The WG Revolutionaries??

[SSHoya]

Let the derision begin!

George Washington University unveiled a new nickname Wednesday to replace one that its leaders and many students had deemed divisive and dated during a recent period of racial and social reckoning. No longer to be known as the Colonials, sports teams and other groups on the D.C. campus will go by the Revolutionaries.

A point of clarification: The university is not changing its mascot. That remains George, in honor of its namesake, the first president. Also, there is no move to rename the university itself even though Washington enslaved people of African descent on his plantation in Virginia.

www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/05/24/george-washington-university-picks-revolutionaries-nickname/

[Elvado]

The name is just perfect.

Everyone from DAR to Antifa can love it….

[hoyarooter]

At least it's not the Insurrectionists.

[hoya73]

May 25, 2023 6:19:43 GMT -5 SSHoya said:

Let the derision begin!

George Washington University unveiled a new nickname Wednesday to replace one that its leaders and many students had deemed divisive and dated during a recent period of racial and social reckoning. No longer to be known as the Colonials, sports teams and other groups on the D.C. campus will go by the Revolutionaries.

A point of clarification: The university is not changing its mascot. That remains George, in honor of its namesake, the first president. Also, there is no move to rename the university itself even though Washington enslaved people of African descent on his plantation in Virginia.

www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/05/24/george-washington-university-picks-revolutionaries-nickname/

"Washington enslaved people"

Missed a chance to rename the team the Masters

[CTHoya08]

I always thought that the Colonials nickname was the best thing GW had going for it, even if it seemed a little odd given that Washington the man led the army that ended British colonial rule. (Unless it was a reference to his role in the French and Indian War? In which case I really give them credit for the deep cut.) at any rate, while Revolutionaries is a bit of a mouthful, at least it’s still in the vein of the old mascot (and I guess Patriots was already taken)—they didn’t default to a boring animal name or something.

It could be far worse, as at my wife’s alma mater, which years ago dropped Flying Dutchmen (possibly the best nickname in college sports) for Pride (why not just Lions?).

[SSHoya]

May 28, 2023 5:18:00 GMT -5 CTHoya08 said:

I always thought that the Colonials nickname was the best thing GW had going for it, even if it seemed a little odd given that Washington the man led the army that ended British colonial rule. (Unless it was a reference to his role in the French and Indian War? In which case I really give them credit for the deep cut.) at any rate, while Revolutionaries is a bit of a mouthful, at least it’s still in the vein of the old mascot (and I guess Patriots was already taken)—they didn’t default to a boring animal name or something.

It could be far worse, as at my wife’s alma mater, which years ago dropped Flying Dutchmen (possibly the best nickname in college sports) for Pride (why not just Lions?).

I was trying to think of other six syllable names and the best I could come up with was "The Fighting Illini." Any others?

But not quite the same as it is usually shortened to the Illini. The WG "Revs?"

[RusskyHoya]

May 28, 2023 8:06:11 GMT -5 SSHoya said:

May 28, 2023 5:18:00 GMT -5 CTHoya08 said:

I always thought that the Colonials nickname was the best thing GW had going for it, even if it seemed a little odd given that Washington the man led the army that ended British colonial rule. (Unless it was a reference to his role in the French and Indian War? In which case I really give them credit for the deep cut.) at any rate, while Revolutionaries is a bit of a mouthful, at least it’s still in the vein of the old mascot (and I guess Patriots was already taken)—they didn’t default to a boring animal name or something.

It could be far worse, as at my wife’s alma mater, which years ago dropped Flying Dutchmen (possibly the best nickname in college sports) for Pride (why not just Lions?).

I was trying to think of other six syllable names and the best I could come up with was "The Fighting Illini." Any others?

But not quite the same as it is usually shortened to the Illini. The WG "Revs?"

Everyone calls the Foxboro MLS franchise the Revs, gonna be weird for there to be two different Revs now.

I feel like the term "Colonial" has undergone some transfiguration over the years. It used to have a more positive, historical, slightly kitchy connotation - think Colonial Williamsburg. While the renaming was obviously triggered by the growing "decolonization" movement and the associated negativity to anything associated with "settler colonialism," it's also true that the formerly positive-if-stuffy connotation has fallen away even outside of academia.

[Elvado]

May 28, 2023 10:35:16 GMT -5 RusskyHoya said:

May 28, 2023 8:06:11 GMT -5 SSHoya said:

I was trying to think of other six syllable names and the best I could come up with was "The Fighting Illini." Any others?

But not quite the same as it is usually shortened to the Illini. The WG "Revs?"

Everyone calls the Foxboro MLS franchise the Revs, gonna be weird for there to be two different Revs now.

I feel like the term "Colonial" has undergone some transfiguration over the years. It used to have a more positive, historical, slightly kitchy connotation - think Colonial Williamsburg. While the renaming was obviously triggered by the growing "decolonization" movement and the associated negativity to anything associated with "settler colonialism," it's also true that the formerly positive-if-stuffy connotation has fallen away even outside of academia.

The truly important thing is that no one’s delicate sensibilities be offended…ever.

[RusskyHoya]

May 28, 2023 10:37:03 GMT -5 Elvado said:

May 28, 2023 10:35:16 GMT -5 RusskyHoya said:

Everyone calls the Foxboro MLS franchise the Revs, gonna be weird for there to be two different Revs now.

I feel like the term "Colonial" has undergone some transfiguration over the years. It used to have a more positive, historical, slightly kitchy connotation - think Colonial Williamsburg. While the renaming was obviously triggered by the growing "decolonization" movement and the associated negativity to anything associated with "settler colonialism," it's also true that the formerly positive-if-stuffy connotation has fallen away even outside of academia.

The truly important thing is that no one’s delicate sensibilities be offended…ever.

Mascots shouldn't be divisive, much less ethnic caricatures, so the Chief Wahoos of the world can go in the dustbin of history. What I find a little unsettling about this case is how many GW students were quoted as essentially making a very simplistic 'Colonials = Celebrating Colonialism/Colonizing' equation.

It's not a particularly nuanced understanding of American history, nor of broader world development patterns over the ages. It feels very shallow and reflexive and dare I say 'virtue signal-y' in a way that "Hey, maybe our pro football team name shouldn't be a slur" was not.

[Elvado]

You and I are in complete agreement.

There were names and mascots that needed to go.

This was not one of them.

[BSM]

May 25, 2023 7:01:41 GMT -5 Elvado said:

The name is just perfect.

Everyone from DAR to Antifa can love it….

I'm looking forward to the GW "CHE" shirts

[hoyarooter]

May 28, 2023 10:35:16 GMT -5 RusskyHoya said:

May 28, 2023 8:06:11 GMT -5 SSHoya said:

I was trying to think of other six syllable names and the best I could come up with was "The Fighting Illini." Any others?

But not quite the same as it is usually shortened to the Illini. The WG "Revs?"

Everyone calls the Foxboro MLS franchise the Revs, gonna be weird for there to be two different Revs now.

I feel like the term "Colonial" has undergone some transfiguration over the years. It used to have a more positive, historical, slightly kitchy connotation - think Colonial Williamsburg. While the renaming was obviously triggered by the growing "decolonization" movement and the associated negativity to anything associated with "settler colonialism," it's also true that the formerly positive-if-stuffy connotation has fallen away even outside of academia.

I thought Al Sharpton was the Rev.