Twitter: Warning horrifying: Commanders unveil new mascot

[NumOneQB]

Nowhere near the *** whip Rowdy is, but still bad. Whoever came up with the name should be fired.

 

[Longboysfan]

Using a mascot that might have been relevant 30 years ago....

 

[VaqueroTD]

I think I caught their mascot in action after they were kicked out of the Tourney last week.

 

[TwoDeep3]

I think the one who wrote the tweet misspelled one of the names.

Major Turdy

 

[Established1971]

DC pork

 

[Reverend Conehead]

Why didn't they just rename the team The Hogs?

 

[GMO415]

There will be a horror movie with it in it.

 

[tyke1doe]

HE^ was an original. Best Mascot and representation of the team and the fans. Btw, the Native Americans were largely fine with the name for decades. It was media driven the name change. Thats a topic on another forum. Lets cancel the name Dallas Cowboys because the term Cowboy implies armed villains. It may make an actual cowboy mad and get the sniffles. Once we head down that Path, well..its hard to return the toothpaste back into the tube. The hideous mascots are a product of all the above. THE NFL clubs are trying way too hard. I want Crazy Ray back. MAYBE he has a son.lol

Please stop. The Cowboys and the Washington former name are not in the least bit comparable. The former is a general designation to an occupation, the latter a people group.
The only thing "traditionalist" are mad about is that their entertainment has been impinged upon. "I can't call a team what I WANT to call it." Oh my, such an affront.

 

[tyke1doe]

I don’t understand why all of today’s mascots have to be these hideous looking furries. It makes more sense to me to go back to human mascots like Crazy Ray. He was loved. He was a celebrity and one of my favorite memories in my long cowboy fandom was getting his autograph after a game in 1976. Rowdy on the other hand is hated almost universally. Back when Washington had that other name they had a guy in a Native American outfit and I understand that they can’t go back to that, but it would make more sense for them to dress up somebody in an actual commanders uniform. Heck, dress somebody up look like Horatio Hornblower. These things seem to be more geared to the kids anyway

Here are the likely reasons mascots have become costume-oriented versus human.

1. Humans die; costumed-characters live on forever. Crazy Ray is dead, which necessitated a change in the mascot, now Rowdy. If the actor inside the costume dies, there's a seamless transition in actors because whoever the actor is, he's wearing the costume and the costume never changes - unless modified to a new costume.

2. Control. Crazy Ray controlled his own brand. I don't know if he did it for free or if he was paid. Nevertheless, he controlled his brand, and Crazy Ray became synonymous with the Cowboys. But we live in a capitalistic, commercial world, and capitalists like Jerry Jones want to control their product to the fullest. Therefore, he's likely not bringing in another Crazy Ray who can establish his own brand on the Cowboys name without Jerry having a major say and getting a cut. You don't have that problem if you "own" the mascot. If you have issues with the actor, fire the actor and get a new one. No one knows who he/she is anyway.

3. Recognition. This ties to the other two, but companies like to have stability in their brand. There's a reason the Disney parks have a rule that none of the actors who perform as Mickey, Goofy, Donald, etc., can be seen with their heads off. One because somehow that's "traumatic" to little kids. Another is because they don't want any confusion as to who Mickey is. They want to create the illusion that Mickey is an actual, living creature. They want to create an "aura" around Mickey et.al., and they don't want some actor screwing that up by taking his head off.
Similarly, teams want their mascots to be associated with the team so there's continuity in recognition. Crazy Ray died, but fans still remember him. The focus isn't on Rowdy (who I think is, well, goofy. Pun intended ) but Crazy Ray. That generation will die out, unfortunately, and the franchise simply picks up with a generation that knows not Crazy Ray and can permanently establish Rowdy as the "official" mascot in perpetuity if it so desires.

4. Kids-friendly. You touched upon this, but foamed characters are more kid friendly. I don't know if kids would have been enthused about engaging with Crazy Ray, you being the exception, of course.

 

[Rayman70]

Please stop. The Cowboys and the Washington former name are not in the least bit comparable. The former is a general designation to an occupation, the latter a people group.
The only thing "traditionalist" are mad about is that their entertainment has been impinged upon. "I can't call a team what I WANT to call it." Oh my, such an affront.

Crikey

 

[Hawkeye19]

Lol… nice troll job by the Brownies