House Editorial: Mascots duke it out

Posted on September 24, 2007

JMU has come under fire recently for showing shameful school spirit. There have been a few letters to the editor and even a column by a contributing writer in recent weeks complaining that students show their sportsmanship in all the wrong ways. From cursing at the other team to throwing things at it, JMU students fall short in appropriately showing their enthusiasm at sports events. Saturday’s football game was no exception to this trend, and our dear Duke Dog was the culprit of a display of poor sportsmanship.

Normally we are filled with pride when we step into Bridgeforth Stadium to watch the Dukes in action, but this past Saturday all the pride quickly escaped us as we watched our beloved Duke Dog fight the CCU Chanticleer. What should have been a friendly exchange between opponents turned into a match of the mascots.

The scuffle began after Duke Dog refused a handshake from the Chanticleer and proceeded to swat at the Chanticleer once its back was turned. Duke Dog and the Chanticleer rolled on the ground until a police officer pulled them apart. Eventually the two were separated, but the Duke Dog followed the rooster. When he was approached by a police officer, he shoved him. Duke Dog was consequently escorted out of the stadium. About an hour later, Duke Dog reappeared, but a different person was clearly wearing the mascot outfit. After running around the stadium to high-five everyone, Duke Dog walked up to the Coastal Carolina football team and gave them the bird (no pun intended). He too was escorted out of the stadium, this time holding his hands behind his back as if he was getting cuffed. We do not know for sure whether  Duke Dog was arrested or just detained by the police, but the crowd’s uproarious satisfaction with the action was quite apparent.

Whether the Duke Dog was provoked or had bad intentions to start with, his behavior toward Coastal Carolina’s mascot is shameful. The two that gave the stadium such a disgraceful display should be put in the dog house for misrepresenting and embarrassing JMU.

While rivalry between sports teams, and by extension its mascots, is a fun and good-humored tradition, Saturday’s events crossed the line of good taste. Being rowdy and playful at games is fine but clearly disrespecting the opposing team with obscene gestures makes JMU look trashy and tasteless.

The Duke Dog should set an example for students, not encourage the increasingly bad behavior at games. We should be ashamed to show off our mascot to alumni and family members.

We only hope that Duke Dog is put on a leash for Family Weekend, so as not to further embarrass those who go to the football games for lighthearted fun.