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319 members have voted

  1. 1. What name should replace "Fighting Sioux" after it's retired?

    • Aviators or Pilots
      12
    • Cavalry
      18
    • Nodaks
      11
    • Nokotas
      21
    • Norse, Nordics, Fighting Norsemen
      46
    • Outlaws
      13
    • Plainsmen
      4
    • Rangers
      6
    • Rough Riders
      79
    • Other
      109


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Posted

Now, if we classify those common suggestion into themes, what do we have?

 

Animals
Dragons
Ermines
Flickertails
Mallards
Meadowlarks
Nighthawks
Predators
Pronghorns
Raptors
Rattlers
Snowy Owls

Stallions

 

Concepts
Big Green
Fire
Flame(s)
Force
Green Machine
Legends
Nodaks
North Dakota
Pride
Spirit
 
Weather/Outdoors
Blizzard
Flood
North Stars
Northern Lights
Stars
Storm
Sundogs
Tundra
Wind
 
Settler/Pioneer Themes
Badlanders
Explorers
Homesteaders
Hunters
Settlers

Trappers

 

Farming
Fighting Farmers
Reapers
Sodbusters

Thrashers (Shouldn't it actually be Threshers?)

 

Flight themes:

Aeros

Aviators
Pilots
 
Oil or Industry
Drillers
Frackers
Roughnecks
 
People
Frost Giants
Nordics
Norse
 
 
Suggestions That Have No Chance Because They Are Too Controversial or Violent
Bombers
Cavalry
Dakota
Dakotans
Fighting Dakotans
Fighting Warriors
Outlaws
Warriors
Warriors of the North
 
Suggestions That Have No Chance Because They're Weird or They're Blatantly Associated With Something Else
Berserkers
Blackhawks
Kodiaks
Paratas
Polar Bears
Tomahawks
Trailblazers
Tsunami
Yeti
Posted

When I look at this list, I suspect that there'll be three or four finalists.  One will be an animal, one will be weather-related, and one will be settler/pioneer-related.

 

If you were picking the top one from each category, which would you suggest?  Here are my suggestions:

 

 

Animals - Ermine, and it's not even close.  We all understand that, right?  Pronghorns could be a distant second.  There are no known Ermine mascots and 6 known Pronghorns, but only 1 college and 1 high school are active.

 

Concepts - Every one of those suggestions is lame and trite.  It seems like the locals like 'Nodaks', but as an outsider I'll tell you that it won't play well outside the local community.

 

Weather - I like Northern Lights, but is that really a North Dakota thing?  I've never visited your fine state.  I had to look up 'sundogs', and it's clever but nobody outside the state will have any idea what it is.  They'll just assume it's a cartoon dog.  Anything associated with bad weather is going to be nixed immediately.  There are 2 high schools with "Northern Lights" mascots.  There are 4 sundogs, but only 1 (a high school) is active.  North Stars is cool, but come on - don't just rip off a Minnesota name.

 

Settler/Pioneer - I actually kind of like Homesteaders and there are no known mascots with that name.

 

Farming - Sodbusters is the best of the lot and there are no known sodbuster mascots (surprisingly).

 

Flight - These are all way too common to be considered.  Just mark them off your list now.

 

Oil - Are these really serious options?  Roughnecks is okay, I guess, but it's too common.  There are several teams with that mascot.

 

People - The two nordic names are a political no go, but Frost Giants is actually really, really cool and no other team has it.

 

 

If I'm on the committee, the finalists will be:

 

Ermines - Meets every criterion easily.  I keep preaching this, but it's true.  

Northern Lights - Meets all criteria except the ease of a mascot.  And seriously, do you get northern lights?

Homesteaders - Maybe not the most glamorous, but it meets every criteria.  Would certainly be less marketable than the others.

Frost Giants - Meets every criterion easily, though its fatal flaw may be that it'll get shortened to "Giants", which is way too common.

 

These four stand out.

Posted

I've never visited your fine state.

Then why such the incredible determination to stick UND with a weasel as a nickname?

I also noticed you excluded Nokotas? Haven't bothered to look and see if there were others, that one stuck out as obviously missing from your list.

  • Upvote 1
Posted

Norse has my vote.

Is this Ermines thing serious? I would honestly think about dropping out of school and never associating myself with UND if that happens. What an embarrassment.

  • Upvote 1
Posted

http://ermines.com is for sale! Domain availability was apparently one of the criteria :)

Rough riders was excluded from the list, even though roughriders.com isn't used.

The USHL team, a Texas minor league team, and the CFL team use other domain names.

Rough riders is a state nickname, but it can't be used. Ridiculous!

  • Upvote 3
  • Downvote 1
Posted

Then why such the incredible determination to stick UND with a weasel as a nickname?

I also noticed you excluded Nokotas? Haven't bothered to look and see if there were others, that one stuck out as obviously missing from your list.

 

It's not my list.  It's THE list, and Nokotas isn't on it.  Whatever a Nokota is, it's no longer in the running.

 

And why am I here promoting the honorable ermine?  Because I care, that's why.  I want to be able to look toward the top of the NCAA map and see a fierce and proud mascot staring back.  I want to walk the streets of New York and Los Angeles and Omaha and see a person wearing a green and white UNDermines sweatshirt with pride.  I want to see an 8-foot pure white mascot named the tERMINEator wandering your sidelines, exhorting the crowd to victory over gophers and badgers and other quadrupeds.

