Mascots and nicknames

[BEChargers]

     Ok, since I've angered most of my Alma-mater I might as well let the rest of the high school football world tell me how wrong I am.  Boyle county high school opened in 1963.  It has been told by the school that the nickname for the new school was down to the Brigadiers and the Rebels and the Sr. class voted and chose the Rebels.  I do not know if there was an official rendering of said Rebel or any kind of official mascot.  What I do know is that sometime in the late 70's early 80's a confederate soldier became the official mascot of the Rebels.   One season even had a confederate flag on the sides of the team helmet.  This lasted until the mid 90's when the confederate soldier was abandoned and replaced with a silhouetted man on a horse with a raised sword.  I'll be honest, I'm glad that was done and thought that with the expelling of the confederate soldier that things were fixed.  I have since changed my mind.  Whether or not the confederate soldier was the initial intention or not, (I've heard that is was and I've heard that it wasn't by people who were around at the time), at some point it was officially for several years.  Because of that I think it needs to be changed.  I love Boyle county high school and I love Boyle county football.  I don't think anyone in a while has even thought of the whole confederate connection and that makes this much harder.  Was dropping the soldier mascot to a generic guy enough?  I don't think so, but it's obviously just my opinion and I can promise you my opinion carries very little weight with anyone.  Am I wrong? 

     Before anyone tells me I'm trying to erase history, I'm not.  I'm just trying not to honor a group I don't think needs honoring. 

     Now blast away, it won't hurt my feelings.  Most of the county now hates me but I think it's the right thing to do. 

[WestDanville]

I’m a little confused on your stance. I know there is a petition going around wanting to change the mascot from Rebels to something else. Is that what you’re wanting as well or are you suggesting a logo change of some sort?

[Tigerpride94]

Become a star wars rebel that was against the empire. Somebody can be a jedi at the games as the mascot.

[Jumper_Dad]

1 hour ago, Tigerpride94 said:

Become a star wars rebel that was against the empire. Somebody can be a jedi at the games as the mascot.

This would be awesome!

[gchs_uk9]

As @BEChargers said, the senior class voted for Rebels. They actually didn’t adopt a nickname until well into the first school year. In fact, old newspapers reference Boyle’s first game in 1963 (with Greensburg, I believe) and state that they did not have a team or mascot at the time. Just a little info - no way a school would be created today without a mascot beforehand. 

[BEChargers]

9 hours ago, WestDanville said:

I’m a little confused on your stance. I know there is a petition going around wanting to change the mascot from Rebels to something else. Is that what you’re wanting as well or are you suggesting a logo change of some sort?

I personally haven't seen or heard of the petition.  There was a logo change, away from the confederate connections but I think the name should be changed also. 

[TheDeuce]

Yep, change it. 

[Rebel]

Nah, don't change it. 

#Rebel4Life  

[Roundsteak]

If some feel Rebel is offensive simply change the nickname to Colonels, which, by definition, is a southern gentleman. But I’m sure that would also be offensive to some even though it dates back to the Revolutionary War. 

[theguru]

Any mention, discussion, and media regarding politics or political figures is expressly prohibited on BluegrassPreps. This includes, but is not limited to the mention or names of any elected or publicly appointed officials, both domestic and foreign, by name, title, or by the offices held (e.g. - president, governor, chancellor, minister, senator, congressman, commissioner, attorney general, county clerk, magistrate, Beshear, Clinton, Lincoln, Merkel, Obama, Putin, Reagan, Roosevelt, Trudeau, Trump, etc). Any direct references or inferences to political terminology and activities, (e.g. - government, Democrat, Republican, GOP, conservative, liberal, campaign, lobby, legislature, filibuster, caucus, etc) and anything else deemed political in nature by the BGP staff is also prohibited from the site. Likewise, this also includes 3rd party links to articles that are political in name or in nature. Additionally, the use of names/nicknames deemed by the BGP staff as references to political figures (e.g. - Andy, Donald, Tricky Dick, Slick Willy) will not be permitted on BluegrassPreps.

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[Jumper_Dad]

Received this in a text this afternoon...

