A bear, a dog, a horse, a bird, a thunderbolt, a “Storm Hero” – which one best captures the essence of St. John’s sports? (No, the Carnesecca Sweater is not an option.)
That’s what the university has asked students and fans in an online poll aimed at introducing a new mascot to school athletic events. Voting ran from April 23 to May 4, and the winner will be unveiled sometime before the start of the 2009-10 school year, according to associate athletics director Mark Fratto.
The poll offered six candidates and the option of a write-in choice. While three options – the Thunderbird, the Thunderbolt, and the Storm Hero – represent variations on the “Red Storm” theme, the others – Red Storm Bear, Red Storm Dog, and Thunder Horse – recall the sports teams’ previous Native American nomenclature.
St. John’s teams, originally known as the Johnnies, were called the Redmen from the 1920s until 1994, when accusations of cultural insensitivity swirled around college sports programs that used Native American nicknames. “Chief Blackjack” was the product of a similar mascot search in the 1930s.
The Red Storm had a mascot as recently as this decade, when two horses known as Thunder and Lightning graced the athletic pastures.
But a new movement has found the university in search of a newer, more enduring symbol.
"One of the best things about this mascot contest is that the whole thing has been student-driven,” Fratto says. “Current St. John’s undergraduates representing several different communities on campus … came forward with the ideas and the planning.”
Olympus Inc., creators of Ronald McDonald, Tony the Tiger, and the Geico Gecko, followed through with the mascot designs.
Fratto says he has a favorite, but he refused to reveal the identity of his horse (or bear) in the race. He did, however, divulge that two front runners clearly emerged as the May 4 deadline approached – and that 5,000 votes were cast on the first day of polling at RedStormSports.com.
He says the athletic department has no intention of exercising any veto power, and that the university’s new mascot will be whichever choice receives the plurality of votes.
This reporter’s prediction? The Thunderbird, which the web site describes as a “mythological spirit of thunder and lightning believed by some Native Americans to take the shape of a great bird – which would be a tribute to St. John’s Redmen history. Boasting feathers as long as a canoe, the legendary thunderbird can generate lightning, thunder and great winds by flapping its wings and blinking its eyes.”
The Thunder Horse, however, will inevitably have its share of nostalgic supporters.
“Honestly, I’d have to stick with the horse, because that was my four years going there,” says Patrice Yannello, a 2008 graduate. “For some reason, thunder and a horse were always in my head. The thunderbolt is kind of a cool theme, but an animal mascot is kind of necessary, I think.”
