Minnesota Wild get a new cuddly mascot.
Hey, I guess some marketing braniacs have decided that nothing represents hockey better than a cuddly stuffed animal on skates. The mascot, Nordy, has a mullet, a tattoo of an “M” on it’s forehead, wears the number 18,001, and is being called a hybrid of several animals.
You can check out the Wild fan site and see what the fans are saying, Should the Wild have a Mascot?. Sasquatch is one of the few mascots people actually wanted.
I think Nordy is pretty lame looking and I don’t know a single fan whom actually wanted a mascot. (sasquatch comments aside) I get the feeling we’ll be seeing Nordy stuffed animals released just in time for the holidays. So is this just another sales gimmick?
As far as I’m concerned they might as well have chosen My Pretty Pony.
So what do you think?
Because people in the era of ADD need to be constantly entertained and so apparently there were enough lulls in a Wild game that they needed something else to fill it.
Nordy himself looks dumb.
I kind of wonder about hockey mascots because there’s separation between the ice and the stands and so they can’t just be out on the ice and then up in the stands. The skating gopher seems to do just fine, though.
I put myself in the "We don’t need a mascot" group of fans. The Wild and my enthusiasm get me fired up enough, so I can’t see myself paying attention to Nordy. It’s not like the mascot can be on the ice when the Zamboni (Zambonies? Which is plural?) are going.
Home Wild games do a great job of involving younger kids in the entertainment, including the kid who brings out the hockey flag with the team at the beginning of each game. With the pride Minnesotans have in hockey, from Pee-Wees to Pros, I hope that the mascot doesn’t take over the "kid duties."
I agree with the idea that hockey kids will find a new mascot in their holiday stockings.
Erica – I agree,Goldy Gopher does well on skates, but Wild games are crazy fun and don’t really have many lulls (that aren’t filled with getting food or booze).
It’s just all very weird to me.
Slolee – I think the Wild administration will be facing mutiny if they mess with the hockey flag kids or the between period kid games. Mutiny, I say.