I'm sorry, but I don't like it as the name of our new hockey team. I realize that it's a popular fish around this area...but it's a fish - and not a very challenging one at that...
Yes, it can see well in murky waters, to the point that the water is often characterized as 'walleye chop.' But that's about it. It doesn't put up much of a fight when caught - and it does taste good ... but do we want a hockey team known for being 'tasty when eaten'?
To top it off, the Walleye is the state fish of Minnesota. Will people think our team is from that state instead of from Toledo? Or will they figure that only Toledo would give such a name to a hockey team?
I guess I was hoping for more ... something that would be fierce or ferocious and inspire fear in our opponents. And I'm one who does believe that something strong and forceful can still be 'fan and family friendly' ... but at least it's better than 'peckerheads,'
Now, if they could be as forthcoming with the finances for the home of this new team...
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
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23 comments:
The biggest problem will be getting people to say it and spell it without putting an 's' on the end. You have done that on the first day of the announcement. It's Toledo Walleye .. not Walleyes.
bosswolf - the plural of walleye is walleye?
you learn something new every day...
oh - and bosswolf - I fear that will be a fruitless endeavor for as long as the team exists...
Clarification: According to Dictionary.com, the plural of Walleye is Walleyes ... so expect that any reference to the group will include an 's'...
Maggie,
I can't help but feel that my sense of the ridiculous in life has been renewed when you point out that the name of the hockey team in Toledo will be that of a food item.
I can't help but believe that this is not over however, as PETA has yet to weigh in: and this is definitely animal abuse.
The name is okay with me. People come from all around to fish for walleye in the Maumee river.
As for the "s", people just like adding "s" to things. How many people have you heard refer to Meijer and Kroger as "Meijers" and "Krogers"? LOL!
I for one think the new nickname is a good one. Who cares if the walleye is the state fish of Minnesota. What would make you happy Maggie? The Toledo Buckeyes? The Toledo Cardinals? Get bent.
Walleye fishing on Lake Erie is world renowned, in case you haven't noticed. That is why there are professional tournaments on the lake each year.
And how about the spring river run? How about you drive down to Side Cut Metropark and take a look at the out of state license plates that come here each spring and pump thousands of dollars into our struggling economy.
For once someone got it right in Toledo. The Mud Hens front office hit a "homerun" by using the moniker Walleye.
Be proud of what Toledo has to offer, especially something that is here naturally, such as the Walleye. Find something else to complain about.
SUCH A STUPID NAME I LIVE IN TOLEDO AND I WISH WE COULD HAVE JUST STAYED THE STORM
Yes and the plural of storm is storms but we didn't call them The Toledo Storms, now did we?
I don't normally comment on blogs, but I find your writing appalling... so much of what you're saying is such a reach it's ridiculous...
I absolutely love this name for a Toledo team, you can't get much closer to the heart and soul of the city.
1. you don't like that it's a fish...? I take it you don't like the Florida Marlin or San Jose Sharks. Sure, it's not a vicious fish, but you must hate the Mud Hens too... what a weak little bird.
2. saying that people will think "tasty when eaten" is just ludicrous... I'm sure that will be the first thing out of opposing fans mouths, not.
3. To top it off, you think there's some sort of chance people will mistake the Walleye as being a team from Minnesota. Let me ask you this, how long did it take you to look up facts about the walleye as a species to find that it was a state fish. It is far from common knowledge... actually, you might be right, when I first heard the Lions were playing football in Detroit, I was shocked... I always thought there was an NFL team in Africa. You can imagine how surprised I was to learn the Kings were from Los Angeles.
The one complaint I have about the team is the colors... NO, not because of U of Michigan (do you root against the Toledo Rockets or Woodmore WIldcats because they have blue as their base color...?) I just was hoping for a classic color scheme like the Oregon Ducks have. The Toledo Walleye would look great in green, gold, and black.
Oh, and by the way, the plurar for deer is deer / deers... same for walleye / walleyes. So the decision makes have spoken and they prefer Walleye as the reference to their group... same as they had previously chosen Storm instead of Storm.
I apologize for the harshness... but it blows me away to find people cutting others for original, creative thinking. Long live the Walleye... where can I buy a jersey?
It is a pretty stupid name. And I wouldnt imagine it would sell much merchandise.
Chris - I'm glad you like the name of the team...differences are what make the human race interesting. As for the research, a simple query to Wikipedia is where I found out about it being the state fish of Minnesota ... nothing elaborate there. And you obviously don't care that Minnesotans might have a problem with the name - and that's okay too.
But you need to understand: I'm a hockey fan. Past season ticket holder and all that. So I don't really care about the "mud hen" connotations because I never really thought of baseball as a 'rough and tumble' sport like hockey. As for the Marlin and the Sharks - well, they're large, powerful and put up a fight. Kindof what I think of when I think of hockey.
And I do think that opposing team fans will do their utmost to denigrate our team. I can already see the posters fans will bring showing their mascot 'eating' ours...or served up on a plate. It's a great image for an opposing fan to present. And I do think about those things when it comes to hockey fans ... much more so than baseball.
And you should check the dictionary when it comes to the plural ... it clearly indicates the use of an 's' for plural for walleye. And I do understand that the name of the team is singular, but, according to the dictionary, you'd refer to multiple members of the team using an 's'.
