Tuesday, July 24, 2018

For the Bold: Wrengulators, Mount Up

At 10:00 tomorrow morning, Marls and I will be in Richmond, a waystation on our journey to the sodden Outer Banks. The two of us, and Tribefolk everywhere, will pause for a moment, cock our heads to the side, and wonder what vibration just passed across the fabric of our shared experience.

As Shlara intimated in the G:TB comments last night, according to W&M Athletic Director Samantha Huge, "...Wednesday, July 25, at 10:00 a.m. we will introduce our reinvigorated mark and brand for William & Mary athletics, ushering in a new era for our department."

You can review the entire release below:


The last time W&M went through any sort of branding exercise, we wound up with a Pantsless Griffin as our mascot, so you'll excuse me if I'm approaching this one with a sort of dread. But if we're going to really be bold, allow me to suggest something that'll simultaneously reconnect centuries of Tribe lore and raise a giant middle finger to the NCAA. 

Friends, we need to see feathers.


Post Update:

No fucking feathers. The story of the new brand/marks is available here. Two versions are depicted below:


I kinda like the simple mark. I kinda don't like the primary mark. I've always liked Gheorghie Mark.

50 comments:

Danimal said...

Exciting!
And will be checking out those meatsticks fer sher.

rootsminer said...

I'm into it Rob. Also, I love a good meatstick.

T.J. said...

interesting post title. wonder where that came from

TR said...

I throw down 2-3 meatsticks at a time and love it. Don’t be intimidated.

That teaser from the AD office has me whelmed-to-underwhelmed.

rob said...

it’s like a sample, teej

OBX dave said...

TR, Rob and crew: as author of the piece on the new w&m brand and logo, let me say that a middlin' whelm level is appropriate (clawson commissioned me to write it a while back). they're moving away from "tribe" as an identifier and leaning more on william and mary, and w&m. tribe means little to anyone outside the circle, while w&m has 325-year-old cachet, their thinking goes. the griffin remains pantsless, but will be featured in one of the two new logos. again, adjust your whelm level accordingly.

rootsminer said...

Speaking of sampling, I'm going to start having my 15 year old sample the meatsticks and see what flavor he likes.

He starts high school in a couple weeks, and we're going to make him take a city bus from school to his soccer training twice a week. I think he'll survive that if he's stocked up on meatsticks.

Danimal said...

Oddly, this is the second time in just the last week I've had conversations revolving around MEAT STICKS!!!, but not all of the edible version...May have to get this for the BGE.

https://www.themeatstick.com/

zman said...

They never properly worked the ATCQ angle. When I was accepted in high school my friends all wanted Tribe hats.

TR said...

I’ve gone from whelmed to meh.

Marls said...

The W&M green and golden showers.

zman said...

I made a "paper the windows" joke but no one got it.

zman said...

And Jay Cutler has goats.

https://www.theringer.com/tv/2018/7/23/17596086/jay-cutler-very-cavallari-week-3

rob said...

working from home today, so i saw the contractor who's been working on our basement walking towards the front door. heard him exclaim, 'oh shit', from outside. so i walked out to see what was going on. saw a 4' black snake slowly retreating into a crevice in the faux-stone facade on the side of my house adjacent to the front porch. so i've got a new pet, it seems. i'm not a huge snake fan, but black snakes are the good guys, so i'll live and let live.

Marls said...

Watching people gather around the gate to board a flight is fascinating. It always feels like it is on the edge of anarchy.

Mr KQ said...

Anyone here at Wolftrap for Isbell and the Unit?

zman said...

I would rather be there than here.

Shlara said...

So my TRIBE baseball hat will now be out of style?
And they couldn't spring for mascot pants?
This takes me out of the whelm zone completely.

rob said...

your hat is vintage, shlara!

TR said...

HUGE HUGE HUGE playoff win for my U8 team tonight. They were down 7-5 in the bottom of the last inning, but clawed out an 8-7 win. We’re off to the finals on Friday night. Coach TR is treating himself to a Friday-sized scotch to try to calm down.

