Mascot change could benefit Floyd
By Bobby Moore
[email protected]
Sports Columnist
Changing the Georgia Highlands College mascot might not be such a bad idea after all.
You may not realize it, but our college has a mascot, the charger. A possible new design was selected by the students at last year's Spring Fling, but so far the proposed change has not been approved by the President's Cabinet.
Now our school is flourishing. Enrollment is increasing every semester and our professors are winning awards and honors. However, a mascot change would, according to recent football history, add to FC's success.
My mascot or uniform theory only works in one sport. Despite numerous uniform changes the Hawks cannot make the playoffs, much less win a championship. In baseball, the Yankees prove that you can keep your traditional look and still be successful.
Football, on the other hand, is a completely different story. According to the website www.nflthrowbacks.com, ever since the Dallas Cowboys reintroduced the star on their shoulders in 1996, every Super Bowl has featured a team who had recently redesigned their uniform or logo.
The Madden video game curse may have affected Michael Vick in a negative way, but the new uniform or logo theory gives the Falcons hope of a second Super Bowl appearance.
Another example of change equaling success is John Elway and the Denver Broncos, who were at one time known as a team that could not win the big game. In 1998, however, the Broncos changed both their uniform and logo and proceeded to win the next two Super Bowls.
In recent years, we have seen the Tampa Bay Buccaneers go from being the team with the ugliest uniforms since the San Diego Padres wore brown and mustard yellow and were perennial losers, to being a team with updated uniforms and a Super Bowl championship.
On the college level, former University of Georgia head coach and current athletic director Vince Dooley made a minor change to everyone's beloved bulldogs in 1964. He decided to change the color of the uniform pants from silver to white.
After several years of threatening to dethrone Alabama and become SEC champions, Dooley decided to make another change. The uniform pants were changed from white back to silver in, you guessed it, 1980. And you probably thought UGA won it all because of Herschel Walker!
Maybe it is all a coincidence, or maybe it is a sign that the charger should ditch its rider and be updated.
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