Battalion
inion
Page 11A • Tuesday, November 24, 1998
coadRegardless of football teams 5 abilities, Aggies claim superior mascot
always sad
use you
coaches put id
&
JOHN
LEMONS
ood versus evil.
Luke Skywalker
versus Darth Vad-
s A&M coac| r Republicans versus
But allofiiiBnocrats. Sure, those
his businessM a i] e pic conflicts, but
tom line was Hy p a i e in comparison
1 losing youi Briday’s battle royale
af real good fijween Texas A&M and
up being difflH University of Texas.
obs. I hatetoB\nd although every-
me wants to know who will win the
i’s Spike Dykjid game, there is a much more impor-
iy Blake on Saw question — which school has the
ig reminded ftfter mascot?
eresting busJsee, football teams and coaches
’coachingis :hmge tliroughout the years, but mas-
o standards,' ;o s are a constant. No matter what the
on is diflereijaality of their athletic teams, A&M will
> hove grown H/ays be known by that noble creature,
so that'sjust[«/eille, while UT will always have its
m accept inibBelly beast, Bevo.
n down theruBrhus, it is only natural that the
y, Blake is £ tchools be judged by their mascots. And
g 12 coachfi then it comes to mascots, Reveille is the
nk Solichii Ingle most dominant mascot around,
test job tenâ„¢Actually, those Longhorn rejects
ka. should be glad they are being judged on
Dlacement a»o because their football team is a
Jsborne.SokBveling freak show. Consider their quar-
first Nebrasi eroack. Major Applewhite. Applewhite is
rs that isgoriBe of their major players with a majorly
an withouta strange name.
1 championsbplhis guy looks like he is, at best,
â– out 13 years old. Here is a hint for the
< gf coaching staff: Let the adolescents
finish junior high school before you put
|t ni on the field. If your quarterback is
) young to shave, he is too young to
d your team. Quit recruiting out of
?-wee football leagues.
si..Bryan A n cl as for Ricky Williams, everyone
y»ick of looking at that bird’s nest on
"Its
man Theatre
ege Park!
ilman-theatresc®
5 www.lockoncor
:E OPENS AT 6:30
Today’s Times 0
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3 (R)
D (PG13)
U (R)
1 head. He looks like a reject from
lie Hair Club For Men. Just because he
can run fast does not mean he has to
lock like Medusa,. It’s called a haircut,
li (pgi3) look into it.
miR) 1. But enough about those hippies’ foot-
11 team, it is their mascot with which we
concerned. When God was passing out
ijfascots, UT must have been in the bath-
Bom, because they got stuck with, of all
it lings, a big, fat cow. Wow, now there is
________ an exciting mascot. Imagine all the great
Beers a longhorn could inspire — “Al-
Ol'Kf 5 right longhorns, let’s graze!”
IW^BTheproblem with having a longhorn
tmenfr fora mascot, is it is a food animal.
While Reveille is destined to be pam
pered all her life, Bevo is destined for
the butcher’s block.
Nobody has ever looked at Reveille
and thought, “My, that Collie would be
good between two buns next to an order
of fries.” Nobody has ever mistaken
Reveille for a walking slab of beef. And
nobody has ever wanted to make Reveille
into beef jerky.
Worse, still, Bevo is a steer. For all of
you readers out there who are not into ani
mal husbandry, a steer is a castrated bull.
Castration sure seems like a good thing to
do to your mascot. Imagine the thought
process that went into this decision.
A couple of UT students were sitting
around thinking, “Man, we’ve got, like
this cool mascot, but wouldn’t it be even
cooler if it had no testicles?”
Aggies may be old-fashioned, but they
prefer the symbol of their university be in
tact. Aggies do not mutilate their mascot.
But for all of Reveille’s superior charac
teristics, there is one area where Reveille is
especially dominant. Reveille is chick mag
net. Surely, all students have seen the mas
cot corporal. He always has women
swarming all around him, saying things
like “Oh, that Reveille is so cute.” Anytime
the University holds a “take your picture
with Reveille” day, hordes of women line
up to have their photographs taken.
