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rpatterson4

The Blue Level
It looks as though everyone could agree upon that one of the main problems with Sycamore Athletics is Student participation. At other Universities the Mascot has a way of rallying the crowd and is a figure head of the program along with the athletes. Unfortunately I don't think the same could be said at ISU for Sycamore Sam. Now I like Sam just as much as any other Sycamore fan but how much enthusiasm can be gained with something other than an "Ambiguous Woodland Creature". If we want to change the atmosphere what better place to start than with the mascot. An Idea that I had would be Dr. Seuss' Lorax. He speaks for the Trees! The lorax or something similar could provide not only a boost to the atmosphere but also publicity for the programs!
 

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It's not the costume, it's the guy IN the costume. A couple years ago, we had the best mascot in the country. We just need to get someone in that costume like we had before.
 
So you signed on here so you could take a pot shot at Sam in your FIRST post? My guess there's an agenda lurking somewhere. Whoever is behind the costume, he's got more balls than you. He's not our best Sam in recent years, and trust me, I was not a fan in the past, by even Sycamore Sam deserves some credit for putting it out there for his school and doing a solid job day in and day out. He deserves better than what you just dished out and my guess is, this will not be the last comment on your stellar beginning here on SP. Great timing too by the way.
 
Almost 9200 posts to ONE. I'd say we've got some influence on the subject. That post is STILL pissing me off and you guys know that doesn't happen that often. Geesh what a waste of energy.
 
I didn't mean to "Slam Sam" It was more of a commentary than an actual suggestion. And yes this was my first thread however the sole purpose of registering was not this thread....
 

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Listen RP4, we are not a bunch of grumpy old men here. First of all, the transformation of Sam from a squirrel to a "lorax" is NOT a valid suggestion because there are too similar to be honest with you. There is a valid discussion here on a regular basis about the validation of our mascot but 1. this is NOT the time for that discussion and 2. the tenure of our current mascot is slowly coming to an end and he deserves a better sendoff than this thread and 3. There is NO WAY to win the discussion on Sam. It has been discussed ad nauseum and Sam will still be around when the dust settles. Call it a rookie "call out" but you might re-consider your material as we are in the middle of Arch Madness and obviously, me and my other fine counterparts do not think this is an appropriate time to discuss the "Ambiguous Woodland Creature".
 
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Again I didn't mean to piss anyone off. I am new to this site, I find it somewhat disheartening that the "veteran" members of this site take such an offense to a simple commentary. I understand that there are very strong ties to Sycamore Sam within the fan base but if someone cannot make simple observations or suggestions about all things Sycamore sports related than what is the site for?
 
For the record, you didn't piss me off. I simply wanted you to know that a couple of years ago, we had a guy as Sam who was one of the best anywhere. I've actually seen other mascots copy what he did. Pretty heady stuff for a blue fox.

It must be hard to get someone with that kind of personality for the job...
 
rpatterson4 said:
Again I didn't mean to piss anyone off. I am new to this site, I find it somewhat disheartening that the "veteran" members of this site take such an offense to a simple commentary. I understand that there are very strong ties to Sycamore Sam within the fan base but if someone cannot make simple observations or suggestions about all things Sycamore sports related than what is the site for?
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I appreciate your initial comment. It was well thought out and valid. You'll figure out soon enough that the first amendment is on life support here on this board. March to a different drummer than praising all ISU all the time and you'll be shunned by many. I'm glad you're here and hope that your very valid concerns are addressed constructively.
 

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I guess I read it differently. I thought it was a valid post. Didnt sound like an attack on the kid behind the mask. The Sam thing has been discussed since day 1, but its still valid.
 
rpatterson4 said:
Again I didn't mean to piss anyone off. I am new to this site, I find it somewhat disheartening that the "veteran" members of this site take such an offense to a simple commentary. I understand that there are very strong ties to Sycamore Sam within the fan base but if someone cannot make simple observations or suggestions about all things Sycamore sports related than what is the site for?
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Timing is everything. That's all I was saying. I have stated on here before, that I would prefer a Stanford-like Tree over the "Ambiguous Woodland Creature" but in the middle of the conference tourney and at the end of the year for "Sam", this was not the time to bring it up. There are few people who would wear a very-hot felt body cover and a 10 lb mask that probably rises to 105 degrees during the game for 9 months and he deserves to be thanked at this time, not ridiculed. We'll save the discussion for the summertime. And besides, I had a shitty day at work.
 
Bally #45 said:
Timing is everything. That's all I was saying. I have stated on here before, that I would prefer a Stanford-like Tree over the "Ambiguous Woodland Creature" but in the middle of the conference tourney and at the end of the year for "Sam", this was not the time to bring it up. There are few people who would wear a very-hot felt body cover and a 10 lb mask that probably rises to 105 degrees during the game for 9 months and he deserves to be thanked at this time, not ridiculed. We'll save the discussion for the summertime. And besides, I had a shitty day at work.
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No kidding? We couldn't tell...:bigsmile:
 
Bally #45 said:
he deserves to be thanked at this time, not ridiculed. .
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This is where you misunderstood me, If I had a problem with the person inside the suit I would have called him out. I brought up a discussion about the character, not the person portraying the character.
 

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This has been hashed out probably 1000 times on this site. We have talked it up and down, we have bashed, we have praised and we have argued about Sam. But, speaking from experience of being Sam back in the day, I can say this. There is nothing wrong with the character, there is nothing wrong with the concept of Sam. I do think it would be better to have him be just one specific animal like a fox or a squirrel, but that is conjecture.

What the real problem is, is that we are the Sycamores. I love being the Sycamores, I absolutely love the uniqueness of it, I love that we are the only school in the world with an actual tree for a mascot (yes Stanford uses a tree symbolically, but they are the Cardinal). But, inherently, the use of a Sycamore tree as a mascot leaves little room for options. Sure we could have a bird or another animal that lives in a tree, sure we could have a big tree running around, and a million other ideas. But, the truth is that none of those will work and have been tried in the past. We had a huge leaf costume, we had a tree for about a year (I am told). Why do you think that in the 60's the university created (out of thin air) Chief Quabachi and the Princess? Because the Sycamore just doesn't lend itself to many options. But of course, and rightfully so, in 1989 the University did away with the Chief. So we had to have something, ISU knew that the tree costume didn't work and that the leaf was a bad idea. So they came up with Sam. And Sam is a fair and good representation of ISU.

As Bally said, it is about the person in the costume. And trust me it is a tough job. It is not easy and takes a special and gifted person to be able to excite the crowd, to get the students going, etc. Mascots in the NBA are paid big bucks because it is such a difficult job. Look at one of the BEST mascots in all of College, Red at Western Kentucky, he is a red blob that looks like Grimmus from McDonalds...but the guy in the costume makes him AWESOME!

So, I appreciate your initial post, but I think that, in this case, Sam isn't going anywhere at all. He is here to stay. Now, the real question becomes why, out of 13,000 students (roughly) where and how is a replacement found? Can ISU foot the bill to send this person (or 2) to mascot training at the national cheerleading camps? Etc.
 
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The surf boarding Sam was by far the best mascot we have ever had in the costume no reason we cant get that kind of effort every year . While this years Sam does OK there is room for improvement . But he is not the worst ever either .
 
I welcome everyone . The more input the better It is nice to see more opinions . I think it is irrelevant how many posts a person makes we all started on here new at one time or another. So I say WELCOME we look forward to your input on all things Sycamore related . I think and this is just my opinion the reason some took off the way they did is because of the timing of the thread .
 
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