The Crusader Mascot

a3uge · August 31, 2011, 10:12:14 PM

Anyone who doesn't see an improvement in the head probably already made up their mind they wouldn't like it before they saw it. I think a faceless mascot can work. Don't necessarily like the rationale, but USF works pretty pretty well without a face. I think they need some tweaking to the suit itself now, since the head is a bit too large for the body and they're not going for a cartoony look. I think the mask should be white, and the gloves could be a bit better. The thing on the top of the head looks a bit silly, but I'm not sure how that could be better.

I do think it's an upgrade from the old crusader. I was quite embarrassed by both mascots, but this new one looks a lot more normal. As long as he doesn't dance really terribly, I'm happy with it.

rlh · August 31, 2011, 11:56:56 PM

If you're going to make it a "Crusader", then you need to make the mask look more like a Knight's headgear, and the shoes be sandals....otherwise it looks like a cartoon...we had that with the previous mascot, and apparently the new people in charge didn't like that....I'm sorry, but this thing is still ridiculous....

mj · September 01, 2011, 12:44:27 AM

Look at this picture of famous college mascots and then look at ours. I've said it before but I'm pretty sure the new mascot was designed by someone who had never watched a sporting event.

What makes a mascot great is it's face. And probably its eyes more than anything else. Even the UCF Knight has eyes. The mascots above can convey emotions. The new Crusader is a blank face. I guess giving the Crusader eyes would somehow show it had a gender or ethnicity or something that we don't want it to have.

Mascots are supposed to be funny. They entertain us. You look at the mascots above and you picture them doing funny things. The old Crusader was goofy. Somewhere there's a picture of the old Crusader at the end of a game we lost (maybe at the old Mid-Con tournament) and the Crusader has its head buried in its hands. And you look at it and laugh because it looks ridiculous.

wh · September 01, 2011, 06:36:25 AM

Quote from: mj on September 01, 2011, 12:44:27 AM

Look at this picture of famous college mascots and then look at ours. I've said it before but I'm pretty sure the new mascot was designed by someone who had never watched a sporting event.

What makes a mascot great is it's face. And probably its eyes more than anything else. Even the UCF Knight has eyes. The mascots above can convey emotions. The new Crusader is a blank face. I guess giving the Crusader eyes would somehow show it had a gender or ethnicity or something that we don't want it to have.

Mascots are supposed to be funny. They entertain us. You look at the mascots above and you picture them doing funny things. The old Crusader was goofy. Somewhere there's a picture of the old Crusader at the end of a game we lost (maybe at the old Mid-Con tournament) and the Crusader has its head buried in its hands. And you look at it and laugh because it looks ridiculous.

This says it all. With no face, it's nothing more than a suit of armor with one unchangeable emotion - cold.

a3uge · September 01, 2011, 08:15:51 AM

Those are all non-human depicted mascots. Why would any animal have their face concealed? As it stands, I think they tried to match the logo, and it looks much better than the old mascot. The old mascot was poorly done. The smile on the face wasn't the least bit intimidating, and looked really goofy. The flap under the face was a bit out of place, and the mask looked cheap. The new one isn't that great, but the old one was pretty embarrassing.

And I'm not sure why it's argued the new one doesn't have eyes. I'm not sure where they'd add the eyes unless the whole face was shown.

historyman · September 01, 2011, 08:47:40 AM

Does anybody think that putting a pair of eyes right behind the grill on the helmet would help? Maybe a pair of eyes similar in size to the ones on the old mascot but a bit more menacing. You can do "menacing" eyes and still have the mascot be kid friendly.

vu72 · September 01, 2011, 08:53:25 AM

Come on guys, would you really rather have Western Kentucky's (see pictures above)with, apparently, his tongue hanging out, or Brutus the Buckeye? some time you feel like a nut...sometimes you don't! And, oh by the way, is the nut a male or female??

wh · September 01, 2011, 08:56:51 AM

Quote from: a3uge on September 01, 2011, 08:15:51 AM
The old mascot was poorly done. The smile on the face wasn't the least bit intimidating, and looked really goofy. The flap under the face was a bit out of place, and the mask looked cheap. The new one isn't that great, but the old one was pretty embarrassing.

