An Actual, Honest-to-Goodness Mascot
One thing which always kind of bothered me about NYU was the mascot: the Violets. It's pretty much impossible to root for a team with that lame a name (why not Purple? it scans badly, but at least it isn't as weak as Violet). The mascot at the ill-attended basketball games was the BobCat, which was named after the catalogue system at Bobst Library. That's just pathetic. That and the fact that the team sucked very hard even in the non-conference of which they were part, led me to drop out of the habit of following the basketball team. (I'd been a big Terps fan when my dad worked at UMaryland, and I still pull for them a bit when I know they're playing.)
Now I'm at a university where the sports, though not as big or splashy or, let's face it, good as they are at, say, UWisconsin-Madison (Go Badgers! Woo!), are half-way decent. The basketball team was recently accepted into the America East conference level, and while the guys are about shoulder-height to the rest of the teams in the conference, they play with a hell of a lot of heart and keep the games surprisingly close. So, there's a team to root for. And there are enthusiastic rooters, with confetti and signs and weird hats and flags and chanting and rhythmic stomping of the bleachers (how I love that thundering sound). This is fun. College basketball is one of my favorite things to watch, as long as the team is halfway decent; as in, they have a chance of winning. (UAlbany has a bit to learn about turnovers, but some of it can't be helped, considering their arms don't reach as far as the other teams'.)
But the best part is our mascot UAlbany Great Dane. The costume looks a bit like Scooby Doo's bigger, badder cousin, without the black spot and pot-head companion. The logo looks more like Marmaduke. And... I love this... they have this big, fat meet every year called the Big Purple Growl. It's such a silly name! It's adorable. (The kids barked when one of the guys hit a three-pointer, "Woof! Woof! Woof!") I just love the Great Dane. (Probably because I really wanted one when I was a kid. Something about a pony-sized dog.) It was fun to cheer on the school team in basketball again. Haven't done that since Len Bias played for the Terps. And, lord, that was very, very long ago.
(One nice thing: a surprisingly large percentage of our athletes are on the honor roll. I can't recall the number exactly, but it's above 20%. We have the most athletes with academic honors in the conference/whatever-its-called. And they're not slacking their way onto the list. They're studying things which require brains, like criminal justice, mathematics and psychology. They're not just jocks: they have brains, too. Let's go, Great Danes!)
...Check me out, being all school-pride-y. How new.
Now I'm at a university where the sports, though not as big or splashy or, let's face it, good as they are at, say, UWisconsin-Madison (Go Badgers! Woo!), are half-way decent. The basketball team was recently accepted into the America East conference level, and while the guys are about shoulder-height to the rest of the teams in the conference, they play with a hell of a lot of heart and keep the games surprisingly close. So, there's a team to root for. And there are enthusiastic rooters, with confetti and signs and weird hats and flags and chanting and rhythmic stomping of the bleachers (how I love that thundering sound). This is fun. College basketball is one of my favorite things to watch, as long as the team is halfway decent; as in, they have a chance of winning. (UAlbany has a bit to learn about turnovers, but some of it can't be helped, considering their arms don't reach as far as the other teams'.)
But the best part is our mascot UAlbany Great Dane. The costume looks a bit like Scooby Doo's bigger, badder cousin, without the black spot and pot-head companion. The logo looks more like Marmaduke. And... I love this... they have this big, fat meet every year called the Big Purple Growl. It's such a silly name! It's adorable. (The kids barked when one of the guys hit a three-pointer, "Woof! Woof! Woof!") I just love the Great Dane. (Probably because I really wanted one when I was a kid. Something about a pony-sized dog.) It was fun to cheer on the school team in basketball again. Haven't done that since Len Bias played for the Terps. And, lord, that was very, very long ago.
(One nice thing: a surprisingly large percentage of our athletes are on the honor roll. I can't recall the number exactly, but it's above 20%. We have the most athletes with academic honors in the conference/whatever-its-called. And they're not slacking their way onto the list. They're studying things which require brains, like criminal justice, mathematics and psychology. They're not just jocks: they have brains, too. Let's go, Great Danes!)
...Check me out, being all school-pride-y. How new.
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