TR said...

Sixteen in the clip and one in the hole. W&M about to make some bodies turn cold.

rob said...

post updated with information about the new branding.

rootsminer said...

I kinda like the primary mark. That Griffin is obviously high af.

rob said...

you like the full primary mark? you might also be high af. i like the simple marks and the wordmark. that lettering connects 40s/50s tribe with a modern tribe. in my professional opinion.

as marls just said to me, we are not the primary audience for this rebranding. we're way too old.

rootsminer said...

Not high presently, but if I run into the panstless griffin, I could be persuaded to indulge...

On second glance, I'm not real fond of either.

Marls said...

They killed the pantless griffin. It’s now a lion/eagle mix not a anthropomorphic eagle/lion dude. I still don’t like the griffin but at least they did that.

I’m ok with the simple mark. They are going to use them in very large size versions on uniforms. Not my preference but as Rob noted, this is intended to attract a younger audience.

Whitney said...

Are we the simple audience then?

Whitney said...

I like neither, but these days you can get anything on a hat or t-shirt so we will just get bootleg gear and wallow in our oldness.

zman said...

With stroke. Ha.

Squeaky said...

Anyone have connections to get high shelf whiskey or bourbon? I have a neighbor looking to get a really nice bottle for a client. He's willing to spend to get it.

Danimal said...

Sadly, no

rob said...

look at danimal trying to keep the good stuff for himself

zman said...

Why is the griffin licking its armpit?

TR said...

Because it can. Same reason you try to lick your nether region, Zed.

zman said...

This map is amazing. Hillary Clinton got 91% of the vote in the neighborhood I grew up in. Less in my current neighborhood.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/upshot/election-2016-voting-precinct-maps.html#2.72/42.17/-97.81

Mark said...

I’d be willing to bet my neighborhood is nearly the opposite.

Shlara said...

there's a market for at-home sperm count testing kits?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/style/sperm-count.html?emc=edit_th_180726&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=596127480726

rob said...

that should have been a post, shlara

rob said...

strong effort, gheorgies

TR said...

Rob - get back in the OBFT pile.

https://youtu.be/BnmeACwyg4A

TR said...

RIP, Nikolai Volkoff

rob said...

aaron craft was pretty public in his wish to have a chance to check jimmer fredette in today’s tbt game. jimmer went and got 28 on 10-17 shooting as his team boat raced craft’s. careful what you wish for.

Mark said...

I’ve effectively (and ultimately detrimentally) passed on my shoe obsession to my daughter. She acquired six new pairs of shoes for back to school. Two pairs of Vans. 3 pairs of Nikes. And another pair. She’s 6.

zman said...

More detail please. Some of us know a thing or two about shoes.

Mark said...

High top all checker board old skool Vans. Black slip on Vans. Lavender Air Max 1s. Black Nike Ashins. Air Max 270s.

rootsminer said...

Hey guys, it's really poppin' off over here!

I just was at a hospital for business and walking behind someone who was talking about a spinal tap a family member had undergone at 11. After three days of OBFT hijinx, it was not easy to refrain from making a movie themed remark, but I somehow managed.

Whitney said...

Well done. Rootsy.

I’m back at Tortuga’s. Guinness. Bites. Clams. Oy.

zman said...

Oysters clams and cockles?

Whitney said...

Turns out I had some steamed veggies, too. 6 days sans vegetables is no bueno.

TR said...

11-10 win for my U8 travel baseball team in the playoff finals! The team put up three runs in the bottom of the last inning to win it. My kid came on to pitch in the top of the inning with one out and the bases loaded in an 8-8 tie game. He put up two walks, two strikeouts and a couple tears after he lost the lead. Heart-wrenching to see as a father/coach, but his poise to get out of the jam was impressive, and he knows that by keeping it close, he gave his team a chance to win.