If the designers of the "new" Crusader were really concerned about the look of the old face, they would have redesigned it - not eliminate it. As others have said, this is someone's feeble attempt at political correctness. It probably would have been better received 5 or 10 years ago before people started saying enough is enough relative to political correctness run amuck.

milanmiracle · September 01, 2011, 06:09:49 PM

Well, we now know what a child between Sam the Eagle and Bender would look like. The new face guard resembles a beak, and the old helmet looked like Bender spray painted brown.

Seriously, this is the best they could come up with? Heck, Michigan City Rogers "Raider" was better and that was a high school costume.

StlVUFan · September 01, 2011, 06:35:20 PM

Quote from: a3uge on August 31, 2011, 10:12:14 PM

Anyone who doesn't see an improvement in the head probably already made up their mind they wouldn't like it before they saw it.

You mean the eye-holes? That's the improvement, right? I finally saw it.

If you think I'm anti-the new mascot, you have me confused with others. I believe I'm on record as being indifferent to the mascot. I was fine with the old one, I was fine with the one last year, I'm fine with this new one with the eye-holes (actually eye-slots might be more accurate).

Mascots aren't that important to me. They're fun, but they don't mean that much to me.

vu72 · September 01, 2011, 06:39:07 PM

StlVUFan, I think you need some glasses if that's the only difference you can see!

KL31NY · September 02, 2011, 09:11:14 AM

Quote from: historyman on September 01, 2011, 08:47:40 AM
Does anybody think that putting a pair of eyes right behind the grill on the helmet would help? Maybe a pair of eyes similar in size to the ones on the old mascot but a bit more menacing. You can do "menacing" eyes and still have the mascot be kid friendly.

Something behind the grill would be interesting, but I doubt anyone will do it. I interviewed a couple people at IMC last year about the mascot, and they sounded firm that would not add "true facial features" to the Crusader. They would prefer to have nothing there instead of having a true face on it that has no animation or movement.

78crusader · September 02, 2011, 09:46:58 AM

I'm going to comment on this mascot deal even though I promised myself I wouldn't.

Three comments.

(1) Guys...it's only a mascot. Geez.

(2) Conducted a completely unscientific survey yesterday in a meeting attended by 6 non-VU people. Showed 'em a picture of the mascot and asked 'em what they thought. 5 liked it...a lot. 1 didn't. I think it's neat.

(3) Folks on this board have complained that the mascot is "cartoonish" and is not capable of displaying emotions since there is no face. Can someone tell me why the Buckeye mascot is not cartoonish? Or the Syracuse orange thing? And how in the heck does the Buckeye (or an orange) display emotion? The face REMAINS THE SAME. The only way that mascot can display emotion is to pump his fists (a Buckeye touchdown!) or raise his arms to his head in anguish (a Buckeye turnover! Or a letter from the NCAA!) Isn't that what our Crusader guy can do also?

'Nuff said. I realize I'm in the minority on this one. Go VU!

Paul

vu72 · September 02, 2011, 09:55:59 AM

Quote from: 78crusader on September 02, 2011, 09:46:58 AM
I'm going to comment on this mascot deal even though I promised myself I wouldn't.

Three comments.

(1) Guys...it's only a mascot. Geez.

(2) Conducted a completely unscientific survey yesterday in a meeting attended by 6 non-VU people. Showed 'em a picture of the mascot and asked 'em what they thought. 5 liked it...a lot. 1 didn't. I think it's neat.