In the wake of several colleges and professional sports teams considering a new mascot, it's beyond time for Somerset High School to assess their own mascot. Briar Jumper? Oh so you're just going to discriminate against thorns, sticker bushes, and cockleburs? And don't get me started on the alienation of those who opt to skip, hop, vault, spring, leap, or bound instead of jump. It's 2020 Somerset. Wake up. 

🐇

[ATLCat]

18 hours ago, Jumper_Dad said:

Received this in a text this afternoon...

In the wake of several colleges and professional sports teams considering a new mascot, it's beyond time for Somerset High School to assess their own mascot. Briar Jumper? Oh so you're just going to discriminate against thorns, sticker bushes, and cockleburs? And don't get me started on the alienation of those who opt to skip, hop, vault, spring, leap, or bound instead of jump. It's 2020 Somerset. Wake up. 

🐇

I wouldn't poke that bear if I was a Somerset fan to be honest. HAHA.

The Briar Jumper nickname came about in 1916 when Somerset defeated heavily favored Louisville Boys High School 51-6 in Louisville. One of the Louisville sportswriters, Johnny Head, used the story of Uncle Remus to describe the agility that the Somerset ballcarriers displayed in evading the Louisville player's tackles. He christened the Somerset team Briar Jumpers and the nickname stuck. Their home fields are nicknamed The Briar Patch.

Just so we are clear, Disney just announced they are completely re-working Splash Mountain. It was based on the Uncle Reamus characters in "Song of the South" including Brer Rabbit and the Briar Patch and that movie has basically been wiped clean of the Disney cannon because of the racism in it.

I'd probably just keep my nose down on this if I was Somerset and only tell people to look at the cute bunny LOL.

 

[rjs4470]

21 hours ago, Jumper_Dad said:

Received this in a text this afternoon...

In the wake of several colleges and professional sports teams considering a new mascot, it's beyond time for Somerset High School to assess their own mascot. Briar Jumper? Oh so you're just going to discriminate against thorns, sticker bushes, and cockleburs? And don't get me started on the alienation of those who opt to skip, hop, vault, spring, leap, or bound instead of jump. It's 2020 Somerset. Wake up. 

🐇

I know the text wasn't yours, but it's a pretty weak attempt at sarcasm.  It's really easy to poke fun of or tell someone it's no big deal when you have no skin in the game and it's not your culture or history that's being hijacked in the name of school or team spirit.  

[theguru]

Any mention, discussion, and media regarding politics or political figures is expressly prohibited on BluegrassPreps. This includes, but is not limited to the mention or names of any elected or publicly appointed officials, both domestic and foreign, by name, title, or by the offices held (e.g. - president, governor, chancellor, minister, senator, congressman, commissioner, attorney general, county clerk, magistrate, Beshear, Clinton, Lincoln, Merkel, Obama, Putin, Reagan, Roosevelt, Trudeau, Trump, etc). Any direct references or inferences to political terminology and activities, (e.g. - government, Democrat, Republican, GOP, conservative, liberal, campaign, lobby, legislature, filibuster, caucus, etc) and anything else deemed political in nature by the BGP staff is also prohibited from the site. Likewise, this also includes 3rd party links to articles that are political in name or in nature. Additionally, the use of names/nicknames deemed by the BGP staff as references to political figures (e.g. - Andy, Donald, Tricky Dick, Slick Willy) will not be permitted on BluegrassPreps.

Keeping in mind BGP's core purpose as a sports-discussion community, discussion of the the managing bodies specifically serving over high school, college, amateur, and professional sports leagues (KHSAA, NCAA, IOC, MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL et al), along with the officers, officials and the titles held by the individuals within those organizations is permitted on BGP. Similarly, high school and college/university administrators and officials, when discussed in a strictly non-political manner, are all permissible on BGP.

[TheDeuce]

4 hours ago, rjs4470 said:

I know the text wasn't yours, but it's a pretty weak attempt at sarcasm.  It's really easy to poke fun of or tell someone it's no big deal when you have no skin in the game and it's not your culture or history that's being hijacked in the name of school or team spirit.  

Thank you. I'm glad some people get it.