All the controversy in Natick surrounding the “Redmen” name (it was coined for their red shirts, not for the racist slur) has me wondering when the inevitable change will come to the Warriors moniker. At Rivers, we changed from Redmen to Redwings, apparently trying to live off the glory of the Detroit hockey team. What are your suggestions for a new team name? I go with “The Wayland Menshes.” BTW, the new WHS logo forgoes the Warrior on the Warpath emblem for… a tree:
That symbol everyone associates with the Native American Warrior: a, um, bendy oak?
13
Jan
07
Well, it seems like everyone’s doing it.
I now live in Oberlin, Ohio, where the school board just voted to ditch the high school mascot “Indians.” This was very controversial in town, with divisive public debates and ultimately a close vote. I thnk it’s the right move, however. I heard a native American speak about this issue recently (he was actually referring to the Cleveland Indians baseball team), saying “You wouldn’t likely see a team named the Cleveland Blacks, would you? Or the Cleveland Jews?”
Oberlin hasn’t decided on a new name for its sports teams, though my favorite proposal is the North Stars–a reference to the northward route to freedom for runaway slaves and this town’s history with the underground railroad.
Speaking of potentially racist caricatures, I do have fond memories, I admit, of Kristin Jazowski painting a child “warrior” and “squaw” on the wall of the snackbar beneath the football stands in the fall of ’85. I swear it was still there 10 years later.
Please share your own favorite memories from beneath the football stands.
Actually, I’d pay extra to see the Cleveland Jews. They’d steal second base, feel guilty, and put it back.
(Credit for joke: Woody Allen.)
For the new team name, I put forward the “Wayland Wankers”. For starters, this is definitely not racist. The devil-may-care attitude it represents will intimidate our rivals who are stuck with bland-as-wonder-bread school mascot names.
This is not the first time I have put forward this name. . In High School there was a contest to name the school paper, and I thought “The Wayland Wanker” was sure to trigger an avalanche of creativity and school spirit. When I handed my submission to the teacher responsible for the contest, I could tell by his reaction that he did not have the vision to see how the name would galvanize the school newspaper.
I did not win.
If it is any consolation, Tim,… (despite the fact that you lost the contest) I am sure that that the names “Tim Hoyt” and “Wayland Wanker” were forever fused together in his memory.
This blog is pretty cool. Just wanted to say hi!