(3) Folks on this board have complained that the mascot is "cartoonish" and is not capable of displaying emotions since there is no face. Can someone tell me why the Buckeye mascot is not cartoonish? Or the Syracuse orange thing? And how in the heck does the Buckeye (or an orange) display emotion? The face REMAINS THE SAME. The only way that mascot can display emotion is to pump his fists (a Buckeye touchdown!) or raise his arms to his head in anguish (a Buckeye turnover! Or a letter from the NCAA!) Isn't that what our Crusader guy can do also?

'Nuff said. I realize I'm in the minority on this one. Go VU!

Paul

rlh · September 02, 2011, 10:07:02 AM

Quote from: vu72 on September 02, 2011, 09:55:59 AM
Quote from: 78crusader on September 02, 2011, 09:46:58 AM
I'm going to comment on this mascot deal even though I promised myself I wouldn't.

Three comments.

(1) Guys...it's only a mascot. Geez.

(2) Conducted a completely unscientific survey yesterday in a meeting attended by 6 non-VU people. Showed 'em a picture of the mascot and asked 'em what they thought. 5 liked it...a lot. 1 didn't. I think it's neat.

(3) Folks on this board have complained that the mascot is "cartoonish" and is not capable of displaying emotions since there is no face. Can someone tell me why the Buckeye mascot is not cartoonish? Or the Syracuse orange thing? And how in the heck does the Buckeye (or an orange) display emotion? The face REMAINS THE SAME. The only way that mascot can display emotion is to pump his fists (a Buckeye touchdown!) or raise his arms to his head in anguish (a Buckeye turnover! Or a letter from the NCAA!) Isn't that what our Crusader guy can do also?

'Nuff said. I realize I'm in the minority on this one. Go VU!

Paul

My problem is it looks homemade...like someone did it in their garage...sorry, that's the way I see it

milanmiracle · September 02, 2011, 11:55:22 AM

Quote from: rlh on September 02, 2011, 10:07:02 AM
Quote from: vu72 on September 02, 2011, 09:55:59 AM
Quote from: 78crusader on September 02, 2011, 09:46:58 AM
I'm going to comment on this mascot deal even though I promised myself I wouldn't.

Three comments.

(1) Guys...it's only a mascot. Geez.

(2) Conducted a completely unscientific survey yesterday in a meeting attended by 6 non-VU people. Showed 'em a picture of the mascot and asked 'em what they thought. 5 liked it...a lot. 1 didn't. I think it's neat.

(3) Folks on this board have complained that the mascot is "cartoonish" and is not capable of displaying emotions since there is no face. Can someone tell me why the Buckeye mascot is not cartoonish? Or the Syracuse orange thing? And how in the heck does the Buckeye (or an orange) display emotion? The face REMAINS THE SAME. The only way that mascot can display emotion is to pump his fists (a Buckeye touchdown!) or raise his arms to his head in anguish (a Buckeye turnover! Or a letter from the NCAA!) Isn't that what our Crusader guy can do also?

'Nuff said. I realize I'm in the minority on this one. Go VU!

Paul

My problem is it looks homemade...like someone did it in their garage...sorry, that's the way I see it

That's my biggest problem too, well now that they've fixed the Bender head. It looks cheap, and not just cheap, but I shot the vinyl interior of my 70's Oldsmobile cheap. The Butler Bulldog cost $14,000 and this thing looks like it cost $140. It looks very high school and not D1 college...

sectionee · September 02, 2011, 04:45:20 PM

I just want to know....can the mascot dance? Last year's person inside the suit was not a very good dancer. I need a mascot that can dance, dunk off a trampoline and, if provoked, take down the opposing mascot.

rink · September 16, 2011, 12:38:16 AM

The new head is an improvement, but it's still a pretty terrible costume. If they're adament about keeping this current look, the next step they need to do is provide more puffiness and muscles to the body -- add some level of hyperbole to the outfit. I think it would go a long way, although the result would still not be as good as the previous mascot. mj said it well, "I'm pretty sure the new mascot was designed by someone who had never watched a sporting event." And as others have pointed out, the outfit looks cheap and homemade like it was done in someone's garage. The old mascot was on par with the hundreds of other NCAA mascots -- even the big boys -- but the new one looks outclassed because it's essentially a cotton/plastic Mighty Morphin Power Ranger costume you grab at KMart the day before halloween.

