Name That Student Section!
These days, everything’s got a branded name. You can’t just call something what it is; you have to give it a flashy handle if anyone’s going to pay any attention to it. It gives otherwise mundane things an identity and a purpose. Throw in a logo and a mascot, and you’ve got yourself the makings of a mighty fine t-shirt.
I bring this up because the Athletic Department has decided that Memorial Stadium’s Student Section just doesn’t capture the Cal spirit. I mean, what kind of collective identity does the name ‘Student Section’ imply anyway? From the website:
We are re-naming the student section and we want YOUR input. It’s time to bring together all the students and brand us as one name, one team.
I’d sure like to be branded; how about you?
Anyway, the names suggested are kinda lame; you could vote for one, but you’d have to choose between:
Bear’s Lair
The Cave
The Claw
Blue Crew
Bear Force
‘Bear’s Lair’ is already a classic on-campus pub; I’m not calling the student section that unless I can buy beer there. ‘The Cave’ implies that at least some sort of shade might be available; I can’t think of anything less cave-like than a bunch of metal benches in the sun. ‘The Claw’? Really? Do I even need to respond to this idea? And ‘Blue Crew’ and ‘Bear Force’ sound like afternoon specials for kids ages 8-12.
Aaaaaanyway, there’s also a box to submit your own name, so here’s my idea. If you come up with something good, submit it here in the comments section; that way, lots of people (well, everyone who reads this site) can vote for that idea, and we don’t all have to go around on gameday in t-shirts declaring ourselves as members of the ‘Bear Force’.
<Update : Borrowing Other People’s Ideas>
So, I found a few other people’s ideas, thought I’d post them. From this BearInsider thread comes the following ideas:
‘The Domicile’ - Because we’re all Berkeley Nerds
‘The Epicenter’ - Ah, earthquake references are timeless
Also, a few others:
‘Bear Territory’ - Courtesy of Pascal Martin - My favorite so far. It’s classic, it doesn’t feel like marketing, and we’ve already got a chant for it.
‘The Muscle Milk Bear Cave!’ - Courtesy of Mimi Roy - If you’re going to start whoring yourself out, why stop halfway?
Finally, if you think this whole idea is stupid, you should just write in ‘The Student Section’ as a protest vote. Why mess with tradition?