It must stink to be the sap who has to
take care of Bevo. Nobody is lining up to
be the cow keeper’s friend. Nobody walks
up to Bevo’s handler and says “Wow, you
take care of Bevo. How neat. I’ve always
wanted pet that big smelly cow. ”
In the end, it comes down to this —
people like dogs, they do not like cows.
People want to play with dogs. All they
want to do with cows is eat them.
BRAD GRAEBER/The Battalion
In a lot of ways, Friday’s football
game is irrelevant. A&M has already
won the most important victory. Clear
ly, Texas A&M’s Reveille is the superior
team mascot.
Remember, the best mascot is man’s
best friend not man’s best meal.
John Lemons is an electrical
engineering graduate student.
in dffird |
ve L
, Walk to Cam!
)r Plans Availi
Ciubroora
ities
Control
Aggies must remember holiday’s meaning
E '
i
ANDREW
BALEY
veryone
knows
Thursday is
lianksgiving.
But what does
|at really mean?
To almost all
;gies, Thanks-
re-Leasing [giving means a
t <n(i; I? home,
low as $Jt tu rke y and
96-5707 preparing for the big football
GeorgeBusl bine. These three aspects of
ei.net/treehouidjpanksgiving are great, but the
[lain point of the holiday should
plot and cannot be lost.
Ask almost anyone who can
member back 30 years, and
ey will describe how Veterans
ay was once much more revered
an it is today. The day to honor
merica’s heroic veterans only
o weeks ago. One wonders
!ow many Aggies would have
[een aware of Veterans Day if
jost offices and banks had not
[been closed.
Americans should make sure
hanksgiving does not fall victim
|d the same unfortunate anonymi-
. Thanksgiving is a day that
could lose its meaning just as eas
ily as Veterans Day has.
We always recognize Thanks
giving because it is a day off from
school. But this particular holi
day’s meaning runs much deeper
than a break from classes.
Settlers and American Indians
came together in harmony —
putting aside their respective dif
ferences — on the first Thanks
giving day.
Nowadays, if they are lucky,
Americans spend Thanksgiving
with their family and friends. Per
haps for some, the idea of setting
aside personal differences still ex
ists. But feeling lucky or blessed
to be a part of the Thanksgiving
holiday is part of the holiday’s
spirit. Thanksgiving should influ
ence people to examine every
thing they should be thankful for.
As college students and Ag
gies, there are many causes to be
thankful. Aggies have the oppor
tunity to receive a top-notch edu
cation at the most enjoyable
school on earth. Students also get
more vacation time during their
college days than they will likely
ever see again. Too easily stu
dents get mired down in day-to-
day activities and fail to realize
how good things really are.
College, America and freedom
are all too often taken for granted.
Americans have hope, prosperity
and opportunity in their lives. No
matter how depressed students
are over a recent test score or
how much they hate going to 8
a.m. classes, nothing can change
these simple facts.
If someone cannot look at his or
her situation and find something to
smile about, tell that person to read
the news articles about the devas
tation Hurricane Mitch brought to
Nicaragua and Honduras.
Aggies should be happy, if not
all the time, at least this Thursday
when they can give thanks for all
of the blessings in their lives.
Remember this when the turkey
is dry, your aunt continues to an
noy you and the football games are
on. It will make the holiday that
much more enjoyable.
Andrew Baley is a junior
political science major.
^uy^ct^irrUTiDi^
MAIL CALL
Wine product hurts
committee efforts
In response to Len Callaway’s
Nov. 18 column:
The issue of the Messina Hof
Winery product Bonfire Blush
was addressed because it was
clearly an attempt to associate
an alcoholic beverage with Texas
A&M traditions.
Students developed the slogan
“Keep alcohol from shattering the
traditions” in response to the
threat of alcohol abuse becoming
more prominent than the tradition
of Bonfire.
The Bonfire Alcohol Awareness
Committee has worked for the past
10 years to help make and keep
Bonfire a safe and enjoyable event
for the whole A&M community.