Perhaps next time, rather than criticize my research because you don't like my OPINION, you should do some of your own.
And please, Chris, try to keep it civil with less sarcasm. My blog is my opinion and it's as right or wrong as yours is. And it's obvious that you don't know much about me as I'm a UT Rocket fan, being a proud alumnae of that institution.
Bosswolf - no, we referred to members of the team by saying Storm member, etc... in fact, it was easy to avoide the plural there - just as is going to be done with Walleye. You've missed the point of the grammatical reference versus the implementation.
Ben - I disagree about the merchandise...I think the Mud Hens management has clearly demonstrated their ability in this area and they will apply the same to the Walleye...
Spartan - if you don't like my opinion, don't read my blog. I'm well aware of and rather proud of the international attention fishing for walleye gets. It's good for Toledo and the surrounding area.
Just because we've got a reputation for being a place to catch this tasty morsel doesn't mean I have to like it as a name for a team.
My criteria for a HOCKEY team name would be something other than a docile fish, regardless of how popular it is for tourism in the area.
My personal choice was the 'Fighting Gars'... a fish that makes its home in Lake Erie and has a look that says 'fear me' ... and some of the same characteristics of the walleye when it comes to being able to see in murkey waters. If you've never seen one, you should look it up. That would have been my preference if the intent was to stay with an indigenous fish.
But the point of the selection was not to find a name that intimidates your opponents. It was to find something 'family friendly.' And I understand that point - hence the 'Walleye.'
And I never said this isn't good marketing from the standpoint of the management - they know, as do I, that the ECHL fan base demographics - except for past Toledo teams - is almost identical to the Mud Hens fan demographics. So I have a lot of confidence in the ability of the Mud Hens management to make the most of the name ... and I'm equally confident that this aspect contributed significantly to the name.
Maggie, I have commented on your blog before. So when I saw the less than civil comment by another "chris", I wanted to let it be known it was not me. (you don't have to post this)
The name is what it is...and we are stuck with it....when life gives you lemons......make fish head soup!
Once we get used to, or market all the fishing cliche's - Lets go Ice Fishing, There's a fish in the net, spawn, reel em in - give em the hook - Snag em. etc. And the Wheres Wally the Walleye campaign (anticipated) there may be some good from all this.
How about keeping the theme going -lets get Bass Pro Arena, Home of the Toledo Walleye - DONE. Bass Pro is investing millions in NW Ohio, lets cater to that. Of course the Mayor and Lucas County Commissioners would have to swallow some pride and bile to approach Bass Pro.
As an aside- I almost ordered my first Toledo Walleye hat yesterday.
The A-Hole.
Actually, correct grammar has nothing to do with it. The name of the team was announced as 'Walleye' and adding the s was incorrect. I see that you are now using the team name correctly so the purpose of my original blog posting has been served.
The Walleye will be the third fish species in the ECHL. The others are the Idaho Steelheads and the Victoria Salmon Kings. Somehow they have both managed to weather what you anticipate will be an onslaught of 'fish' jokes. I have a feeling that the new Toledo hockey team and its fans will be just fine!
Sooooo, how many of you actually go walleye fishing? 1? 2? How many of you fish for them in Toledo's city limits...or do you hit the lake near Port Clinton or wade in Maumee? Toledo just happens to be the major city on the map NEAR to where people actually go to catch the fish.
The "Toledo Carp" would be a more fitting name.
Or, maybe Port Clinton can start a team and call themselves the "Port Clinton Jeeps"?
We should have a team name that identifys something the CITY is famous for around the world.
"The Toledo Cartys" and have the logo of a cursing mayor throwing a hockey puck at an employee!
bosswolf - you continue to ignore the question I originally raised and that's fine, but...when referring to members of the team, it would be appropriate to refer to them as Walleyes - with an 's.'
I understand the name of the team is singular, but people will refer to team members collectively, meaning that the appropriate and grammatically correct way to do so will be to call them Walleyes.
For instance: "The Walleyes are in town tonight...The Walleyes are on the road..." in reference to all the players.
Or: "The Toledo Walleye play at home tonight ... The Toledo Walleye are in Dayton tonight."
That is the distinction which you just can't seem to grasp.
Good thing they didn't name the team the Toledo "Bass". Then what would you call the team?
To get Walleye through, I think they tossed the "Peckers" out there to draw attention from what they really wanted the team to be called.
When I first heard of the 'decided' new name of the team I was a little disappointed, but after a while and after reading what a lot of other people thought, the name did grow on me.
I realized that I am proud to live in a city that cares enough to bring state-of-the-art sports venues to a downtown that is beginning to blossom after the Mud Hens came home, to bring friends and families together in an area that has so much potential.
If our opponents fans even think about showing our mascot being eaten by ours... we could always rebuttal that by showing their mascot dying of food poisoning caused by the eerie waters of Lake Erie. :)
By the way, I have enjoyed reading everyone's posts and comments on this topic!
"...something that would be fierce or ferocious and inspire fear in our opponents."
How 'bout Toledo Chlamydia? Sure scares me! Or would that be Chlamydias?
Either way, please practice safe hockey.
The Toledo Walleye???
Come on.. Walleye are great. Yeah for fishing, eating because they have great taste. But lets face what do walleye do when you put em on ice?? THEY FLOP & DIE!!!
END OF DISCUSSION I HAVE MADE MY CASE.
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