valpo64 · September 16, 2011, 09:17:48 AM

Have you seen "Spartie", the Michigan State mascot? Talk about a terrible looking mascot...and it's at a Big 10 or 11 or 12 school!!! And how about the IPFW mascot! Compared to those, we're looking good.

vu72 · September 16, 2011, 09:30:24 AM

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=holy+cross+university+crusader&hl=en&sa=G&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&biw=1280&bih=871&tbs=ic:color&tbm=isch&tbnid=AO3k-eI_K70slM:&imgrefurl=http://goholycross.com/sports/m-tennis/index&docid=lhP0T_sPQmvaOM&w=300&h=400&ei=OF1zTtyQL4fc0QHqi9GVBA&zoom=1

And you think this looks better than our Crusader??

letsgovu · September 18, 2011, 02:15:36 PM

I think it is more than one kid that is the mascot and I believe I saw that they get paid for being the mascot.

But who is teaching them? Do they practice? Since last year was the first year with the new mascot, I'll allow that it would take some time to figure things out, but hopefully things will be better this year?

A lot of people complain about the dancing but really for most of the football season and maybe the first half of basketball season last year, all I remember is the crusader strutting around and maybe doing some fist pumping, so when the dancing started I thought that was funny, and better than just awkwardly standing around.

anyway, agreed, it's not a huge deal. Its just fun to have something to watch during breaks in the action.

when i saw the crusader at the football game, I thought there was something different about it, but I wasn't sure what. Seeing the pictures, I guess it looks less like something I could have made my kids for halloween?

Valposter · January 03, 2013, 10:34:57 AM

We were having a discussion on Valpo Uniform colors in a thread started yesterday, and I was looking back to see if there was ever any disussion about the Crusader Mascot and found this old threat. The conversation here was very funny by the way, especially StlVUfan. I wanted to re-visit the Crusader Mascot now that the newest version has been with us for awhile.

Has the current version of the Crusader Mascot grown on everyone, or are the majority of Valpo fans out there still disappointed? I'm curious what everyone thinks now?

I really like the Crusader Logo and the mascot does seem to be an ernest attempt to bring that logo to life in Mascot form, IMO. I don't think it's a bad-looking mascot. However, it there were changes to be made, what changes would you make?

I do think that not only is the costume important, but the creativity of the person wearing the costume is equally important. Has the mascot been creative in his stints? Is there continuity in who wears the costume or does it change event to event?

IndyValpo · January 03, 2013, 11:47:51 AM

Quote from: Valposter on January 03, 2013, 10:34:57 AMHas the current version of the Crusader Mascot grown on everyone, or are the majority of Valpo fans out there still disappointed? I'm curious what everyone thinks now?

I still perfer the old one but the new guy is gaining popularity. Did anyone see the Tax Slayer ads during the Gator Bowl (technically the Tax Slayer Gator Bowl). I believe our guy has been repainted and is moonlighting.

Valposter · January 03, 2013, 02:25:29 PM

IndyValpo, that's a funny reference with the TaxSlayer mascot. I saw those commercials a million times this past week and never thought about our Valpo Crusader! In the commercial, he couldn't read his script because he didn't have eyes.....a common theme in this thread.........

agibson · January 03, 2013, 02:29:27 PM

In the spirit of reviving old threads - did we discuss the recent IMC survey?

I'm not sure how widely distributed it was. But, it asked about various elements of IMC's campaigns, etc.

Included were a couple of questions about whether you thought it would be good to get rid of the Crusader. Altogether, rather than simply its current costume. I don't think the costume was specifically mentioned.

The Crusader Mascot

historyman

sectionee