Siouxphan27

Sorry- I guess i should have explained I was being facetious. The legislature has twice struck down efforts to make Roughriders the official state nickname- that's good enough for me.

North Dakota's official nickname is the Peace Garden State. I'm not sure how our "ilk" would go about officially ridding North Dakota of an unofficial, historically inaccurate nickname drummed up by the ND Dept. Of Tourism. But we're open to suggestions.

I like the other 6 better.

Lol. If that is what you took away from reading my post, there is no other appropriate response other than to just laugh.

Can't argue with that!

All 7 names will be written on a piece of tape, stuck on to a straw. All 7 straws will be carefully, shallowly inserted into the butt of a committee member of Karl Goehring's choosing. This committee member will then pull out 3 straws. These will represent the final 3.

I think it was all those luxury cruises his family took him on to Europe and Egypt when he was a child in the 1870's that toughened him up. While our ancestors were trudging across Wisconsin and Minnesota walking behind an ox and cart with nothing to their names but the clothes on their back, hoping to find a piece of ground and stake their claim, and hoping to survive their first winter in sod-based dugouts built into the riverbanks, Teddy was off cruising to Europe and Egypt on the carnival cruiselines of the 1870s.... But yep, let's name UND after him instead! SMH

Are we that hard up we have to adopt someone, and the cavalry he led from a different part of the United States, to base our nickname on? If U of Michigan had to do it all over again, would they choose Wolverines in the year 2015? We have the advantage of being able to look back at our history, and base our choice on how our state has developed, how its history has played out.

Good post. I disagree with Roughriders being the best option left, but otherwise I feel the same way about the criteria, process, and results. What you mentioned about a name like Ranchers has been part of my beef all along. If we're in love with Teddy Roosevelt, pick a nickname related to something that he did while he was in ND. Before the last committee/rube gathering where they cut the list down to 7, there were 3 "people-based" names left that at least attempted to recognize something North Dakota-related. In their infinite wisdom, the other two were eliminated, leaving Roughriders as the only option for people wanting to vote for a person-based nickname sort of remotely related to the state. And thus, the reason (I think) a lot of people are leaning towards it because all other options for a ND-based nickname have been eliminated. It's just too bad all the committee members failed North Dakota History class and have no clue about who the ND settlers were or what they did.

Did they even bother to ask the third guy if he wanted to change positions?

Brought to you by Lee Riders Mom Jeans. For when looking your best, isn't important.

Nice post. Where was I? I didn't post here then. Thanks for your efforts.

Engelstad Arena.... 100 million I believe? If Matt Greene is willing to donate $100million as well, I would have no problem being the UND Fighting Greene. Your comparison isn't the same. If you compared my opinion of Roughriders to UND choosing "Imperials" for a nickname, the comparisons would be the same. We could all pay homage to Imperial Palace; something Ralph Engelstad did in another part of his life, in another part of the country.

As I've said before, if people like the name roughrider, that's just fine, we all have opinions. People always mention stories about Teddy Roosevelt; why not mention a few stories about the Roughriders themselves? I think I know the answer... The nickname committee had an opportunity to advance a few names that referred to the actual people that settled our state. As part of their criteria from the beginning, I thought a few of those names like Sodbusters or Settlers would've had a chance of advancing. But instead, the only name that attempts to honor ND heritage that is left on the list, is in fact a name that honors Teddy Roosevelt; not North Dakota. I didn't attend the University of Teddy Roosevelt.

People in 1930 knew the Roughriders were a Cavalry that originated in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and New Mexico. They also knew that an attempt to raise a Roughriders division in World War I, failed. Roughriders would have never been considered by those folks as being something related to North Dakota. Fast forward just 80 years, and after a couple decades of people "learning" their ND "history" from "Legendary" ND Tourism commercials, and suddenly we're all "Bully" for Roughriders. it would be funny if it wasn't so sad.

Thank you for your consideration. Can I add some ND history questions to the exam? :-)

To answer your last question- in a word- yes. Read the Wikipedia entry concerning the Roughriders to get a summary. Medora and ND Tourism have done a fine job of promoting the Roughriders as a ND thing.... I look at it as a -if you say something enough times, eventually it becomes true- sort of deals. But it's clear a lot of people on siouxsports don't care about that. Which is fine, we all have opinions. For me personally the 4 strikes against Roughriders are 1. Fabricated ND history 2. Condom manufacturer 3. Local high school name 4. I just plain don't like the name.

I like this idea. Very good points about tying in to the Sioux logos in the Ralph.

1912. History. Tradition.

Lol lol lol

I said people out of the region unfamiliar with the southwestern U.S. Cowboys who fought in Cuba.

Most people outside the area that aren't familiar with north Dakotas highest award, or north Dakotas fantasy connection to teddy Roosevelt's Roughriders, (which would be pretty much everyone outside the area), will think of condoms when hearing the name. This is the stage of the process where the consultants earn their keep. But, the committee has disappointed thus far, so they will probably choose to ignore the experts' advice on Roughriders. If it's chosen, maybe Spring Fest could be replaced with Ribbed Fest.

It ain't 1912 anymore, me boy! ( the year USC chose Trojans)

Very good idea! The possibilities are nearly endless here. The name can be shaped many different ways to reflect anything that North Dakota takes pride in.

It doesn't appear the consultants are using the urban dictionary for their research; if they were, Sundogs would've also been flagged as dirty. I think they're just looking at the potential challenges of rebranding a very well known condom as a nickname. I think their role is to help point out problems that could arise, and steer schools away from making risky/risqué decisions that could result in a choice that winds up backfiring.