MU....I, along with a few other people threw in some money and we paid for a billboard on I-94 NB south of MKE. The billboard had the image of a Sturgeon and the caption was

"If it can't be the Warriors it has to be the Sturgeon"
Sponsored by the Society for the preservation of the Sturgeon....

All done very tongue in cheek... Well one of the Milwaukee radio stations found out who did this and they interviewed me. I played it so straight.... Going on about the society for the preservation of the Sturgeon and how the Sturgeon was a mighty and noble fish....Stanford is the Cardinal, MU should be the Sturgeon...Blah blah blah....Stupid I know but at the time it provided a bit of humor....

Love it, manny. You didn't save a recording of the interview, did you? Any pix of the billboard?

[warriorchick]

When this thing went down I was a couple years out of MU....I, along with a few other people threw in some money and we paid for a billboard on I-94 NB south of MKE. The billboard had the image of a Sturgeon and the caption was

"If it can't be the Warriors it has to be the Sturgeon"
Sponsored by the Society for the preservation of the Sturgeon....

All done very tongue in cheek... Well one of the Milwaukee radio stations found out who did this and they interviewed me. I played it so straight.... Going on about the society for the preservation of the Sturgeon and how the Sturgeon was a mighty and noble fish....Stanford is the Cardinal, MU should be the Sturgeon...Blah blah blah....Stupid I know but at the time it provided a bit of humor....

For the record, the Stanford Cardinal refers to the color, not the bird.

[real chili 83]

Has the BOT ever admitted that they made the name change because of a big fat check the Casino gave them?

Probably not....

[Jay Bee]

I think I have repressed memory syndrome, but how did we wind up with the Golden Chicken again?  I remember why we dropped Warriors and I remember the Gold debacle, but not how we wound up with this jewel. What's the connection?

The school rigged it so us students could vote b/w only a couple of weak options. Lightning?! C’mon. I wanted Hilltoppers at the time.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

+1. When the Warriors glorious history is written our era as the Politically Correct Eunuchs will be but a small (albeit embarrassing) footnote.

I don't think we're changing back so I don't think we can call the Golden Eagle era a footnote. Unless we change names again we will be the Golden Eagles for longer than we were the Warriors.

The small and embarrassing footnote will be Willie Wampum. Yeesh.

[GooooMarquette]

I love the fact that sportswriters, commentators and even opposing fans still sometimes refer to us as Warriors.

As for Willie Wampum - sure he looks bad through today's lens, but that type of caricature wasn't always viewed through today's lens. The right thing would have been to get rid of the mascot, keep the nickname and move forward.

And if they really needed a Plan B, they should have just gone back to Hilltoppers and stuck with it.

Much of the (well deserved) criticism comes from the misguided efforts to make students and alumni think we had a voice (the solicitations of stakeholder feedback, fake "votes" and such) when the intention was simply to change.

[Dr. Blackheart]

The school rigged it so us students could vote b/w only a couple of weak options. Lightning?! C’mon. I wanted Hilltoppers at the time.

But what is the linkage to Marquette, the Jesuits, Fr. Marquette, Milwaukee, the Potawatomi?  The Golden Eagle is primarily a Western States bird, with some nesting on the Mississippi in western Wisconsin. Does the GE have some significance to the Potowatomi since they donated Valley Fields.

I ask because I don't see/am aware of any historical, symbolic, emotional or heritage link to SE Wisconsin or the university. Where did they come up with this particular nickname?

[Newsdreams]

I love the fact that sportswriters, commentators and even opposing fans still sometimes refer to us as Warriors.

As for Willie Wampum - sure he looks bad through today's lens, but that type of caricature wasn't always viewed through today's lens. The right thing would have been to get rid of the mascot, keep the nickname and move forward.

And if they really needed a Plan B, they should have just gone back to Hilltoppers and stuck with it.

Much of the (well deserved) criticism comes from the misguided efforts to make students and alumni think we had a voice (the solicitations of stakeholder feedback, fake "votes" and such) when the intention was simply to change.

It was the Russians practicing for future elections

[warriorjoe]

It's GOLD, Jerry, GOLD!"

Go Warriors!

[manny31]

Love it, manny. You didn't save a recording of the interview, did you? Any pix of the billboard?

I had one for a long time, I lost track of it though. I will make some inquiries to other members of the society.

[manny31]

For the record, the Stanford Cardinal refers to the color, not the bird.

I know that.....Not.
I always thought it was the Cardinal because they were being pretentious. In the vein of “The” Ohio State University.

[Marcus92]

The first definition of "cardinal" is "of prime importance; chief; principal."

[muwarrior69]

I don't think we're changing back so I don't think we can call the Golden Eagle era a footnote. Unless we change names again we will be the Golden Eagles for longer than we were the Warriors.

The small and embarrassing footnote will be Willie Wampum. Yeesh.

I knew Willie Wampum and he was a really good student, friend and Warrior; not a footnote.

[muwarrior69]

25 long years of travesty.

The arc of the logo universe is long, but it bends toward justice. 

Warriors forever!

You should memorialize this day as WarriorScoop day.

[Litehouse]

But what is the linkage to Marquette, the Jesuits, Fr. Marquette, Milwaukee, the Potawatomi?  The Golden Eagle is primarily a Western States bird, with some nesting on the Mississippi in western Wisconsin. Does the GE have some significance to the Potowatomi since they donated Valley Fields.

I ask because I don't see/am aware of any historical, symbolic, emotional or heritage link to SE Wisconsin or the university. Where did they come up with this particular nickname?

I don't think Golden Eagles has any particular significance, they just wanted us to get rid of Warriors.  Lightning would have been fine with them too.

[Jay Bee]

But what is the linkage to Marquette, the Jesuits, Fr. Marquette, Milwaukee, the Potawatomi?  The Golden Eagle is primarily a Western States bird, with some nesting on the Mississippi in western Wisconsin. Does the GE have some significance to the Potowatomi since they donated Valley Fields.

I ask because I don't see/am aware of any historical, symbolic, emotional or heritage link to SE Wisconsin or the university. Where did they come up with this particular nickname?

It was a tribute to newly acquired QB Brett Favre's alma mater.

I recall there being (and I'm sure there still are), TONS of Golden Eagles in the college and high school ranks.. they probably pulled it out of a 'most popular mascot' book.. had to have been a top 5 listing.

So dumb. Glad I have a student ID that has Warriors all over it, but it's a bitter joy to look at it. #WarriorsForever.

[warriorchick]

It was a tribute to newly acquired QB Brett Favre's alma mater.

I recall there being (and I'm sure there still are), TONS of Golden Eagles in the college and high school ranks.. they probably pulled it out of a 'most popular mascot' book.. had to have been a top 5 listing.

So dumb. Glad I have a student ID that has Warriors all over it, but it's a bitter joy to look at it. #WarriorsForever.

Actually, there are only 4 D1 schools  - just us, USM, Tennessee Tech, and Oral Roberts.

[Jay Bee]

Actually, there are only 4 D1 schools  - just us, USM, Tennessee Tech, and Oral Roberts.

That’s a lot in DI.. where does 4 rank? (PS-the comment was re: “colleges and high schools”, so the DI info is a small piece, but gotta be a top 5, yaaas?)

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I knew Willie Wampum and he was a really good student, friend and Warrior; not a footnote.

I'm sure the student who played him was. The character was just a racist caricature.