Bringing back a live mascot to the University

[stebo]

After reading about the terrible situation at La Tech, it reminded me of a past tradition that I have always wanted to see return. There seems to be a real fondness on this board for keeping and resurrecting the traditions at North Texas. One thing that I have always wanted to see was a live Eagle fly to the 50 yard line to start the game. I can just picture the Eagle flying from the Wing Zone down to the 50 yard line before kickoff to get everyone pumped up.

It is my understanding that the University used to have a live Eagle that was tended to by the students or the athletic dept at one time but the Texas heat made it an expensive ordeal. The Eagle would be brought out during the games and had an official handler. I also seem to recall someone mentioning that there was an agreement with a local zoo for a cross-promotional deal later on but I am not sure if that was just an idea or something that actually happened (where the zoo took care of the Eagle during the year and NT provided a donation for helping out with the costs with both parties providing marketing for the other).

I would think that this would be a great way to bring back an established tradition and kids would probably love to see the Eagle before, during, and after the games. Anyone think this is a good idea? I love the traditions of college football and have always hoped that this would be brought back at NT. What are your thoughts?

[meaniegreenie]

It'd be really cool if it swooped down and carried off a Peruna

[golfingomez]

only if the eagle was trauned to poop on the other team every time it flew around the stadium

[shaft]

Couldn't we just have Mean Joe Green man the t-shirt cannon?

[UNTstormchaser]

Couldn't we just have Mean Joe Green man the t-shirt cannon?

Hahaha that would be awesome. As for the eagle, I'd love to see it. I think that would be a really cool thing to do if the logistics of the whole thing weren't too bad.

[ragpicker]

Actually, we did have a live eagle on campus many years ago and he was kept in a big cage by the old the pro shop at Eagle Point. I don't recall what happened to him, but it seems he came to a bad end either from neglect or from a prank gone awry.

Speaking of eagles, we need to bring back the original Scrappy. For my take on this subject, see my letter in the fall 2003 issue of the North Texan. Ragpicker.

[ragpicker]

Actually, we did have a live eagle on campus many years ago who was kept in a cage by the old pro shop at Eagle Point. I am not sure what happened to him, but seem to recall that he came to a bad end either from neglect or from a prank gone awry.

Speaking of eagles, we need to bring back the old Scrappy. For my take on this, see the fall 2003 issue of The North Texan. Ragpicker

[Proud North Texan]

That would be awesome!! why don't we guys try to make a donation here at GMG forum to help the university bring it back?

[greenjoe]

Why don't we guys all buy season tickets and join the Mean Green Club first / instead

[Side Show Joe]

I'm all for bringing back a live mascot. If we can't get an eagle, my tea cup Australian shepard hikes a small stuffed football all around my living room. I could put one of those baby UNT jerseys on him and send him out on the field.

[eulessismore]

After reading about the terrible situation at La Tech, it reminded me of a past tradition that I have always wanted to see return. There seems to be a real fondness on this board for keeping and resurrecting the traditions at North Texas. One thing that I have always wanted to see was a live Eagle fly to the 50 yard line to start the game. I can just picture the Eagle flying from the Wing Zone down to the 50 yard line before kickoff to get everyone pumped up.

It is my understanding that the University used to have a live Eagle that was tended to by the students or the athletic dept at one time but the Texas heat made it an expensive ordeal. The Eagle would be brought out during the games and had an official handler. I also seem to recall someone mentioning that there was an agreement with a local zoo for a cross-promotional deal later on but I am not sure if that was just an idea or something that actually happened (where the zoo took care of the Eagle during the year and NT provided a donation for helping out with the costs with both parties providing marketing for the other).

I would think that this would be a great way to bring back an established tradition and kids would probably love to see the Eagle before, during, and after the games. Anyone think this is a good idea? I love the traditions of college football and have always hoped that this would be brought back at NT. What are your thoughts?

Uh, no. Think of all the things that could go wrong, and know that, somewhere, sometime, Murphy's law kicks in.

[GrayEagle]

When I first enrolled at North Texas in 1948 there was a live eagle that was kept at the golf course clubhouse. I did hear tales of neglect but when I left to go into the service in 1950 I believe that it was still there. When I returned in January of 1955 the cage and the eagle were gone. Either the eagle died or it was given to the Forest Park (Fort Worth) Zoo.

I served as president of the Rally Club (forerunner to the Talons) during the 1956-57 year and one of my duties was to go to the zoo and pick up the "eagle" on Friday before game day and return it on Sunday. I put the eagle in quotes because I'm not sure that it was one. The aviary did contain some eagles but the one that I was always given looked like a golden eagle but I still have suspicions.