If, as Len Callaway said, the
scene depicted on the wine bottle
was merely a Texas winter scene,
why not call the wine “Texas Win
ter” or “Day’s Hunt?” I think only
the most naive observers would
believe the scene and name was
not an attempt to associate their
product with our tradition. If not,
then why put the phrasing about
Bonfire on the bottle at all?
I am happy the Bonnarigo family
is active in University functions. We
welcome all appropriate connec
tions and involvement with our tra
ditions. i do not think anyone at
this University has accused them
of encouraging excess drinking or
alcohol abuse. I believe we asked
that our traditions be honored by all
participants and community mem
bers in a way that does not under
mine the work of the students and
administrators to address the issue
of alcohol abuse on our campus. I
think the connection of any alco
holic beverage with Bonfire in any
way does that.
Dennis J. Reardon
Senior coordinator, alcohol and
drug education programs
The Battalion encourages letters to the ed
itor. Letters must be 300 words or less and in
clude the author's name, class and phone
number.
The opinion editor reserves the right to edit
letters for length, style, and accuracy. Letters
may be submitted in person at 013 Reed Mc
Donald with a valid student ID. Letters may also
be mailed to:
The Battalion - Mail Call
013 Reed McDonald
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
77843-1111
Campus Mail: 1111
Fax: (409) 845-2647
Sports fans show poor sportsmanship
C ollege
sports is big
business.
With the NBA
choking on its
own greed and
high-profile col
lege teams vying
for national titles,
money and pres
tige make college
sports just about the most com
petitive game in town.
However, this competition has
a downside. Athletes and fans are
getting completely out of hand
and steps need to be taken to
reign them in.
A recent incident at West Vir
ginia University is an excellent ex
ample of the rambunctious nature
of today’s fans.
During a football game, a life
long WVU fan, Jimmy Malfre-
geot, put up a sign lamenting the
fact Auburn’s coach, Terry Bow
den, was not coaching at WVU.
The sign read, “Terry Bowden,
Call Home, 1-800-HELP-WVU.”
Malfregeot — along with his sign
— was removed from the field
because the sign was deemed by
Athletic Department officials as
offensive to the new WVU coach
Don Nehlen.
Big East Conference policy
states banners considered “of
fensive to particular institutions.
players or coaches,” are subject
to removal.
Obviously, this removal is a
violation of Malfregeot’s First
Amendment rights. However,
there is not a basic human right
that has not in some way been
abridged by government and by
employees, sports clubs or any
of a host of organizations stu
dents join.
All of these infringements occur
with the best interests of a majority
of citizens, employees, players, etc.
at heart, and the same criteria
should apply to this rule.
The Big East’s policy against
signs is entirely reasonable be
cause it is designed to help all of
the fans have a good time at the
game. The coaches do not see of
fensive banners and get upset.
The players do not read rude
signs it and get mad. The other
fans’ views are not blocked by in
sulting banners causing them to
consider taking their aggression
out on the sign-holder.
In other words, for those legal-
minded readers, the right to free
speech is being abridged to pro
tect the right to pursue happiness.
Although it is a fine tradition
to hurl obscenities at opposing
players, fans and coaches — in
sulting everything from their ge
nealogical authenticity to how
funny their mothers dress them
— the current run of fan-com
mitted atrocities is disturbing, to
say the least.
Baylor fans yell obscenities en
masse at every “bad” call the
referees make against them.
Texas Tech fans throw tortillas.
Not to be outdone, Texas fans
throw liquor bottles. Aggies do
not throw things, they just build
the contest up over the course of
weeks until the entirely benefi
cial tradition turns into an orgy
of poor judgement and tradition-
induced self-delusion. Other
wise, it could never meet the ex
pectations built around it. Only
in Aggieland, eh?
College sports has created a
monster. The rivalries that have
been built up over the years are
edging away from the good-na
tured competition they should
be and towards confrontational,,
destructive competitions of fan-
versus-fan instead of team-ver-
sus-team.
By restricting obvious in
stances of poor sportsmanship
and taste on the part of the fans,
the Big East is taking a positive
step towards returning sports
manship to the game. A few toes
will be stepped on in the process,
but it beats the alternative.
Chris Huffines is a junior
speech communication major.
CHRIS
HUFFINES