44 Films | Otto's Origins

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[All4SU]

Sort of glosses over, or even ignores, a part of the transition process.

 

[TexanMark]

I watched it...and it didn't deliver.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Sort of glosses over, or even ignores, a part of the transition process.

They missed the whole Gluteus Maximus period.

 

[sutomcat]

Really well done video.

Did not know it was about far more than Otto. Does a nice job of reviewing SU’s past and the decision to change mascots. Good to get the perspective of Neal Powless discussing how the Saltine Warrior was viewed by the Native American community.

Glad we made the change and were far ahead of the curve doing it.

A mascot doesn't have to be a wild animal or an offensive caricature to work,

Otto is the antithesis of the standard sports mascot. As far as I know, only Syracuse went in this direction and that is okay by me. And kids do love the fuzzy round guy/gal.

 

[elimunelson]

I wish Syracuse was the Wolfpack right now (says absolutely no one except the ridiculous PR/marketing firm that proposed that in the mid 90s).

 

[All4SU]

I wish Syracuse was the Wolfpack right now (says absolutely no one except the ridiculous PR/marketing firm that proposed that in the mid 90s).

I have the football poster from that year framed in my office. I consider it a collector’s item.

 

[rrlbees]

I wish Syracuse was the Wolfpack right now (says absolutely no one except the ridiculous PR/marketing firm that proposed that in the mid 90s).

Wasn’t it just The Wolf and not Wolfpack?

 

[All4SU]

Someone also has it on eBay…

 

[elimunelson]

Wasn’t it just The Wolf and not Wolfpack?

You may be right I have PTSD from the whole stupid event. I do know that Jake wasn’t happy w the final decision. Such a weird period

 

[Dick_in_MI]

Really well done video.

Did not know it was about far more than Otto. Does a nice job of reviewing SU’s past and the decision to change mascots. Good to get the perspective of Neal Powless discussing how the Saltine Warrior was viewed by the Native American community.

Glad we made the change and were far ahead of the curve doing it.

A mascot doesn't have to be a wild animal or an offensive caricature to work,

Otto is the antithesis of the standard sports mascot. As far as I know, only Syracuse went in this direction and that is okay by me. And kids do love the fuzzy round guy/gal.

The Saltine Warrior was the mascot of my youth and I loved him but even then I realized that reducing a people to the level of “mascot” was offensive. So I had no problem with the change. What I had a problem with was what came next.

A gladiator? A wolf? Are you kidding me?

Then came Otto and I really thought we had scraped the bottom of the barrel. However, I soon grew to love him.

He isn’t ferocious. He is like the Oregon Duck: cute, feisty, personable, and one of the most recognized mascots in all of college sports.

While he may not be ferocious, you don’t want to mess with him either. There is something vaguely unsettling about him like one of those possessed dolls. If you woke up at 3 AM with him staring at you from the foot of your bed, it would drive you into an immediate coronary.

 

[Scooch]

Mascots rule.

The video does skip over the Otto origin story. As I imagine most here know, there was a Roman Gladiator, a troll, a snow monster, etc. and none stuck. The cheer team (not Lambda Chi) came up with an Orange mascot, named Clyde. That eventually became Otto.

But let's be clear... if you don't like Otto, you have no soul, no joy, no whimsy, and I'm not sure we can be friends. He is so uniquely ours.

Lastly, has anyone noticed that over the past few years we quietly started using the fierce Otto as our main mascot representation, and then just as quietly moved back to friendly Otto? I never read a thing about either decision, but it was noticeable to this ol' mascot.

 

[buffalorange]

Mascots rule.

The video does skip over the Otto origin story. As I imagine most here know, there was a Roman Gladiator, a troll, a snow monster, etc. and none stuck. The cheer team (not Lambda Chi) came up with an Orange mascot, named Clyde. That eventually became Otto.

But let's be clear... if you don't like Otto, you have no soul, no joy, no whimsy, and I'm not sure we can be friends. He is so uniquely ours.

Lastly, has anyone noticed that over the past few years we quietly started using the fierce Otto as our main mascot representation, and then just as quietly moved back to friendly Otto? I never read a thing about either decision, but it was noticeable to this ol' mascot.

Back in the eighties there was a cast of characters in the dome. Besides whatever mascot SU had that week, you would find: The Dome Ranger, The Beast of the East, the knitting lady, and someone called Dome Eddie.

 

[Dick_in_MI]

Back in the eighties there was a cast of characters in the dome. Besides whatever mascot SU had that week, you would find: The Dome Ranger, The Beast of the East, the knitting lady, and someone called Dome Eddie.

I seem to recall one of the local radio stations creating a song about all of that. Set to the tune of "Land of 1000 dances", it was titled "Land of 1000 Mascots." The song mentioned all of the various characters that showed up at the games.

 

[Dick_in_MI]

I have mentioned this before but some years back my wife and I saw East Syracuse native Bobcat Goldthwait at a local standup club out here. During his act, he said "I'm from Syracuse, New York. Our mascot is an orange (transitioning to the "Bobcat" voice) because there are so many orange trees in Syracuse!!!"