It is unlawful to own a bald eagle but, with the government's permission, you can donate one to a zoo. I was told that the university had donated one to the (now) Fort Worth Zoo and that was why we were allowed to use it on game weekends. We had a 5x5x5 cage mounted on a two-wheel trailer. I used my car to pull it from Fort Worth and we kept it at the Delta Sigma Pi house which was at 1406 West Hickory. Since we didn't want it to go two days without food we would go rabbit hunting for food for the eagle.

The car and trailer were parked in front of the student section during the game. We circled the track before the game and at halftime. The live eagle was also in the homecoming parade.

I have serious doubts that an eagle could be trained to fly on command as a falcon does. If it's possible it would take a special trainer and he might also have to be paid for public appearances. I have doubts that a student handler would be entrusted with that responsibility.

The are impressive and attract attention whereever they go. They're a little bit of a nuisance but nothing that a college-age student can't easily handle.

Edited August 2, 2012 by GrayEagle

[Hunter Green]

When I first enrolled at North Texas in 1948 there was a live eagle that was kept at the golf course clubhouse. I did hear tales of neglect but when I left to go into the service in 1950 I believe that it was still there. When I returned in January of 1955 the cage and the eagle were gone. Either the eagle died or it was given to the Forest Park (Fort Worth) Zoo.

I served as president of the Rally Club (forerunner to the Talons) during the 1956-57 year and one of my duties was to go to the zoo and pick up the "eagle" on Friday before game day and return it on Sunday. I put the eagle in quotes because I'm not sure that it was one. The aviary did contain some eagles but the one that I was always given looked like a golden eagle but I still have suspicions.

It is unlawful to own a bald eagle but, with the government's permission, you can donate one to a zoo. I was told that the university had donated one to the (now) Fort Worth Zoo and that was why we were allowed to use it on game weekends. We had a 5x5x5 cage mounted on a two-wheel trailer. I used my car to pull it from Fort Worth and we kept it at the Delta Sigma Pi house which was at 1406 West Hickory. Since we didn't want it to go two days without food we would go rabbit hunting for food for the eagle.

The car and trailer were parked in front of the student section during the game. We circled the track before the game and at halftime. The live eagle was also in the homecoming parade.

I have serious doubts that an eagle could be trained to fly on command as a falcon does. If it's possible it would take a special trainer and he might also have to be paid for public appearances. I have doubts that a student handler would be entrusted with that responsibility.

The are impressive and attract attention whereever they go. They're a little bit of a nuisance but nothing that a college-age student can't easily handle.

Auburn University has their golden (War) eagle fly to mid-field every game. I wonder how they do it. Of course, we'd have to have a baldy.

[Hunter Green]

If not that, maybe we could put the albino squirel on a zip line from the wing section to mid field. That would be funny!

[UNT 90 Grad]

Auburn University has their golden (War) eagle fly to mid-field every game. I wonder how they do it. Of course, we'd have to have a baldy.

I think you'd be out of luck. I've read from multiple sources that in order to get a permit to keep a bald eagle in captivity, you have to prove that the bird is permanently injured and couldn't safely return to the wild. I guess maybe you could find one with bad talon issues, but could still fly.

[Grant.UNT]

Hahaha that would be awesome. As for the eagle, I'd love to see it. I think that would be a really cool thing to do if the logistics of the whole thing weren't too bad.

Nice signature size. Thanks for the downsizing.

Edited August 2, 2012 by Grant.UNT

[UNTcrazy727]

We need some type of big eagle on campus. Build a state of the art habitat and have him fly around on game days.

A baldy would be best, but I'd take something else. If LSU and Baylor can keep man-eating monsters on campus we should be able to have an eagle lol

[SilverEagle]

I've always thought that the pre-game ceremony at the Auburn games with their Eagle swooping around the stadium was one of the most impressive sights in college football. However, they've had this tradition for about 100 years. And because they are essentially the A&M of Alabama they have a whole department to provide the proper care and maintenance for these impressive raptors............http://www.vetmed.au...bout-our-eagles

In our official promotional media we always show a bald eagle as our official mascot. But because of our location, we should have been showing the Golden Eagle, since they are native to Texas, and much more plentiful. And if we wanted to have one at the games, we wouldn't have to deal with Federal Law.

