The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday - October 16,1989 - Page 5 Willy the Wolverine: the debate rages * Yes! Willy is the 'M' by Jamie Burgess Daily Sports Writer spirit I just can't believe the things we stand for on this campus. We let twelve-year-old curb puppies turn our Union into a skateboard exhibition. We pay three dollar fees for our cars to touch the ground (the city calls these "parking tickets.") And now, we're letting the Athletic Department tell us whether we need a mascot. And it's nothing new. This whole. issue started a few years back when two Michigan students named Blumenkranz and Kaufman left a proposal on the university's doorstep with their campaign to make Willy the Wolverine our official mascot. It's been left to sit ever since. Unfortunately, there are those in Ann Arbor who would leave Willy orphaned forever. "I can't see that it would add anything to our program," said Associate Athletic Director Jack Weidenbach. "We're really not interested in it at all." Well hold on a minute...who's 'we'? Aren't Michigan Athletics and football in particular, at least in part, meant for us?... For us to lose our voices screaming, to play 'hide the wineskin,' to work on our curving-marshmallow pitch? And for that matter, who blows-off homework, braves the cold, and drops as much as a hundred bucks to see a three-hour game? It's not those mop-headed skaters or Lovely Rita Meter Thief. It's you and me. And from the look of things, you and I want Willy. Many of us are in fact jealous; after all, we should be. Wisconsin's got it's buck-toothed badger, Iowa has its version of Big Bird, Ohio State rallies around a glossy brown nut, for crissake! All very different; but everybody loves them. So what do the champions of the West have?... that inflatable sex doll someone always brings to bounce around like a beach ball. Is this cool? Unless someone thinks the 'Michigan Nymphos' could strike fear in the hearts of opponents, it is definitely time for a change. No way, says Weidenbach. And the reason? It's all numeral. 172. That's the number of years we've gone without, and they see no reason for our state of 'mascotlessness' to end. That's an excuse? I understand that the athletic department has the school's mighty reputation resting on its shoulders - but is Willy going to ruin it? I'd like to know what's wrong with a little fun on a football Saturday - with seeing some alum's kid giggling at that big silly wolverine. If you're not touched just a little by that, then you must be the one who spent your first weeks here waiting for someone to jump out of the belltower. Or brought three alarm clocks to ward off the attempts of the curve-conscious roommate. Ah, tradition. The athletic department should relax. In the name of Michigan, of marshmallows, and of naughty naked dolls, the time has come. We want Willy. Willy entrepreneurs unable to gain athletic department approval for their creation by Judith Droz Daily Sports Contributor For 172 years Michigan never has had a mascot. However, now there is a movement to bring the only school in the Big Ten without a mascot a cheerful, smiling Wolverine. The entrepreneurial team of seniors Adam Blumenkranz and David Kaufman created Willy the Wolverine four years ago. "We've never had a mascot, so we invested in market research and after six different drafts Willy was born," Blumenkranz said. But who is Willy? Most students know Willy - the furry guy on the- cover of coupon books or the costumed character spotted throughout campus. There is some campus support to make Willy the Wolverine an official part of the University. According to Michigan running back Leroy Hoard, "I think a mascot would add to our program, everybody else has one...It would be easier to be inspired by 105,000 fans - but it might take Willy to inspire those fans to inspire me Cheerleader Jeff Marcus believes Willy could be an asset if done the right way, "First of all it cannot be a commercial gimmick. A mascot is an asset if it's done right. We need someone who is interested in supporting the team with us. At other schools, the mascots work closely with their cheerleaders. He could add to our program." Part of the athletic department's complaints about Willy the Wolverine is that it is a commercial venture. "The issue is we have decided that we really'don't need a mascot to start off with," said Senior Associate Athletic Director Jack Weidenbach. "If you look at Willy the Wolverine and the ads in the paper, it's a commercial promotion. We have no business being in that. We don't think we should be sponsoring commercial