12-06-2011, 11:09 PM
Don Kennedy made that declaration after the vote in 1980 (or 1981?) where the only choices were Gryphons (for the statues that were then in front of Encina), Sequoias and Cardinals. There were strong write in campaigns for Robber Barons, Thunder Chickens and Steaming Manhole Covers.
President Kennedy said that we would follow in the tradition of the Cornell Big Red, the Harvard Crimson, the Dartmouth Big Green. We thought it was bad form to let the students vote and then ignore their view entirely. But acceptance has come with 30 years of familiarity. I certainly did not want to read headlines about what the Huskies did to the Sequoias in the game on Saturday.
The Band did a show the following season in which it tried to ascertain what kind of Cardinal was represented by the nickname. Cardinal numbers? Cardinal sins? Cardinal the religious figure? The show was not in the class of "tribute to Joe Francis" but it was pretty good.
President Kennedy said that we would follow in the tradition of the Cornell Big Red, the Harvard Crimson, the Dartmouth Big Green. We thought it was bad form to let the students vote and then ignore their view entirely. But acceptance has come with 30 years of familiarity. I certainly did not want to read headlines about what the Huskies did to the Sequoias in the game on Saturday.
The Band did a show the following season in which it tried to ascertain what kind of Cardinal was represented by the nickname. Cardinal numbers? Cardinal sins? Cardinal the religious figure? The show was not in the class of "tribute to Joe Francis" but it was pretty good.
"We have an unwritten rule around here not to do anything stupid."
-Casey Jacobsen, Feb 3, 2000