To digress a little. If you really wanted to have an impressive raptor at games, having someone bring a Harpy Eagle would be cool......http://saveamericasf...arpy Eagle.html

Now, here's my main comment about this idea. A responsible party/group/organization would have to be in charge of these birds. Who's responsibility is it to maintain Boomer, the Bell, and our Model A? I would like to remind everyone that almost EVERY YEAR, FFR has to (along with his friend Alec) come up to the school and perform some sort of maintenance and/or fix something on Boomer so that the cannon can function during football season. He also has to have "cannon practice" so that the new members of the Talons can operate it safely during the football season. Now, he loves doing this but last year it was touch and go as to the Talons having enough actual bodies to show up for cannon practice.

If it weren't for our other loyal fan "Soundman", the bell would not have shown up at games last year.

To the credit of last years Talons, they did take action to get funds to rehab the Model A. But the process (parking the car under the stadium concourse and holding up a "please donate" sign) was one of the most pitiful and pathetic street person-like sights I have ever seen at a University event. But at least that group of Talons tried.

NOW, if we wanted to resurrect an old tradition (albeit rather brief) maybe something like this mechanical Eagle, who was built by the Physics dept in the early 70's could be updated and brought back.....

http://texashistory....sics dept robot

Here is another view of it from the 1970 Yucca.....bottom right portion of the page.

http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth61039/m1/242/?q=physics%20animated%20eagle

Edited August 2, 2012 by SilverEagle

[Grant.UNT]

If not that, maybe we could put the albino squirel on a zip line from the wing section to mid field. That would be funny!

The albino squirrel passed on to ther next plane a few years ago.It's a tough one pal.

http://news.unt.edu/...squirrel-campus

I guess there was a new one, but I could have sworn that one was moved on to their 3 bedroom apartment in the sky in 2010, maybe not though

http://www.ntdaily.com/?p=66281

Edited August 2, 2012 by Grant.UNT

[Grant.UNT]

this may be sacrelige(not sure of the feelings on the car as I'm relatively new to the nation). Couldn't the school auction off the Model A and put it towards an eagle cage/keeping grounds?

the car isn't the right color green anyway????

just throwing it out there.

Edited August 2, 2012 by Grant.UNT

[UNT Five&Dime]

I guess maybe you could find one with bad talon issues, but could still fly.

Like three claws instead of four?

[Grant.UNT]

Like three claws instead of four?

3 claws is ideal anyway. he'd be "puttin his talons up"

[GTWT]

Best idea would be to find a 'raptor rescue' organization that had an eagle which could be brought to games. We would need to support the facility thru donations.

I'm not sure I like the idea of having live mascots (except for dogs) at games. At West Texas they bring a live bison to games. It's cute when it's a baby but as it gets older the idiots who have charge of the animal have a difficult time maintaining control. Someday someone's going to get killed or some gun-happy cop will end up shotting Thunder X in front of 8K fans.

[SilverEagle]

Best idea would be to find a 'raptor rescue' organization that had an eagle which could be brought to games. We would need to support the facility thru donations.

I'm not sure I like the idea of having live mascots (except for dogs) at games. At West Texas they bring a live bison to games. It's cute when it's a baby but as it gets older the idiots who have charge of the animal have a difficult time maintaining control. Someday someone's going to get killed or some gun-happy cop will end up shotting Thunder X in front of 8K fans.

Yeah, notice that Colorado has at least four guys holding on to a rope when "Ralphie" comes out on the field.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Colorado_Ralphie_I.jpg

[Baby Arm!]

After reading about the terrible situation at La Tech, it reminded me of a past tradition that I have always wanted to see return. There seems to be a real fondness on this board for keeping and resurrecting the traditions at North Texas. One thing that I have always wanted to see was a live Eagle fly to the 50 yard line to start the game. I can just picture the Eagle flying from the Wing Zone down to the 50 yard line before kickoff to get everyone pumped up.

It is my understanding that the University used to have a live Eagle that was tended to by the students or the athletic dept at one time but the Texas heat made it an expensive ordeal. The Eagle would be brought out during the games and had an official handler. I also seem to recall someone mentioning that there was an agreement with a local zoo for a cross-promotional deal later on but I am not sure if that was just an idea or something that actually happened (where the zoo took care of the Eagle during the year and NT provided a donation for helping out with the costs with both parties providing marketing for the other).

I would think that this would be a great way to bring back an established tradition and kids would probably love to see the Eagle before, during, and after the games. Anyone think this is a good idea? I love the traditions of college football and have always hoped that this would be brought back at NT. What are your thoughts?

Im confused. Don't you always say the eagle is no longer our mascot?????