promotions." Blumenkranz and Kaufman start- ed selling novelty tee shirts their first two years at Michigan and stumbled into something bigger. Every other school has a mascot to arouse fans and they wondered why couldn't Michigan fans share in the same fun and excitement. Weidenbach sees Willy the Wolverine as a promotion to bring profit to its related ventures, not as an affiliate of the University. The idea to create an official Wolverine mascot without commercial ties has not been considered. "The mascot issue has never come up," Weidenbach said. "With the Willy thing, they just want access to Crisler, the football stadium and all of our facilities. We're not going to give that." Willy should receive the support of the University. "At the football games students await anxiously for the band to play Bullwinkle and stick their thumbs in their ears," LSA junior Sandra User said. "I don't think it is too hard to conceive Michigan fans becoming attached to a cute mascot like Willy." But other students feel a mascot this late in the University's existence would only break tradition. "I believe the University of Michigan is a school largely based on tradition, particularly sports - from the maize and blue colors, to the large block M. However, this does not include a cheery-looking bear.... Why break a 172 year tradition," LSA senior Mick Kelleher asked. Instead of the smiling cartoon creature Blumenkranz hopes to see in Michigan Stadium, Weidenbach remembers a time when a real Wolverine prowled the sidelines. "I understand at one time they had a live Wolverine who was paraded around in a cage. But they couldn't let him out of the cage because I understand Wolverines aren't too friendly." -Daily Sports Editor Steve Blonder contributed to this story. No! Willy is a fuzzball goof by Richard Eisen Daily Sports Editor What can be more annoying than watching some overgrown ball of fuzz named Willy run around Michigan Stadium, acting like a buffoon?. Picture it. In the midst of all the action, the acrobatic cheerleaders and the Michigan Marching Band comes some cheesehead dressed as a Wolverine running all over the place to lead the crowd in cheers. In Michigan Stadium, for crying out loud. Where Bo works. Just say no to Willy. Once vogue, mascots are foolish. Who creates new mascots in this day and age? Mascots were fine when everybody came to the game with pennants and fur coats. You know, just like everybody dressed for football games in Archie Comics. But now things are changed. People don't come with pennants, but with marshmallows and wineskins neatly tucked beneath the underwear. No more fur coats, either. Mascots aren't cool, they're dumb and stupid. Each week, the Michigan fans show their disdain toward mas- cots when they roar loudly at the sight of an opposing mascot getting its groin crunched on the goal posts. How would you feel seeing that happen to Willy? Wouldn't that just be so embarrassing. That might make even Bo wince. How counterproductive and ludicrous would a Michigan mascot be? Because we all know that for the first few Michigan home games, everyone will think Willy the Wolverine is cute. That's everyone's first reaction to any moveable fuzzball. I mean, who doesn't like Fozzy Bear? And then, after a while, Willy will just be another target for marshmallow throwers. Because Michigan just does not need a mascot. There's more than enough spirit at Michigan sport- ing events already. Michigan fans aren't ignorant; they don't need any fuzzy pituitary case named Willy telling them how they should feel about their team. Tradition is what makes Michigan fans feel proud, not some mascot. Last year, I took a persuasive speaking class in which one person tried to persuade the audience to induct Willy the Wolverine as a mascot. He even brought Willy into the room for a visual aid. Nice guy, but stupid, stupid mascot. This thing has the doofiest grin on its face, along with a head and neck that's just as big as its body. It looks like Ed Norton with a wall to wall skin condition. So, Willy walks up to some girl in the class and sticks her head in its huge mouth. Boy, I've never seen a mascot do that before. In a stadium in which the coach kicks some major tail, we don't need a Muppet running around swallowing people's heads. And since when does a wolverine have a sweet and fun-loving disposition? If I had a choice to be in a room with a pit bull or a wolverine, I'd chose the dog. So, be proud of the fact that we're one of the only schools without a mascot, not ashamed of it. Say no to Willy. 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