Mestengo wrote:As an outsider looking in, that’s kind of inside. Here is my view.
Before I knew anything about SMU tradition, I was invited to a Home game where I saw Peruna run the field for the very first time. My first thought was, why is this little pony running on the field it looks like it escaped from a children’s carnival. Once my Daughter in law explained to me that the two fingers were pony ears I almost [deleted] my pants.
The Peruna tradition is ingrained in many of my friends from SMU so I don’t want to disrespect you or your hard work, commitment to your education, and you’re past.
I love the full size Mustangs. What they are connected to is a new tradition of strength and power. You won’t see this or any of June Jones warriors being led down the walk with a pony. Long live the new tradition. I will walk with them every game in a show of solidarity. RIP OTP Born 04-05-08 - Died 08-24-10
Mestengo,
I respect you and am appreciative for your support of the program.
The problem here is that the student body overwhelmingly voted (through their elected senate, 32-3) to have Peruna being the only mascot (indeed, non-human animal) on the field. The administration ignored the student body's vote. If the students do not matter, what's the point of having a student senate in the first place?
Furthermore, we were often told that PERUNA would be the only mascot by none less than Steve Orsini. It seems to me that the naming of these horses makes them mascots as well.
As to your thought that SMU will be connected with "strength and power," think for a second about Peruna. Yes, he's small, but he'll kick the crap out of you if you [deleted] him off. He'll mount the TTU mascot and kick Bevo to the ground. He's just like SMU - small, but competing with the "big boys" is never a problem.
Further, these programs seem to have no problem with mascots that are "small" or "weak."
Georgia
Tennessee
Texas A&M
Washington
and plenty more that don't have live mascots, like
Virginia Tech (Hokies, with a costumed man in a turkey suit)
TCU (Horned Frogs)
Oregon (Ducks)
Further, aren't these horses supposed to raise awareness for Pickens' foundation (wasn't that the story we were told)? What raises more awareness, having them ridden around on the field by two guys with no explanation about what the foundation is, or setting up an informational area complete with horse pasture in the open end of Ford Stadium?