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?
“Blue Pepper”. I’ve long thought this would be a good choice for any nickname-worthy Cal defense. It comes from a track on Duke Ellington’s “Far East Suite”, and it would be a perfect tune for the Cal Band to escort the defense off the field after a big third-down stop or turnover. Maybe the name could work for the student section, too? At least it doesn’t have quite the same AYSO ring to it like the official choices listed above.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Far_East_Suite
Comment by California Pete — May 10, 2007 @ 6:49 pm
Are you saying I should put a stop on my order of 10,000 “Bear Force” T-Shirts?
This could be as disastrous as my !Ayoob!!Booyah! investment!
Comment by TwistNHook — May 10, 2007 @ 6:52 pm
Bear City!
Comment by Hovannes — May 10, 2007 @ 8:39 pm
One of my family members refers to the bears as the “Osos Peligrosos” (dangerous bears in spanish) and I always thought it had a nice ring to it. But I don’t quite see how that could be applied to the student section. I can’t think of anything particularly good…
Blue Crew?
Steven Colbert’s incredibly ferocious killing machine fans?
I really hope the Athletic Department doesn’t force anything crappy.
Comment by Nick — May 10, 2007 @ 9:43 pm
Bear Nation
Lynch Mob
Bear Den - this one might be worse than The Claw.
Comment by RBBID — May 10, 2007 @ 11:26 pm
The key to this is finding something that is a specific reference to the students, or at least makes sense as that. Of the one’s listed here, I like “The Epicenter” and “The Domicile” (I loved that Tedford commercial) but “The Epicenter” is not that good because it is too general sounding for the whole stadium, not just the student section. “The Domicile” seems like it has a more specific feel than just the stadium as a whole.
Comment by Ken Crawford — May 11, 2007 @ 10:41 am
Along the lines of “Bear Den,” how about “Bare Den of Iniquity.”
Comment by Blaise — May 11, 2007 @ 10:52 am
Taking things one step further, the “Den of Iniquity” could get Good Vigrations as a corporate sponsor.
Comment by Blaise — May 11, 2007 @ 11:03 am
WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!?!!?! WE ALREADY HAVE COME UP WITH THE PERFECT NAME: BEAR CITY!!!!
Comment by Hovannes — May 12, 2007 @ 12:53 am
Bear City? Please be serious. Everybody knows that being antisocial animals, bears would never live in a city! But since it is Berkeley, how about “The Commune.”
Comment by Blaise — May 12, 2007 @ 10:42 am
Blaise: Cal football is one of the only safe refuges from Berkeley weirdo garbage. While you’re at it why don’t you suggest replacing Oski with a naked, homeless, mentally-dearranged drug addict who harasses students…you know, since it’s Berkeley.
Comment by Hovannes — May 12, 2007 @ 11:49 pm
Behold the awesomeness of Bear City:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlAGbr_mTCU
Comment by Hovannes — May 13, 2007 @ 12:06 am
Bear City
Comment by Hovannes — May 13, 2007 @ 12:07 am
Hovannes: I will agree that the city of Berkeley is over-run by “hippy-crits.” However there are many other refuges from the weirdo element, such as Tilden Park/Wildcat Canyon. And alot of those punks on Telegraph hitting you up for change are really posers trying to get a free BART ride back home to Oridna.
Now being the Cal fan that I am, I would never suggest replacing Oski. But if he is in need of an update, how about “Oski the Crunk.”98796
Comment by Blaise — May 13, 2007 @ 12:46 am
I came up with The Bear Pack and The Oskis and voted a hundred times…Otherwise I like the Bear’s Lair.
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