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Back in the eighties there was a cast of characters in the dome. Besides whatever mascot SU had that week, you would find: The Dome Ranger, The Beast of the East, the knitting lady, and someone called Dome Eddie.

Those were just disturbed diehard fans.

Never a shortage of those.

 

[SU68]

The Saltine Warrior was the mascot of my youth and I loved him but even then I realized that reducing a people to the level of “mascot” was offensive. So I had no problem with the change. What I had a problem with was what came next.

A gladiator? A wolf? Are you kidding me?

Then came Otto and I really thought we had scraped the bottom of the barrel. However, I soon grew to love him.

He isn’t ferocious. He is like the Oregon Duck: cute, feisty, personable, and one of the most recognized mascots in all of college sports.

While he may not be ferocious, you don’t want to mess with him either. There is something vaguely unsettling about him like one of those possessed dolls. If you woke up at 3 AM with him staring at you from the foot of your bed, it would drive you into an immediate coronary.

I was at SU for the Saltine Warrior. While he might have been offensive to some, did we really need to go to an embarrassing fruit? Other schools and pro teams have native mascots, why not us? Every game we honor the Onondaga and fly the flag around campus. Couldn't we have had a mascot that was approved by the Onondaga?

 

[OrangeXtreme]

I was at SU for the Saltine Warrior. While he might have been offensive to some, did we really need to go to an embarrassing fruit? Other schools and pro teams have native mascots, why not us? Every game we honor the Onondaga and fly the flag around campus. Couldn't we have had a mascot that was approved by the Onondaga?

They weren't going to approve anything.

Now if we moved the campus down the road to Oneida...

 

[Dick_in_MI]

I was at SU for the Saltine Warrior.

So was I.

Other schools and pro teams have native mascots, why not us?
Because we are better than those diminishing number of schools and pro teams.

Couldn't we have had a mascot that was approved by the Onondaga?
I'm pretty sure the members of the Onondaga Nation approve of Otto.

 

[C Bomb]

I wish Syracuse was the Wolfpack right now (says absolutely no one except the ridiculous PR/marketing firm that proposed that in the mid 90s).

They just repackaged it and sold it to Bonaventure

 

[TexanMark]

Disagree with some...I found the video shallow and it went the easy PC route (which that backstory is important but give more history)...I'd rather have a deeper dive into all the ill fated mascots...it is out there. The videographer should have started a thread here and pick some of the boomers and Gen X brains for ideas, background and research clarity.

 

[TexanMark]

They weren't going to approve anything.

Now if we moved the campus down the road to Oneida...

LOL...everything has a price.

 

[Cheriehoop]

Thought this article was interesting especially considering the NIL discussions. These students who are Otto are special.

Why doesn’t Syracuse University pay Otto the Oranges?

The lack of a payment program at Syracuse University means that the Otto mascot program is inaccessible to students who cannot make financial sacrifices.

www.thenewshouse.com

 

[buffalorange]

Thought this article was interesting especially considering the NIL discussions. These students who are Otto are special.

Why doesn’t Syracuse University pay Otto the Oranges?

The lack of a payment program at Syracuse University means that the Otto mascot program is inaccessible to students who cannot make financial sacrifices.

www.thenewshouse.com

Interesting article, but it appears the author used this site in his research. The Dome Ranger, the Beast of the East, and Dome Eddie were never official SU mascots.

Also, it seems the person unhappy that the Otto mascot is a volunteer position is the author.

 

[elimunelson]

Thought this article was interesting especially considering the NIL discussions. These students who are Otto are special.

Why doesn’t Syracuse University pay Otto the Oranges?

The lack of a payment program at Syracuse University means that the Otto mascot program is inaccessible to students who cannot make financial sacrifices.

www.thenewshouse.com

I have some perspective having worn the costume in the mid 90s. I never did it with the expectation of getting paid. The university was very generous with providing me with an academic scholarship to begin with. I speak fondly of Boston College as i'm a Boston native but BC offered me zero dollars upon admission. The generosity of the trustees of SU and whomever else allowed me to go to SU with a generous package. To that i'm forever indebted. Hopefully wearing the mascot was a miniscule way of saying "thank you".

To me, being the mascot was just a fun thing to do. I got to travel for free, act like an *ss on national tv and have stories for lifetimes to come. Some I can tell, others i'll never tell. I did see the faces of sick kids at hospitals, nursing home visits, and other countless visits with alum around the country as something that just made me feel good about the gig.

A few funny financial anecdotes from that experience. Dick Vitale was very surprised to learn the mascot got zero money. He told me once that the Leprachaun at ND was on a full ride. I never confirmed this but that was the first time I realized I was providing a service versus doing something I perceived as fun. I think in the early 90s everything wasn't distilled down to what does this cost and what i'm providing. Soapbox wise, college sports were better when it wasn't simply a marketplace for every function served. Otherwise, the pep band, the marching band, cheerleaders and walk ons would have as big a gripe about not getting "theirs". Obviously the world has changed.

I hope the university does invest more in the mascot program and kids get some sort of help if it's needed to do the role. I'm not sure what is a right number but I do know that Julie has built that program into something that has structure, organization and pride. What more can you ask for.