 

I'm not here for me. I'm not here for you.  I'm not even here for the ermines.   I'm here to mediate the perfect marriage of school and symbol, the perfect representation of the North Dakota experience.  The ermine was here long before man and will be here long after, living off the land, thriving in the depths of winter, and overcoming all obstacles.  The ermine is the metaphor for both man's experience in North Dakota, exploring and battling the wild, and for the primeval world before man. As much as the ermine differs from us, the ermine is us.  As John F. Kennedy once said, "Ich bin ein Erminer."  

  • Upvote 1
  • Downvote 1
Posted

Rough riders was excluded from the list, even though roughriders.com isn't used.

The USHL team, a Texas minor league team, and the CFL team use other domain names.

Rough riders is a state nickname, but it can't be used. Ridiculous!

 

I don't know if commonness was the reason, but there are a fair number of past and present roughrider teams.  http://mascotdb.com/displaymatches.php?mascotoperand=equals&mascot=Roughriders#.VUhOD_lVgSU.  My guess is that the CFL team probably doomed that name for UND.

Posted

I am quite surprised that neither Rough Riders or Nokota will apparently not be considered.  Not really a fan of either, but figured both would probably be amongst the Top 5 or so in the end. 

Posted

This isn't even funny anymore. It's so embarrassing.

This...^^^

I would to see Kelley to form a task force that will form a committee as to give an explanation why some publicly "popular" names were omitted, see post above, yet some ridiculously stupid ones remain an option.

Posted

Please share what you think is wrong with the process - I'm seeing that everyone gets a say - and you can't screen for idiots. it's getting nationwide publicity (which might help fuel forcing other schools to change) - and no matter what you personally think this type of national publicity is good for UND.

 

 

Thank goodness the decision will be made on the quality of the name not the number of times it was submitted (you could submit more than once so I guarantee some of those names were submitted multiple times by people with too much time on their hands.)

 

I do not envy them having to cull this list down to three. I continue to applaud and thank those who are volunteering their time and energy to this committee - knowing they are going to receive plenty of heat no matter what.

  • Upvote 1
Posted

Please share what you think is wrong with the process - I'm seeing that everyone gets a say - and you can't screen for idiots. it's getting nationwide publicity (which might help fuel forcing other schools to change) - and no matter what you personally think this type of national publicity is good for UND.

Thank goodness the decision will be made on the quality of the name not the number of times it was submitted (you could submit more than once so I guarantee some of those names were submitted multiple times by people with too much time on their hands.)

I do not envy them having to cull this list down to three. I continue to applaud and thank those who are volunteering their time and energy to this committee - knowing they are going to receive plenty of heat no matter what.

Yes on quality and not on quantity, like ermines, one guy posted it 60 times, obvious by the writing after each one! Give it a rest already!

Flickertails?!!!!!! Obviously written on there by bison and gopher pukes!

My god this is awful!

Posted

Yes on quality and not on quantity, like ermines, one guy posted it 60 times, obvious by the writing after each one! Give it a rest already!

Flickertails?!!!!!! Obviously written on there by bison and gopher pukes!

My god this is awful!

I wouldn't mind Flickertails. There/they're/their is history and tradition with that name. I doubt it would happen though.

  • Upvote 1
Posted

I wouldn't mind Flickertails. There/they're/their is history and tradition with that name. I doubt it would happen though.

It's not that bad, plus we are the Flickertail state. Looking at some the bad names on the list (Ermines) Flickertails could be a possibility.

  • Upvote 1
Posted

It's not my list.  It's THE list, and Nokotas isn't on it.  Whatever a Nokota is, it's no longer in the running.

 

And why am I here promoting the honorable ermine?  Because I care, that's why.  I want to be able to look toward the top of the NCAA map and see a fierce and proud mascot staring back.  I want to walk the streets of New York and Los Angeles and Omaha and see a person wearing a green and white UNDermines sweatshirt with pride.  I want to see an 8-foot pure white mascot named the tERMINEator wandering your sidelines, exhorting the crowd to victory over gophers and badgers and other quadrupeds.

 

I'm not here for me. I'm not here for you.  I'm not even here for the ermines.   I'm here to mediate the perfect marriage of school and symbol, the perfect representation of the North Dakota experience.  The ermine was here long before man and will be here long after, living off the land, thriving in the depths of winter, and overcoming all obstacles.  The ermine is the metaphor for both man's experience in North Dakota, exploring and battling the wild, and for the primeval world before man. As much as the ermine differs from us, the ermine is us.  As John F. Kennedy once said, "Ich bin ein Erminer."  

"Your sidelines" says a lot.  The more I hear this name, the more I think someone is trying to perpetrate a joke on the process.

Posted

I'm trying to figure out why they have the same names on both lists, like weasels, I mean ermines.

 

I think the lists are based on individual submissions, not the nicknames.  Seems like it's a Considered list and a Total list.  So some names go on the non-considered list due to the rationale or other reasons, while a different submission for the same name has better rationale, therefore, goes on the considered list.  Hopefully that makes sense, that's my understanding of it at least.

Posted

"Your sidelines" says a lot. The more I hear this name, the more I think someone is trying to perpetrate a joke on the process.

I smell a Bison troll I mean an Ermine.

  • Upvote 1
Posted

?.. as an outsider...

...  I've never visited your fine state....

Wait, wait, wait.... So why are you here? Both a) on this website, but also b) giving ANY input/suggestion to our nickname?!?

Posted

It appears that our friends in Minnesota would like to see "Canadians" as the new nickname...

It's just their little feeble way of acknowledging that Canadian hockey is better than Minnesota hockey. Oh, and it is.

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