Bradley's new mascot "Kaboom!" the Gargoyle

[Da Coach]

What is the purpose of "Kaboom!"? Is it to satisfy the older people? If that is the case then it probably was a failure. If it is to get people excited it might be successful. I had 3 grandchildren at the game and they all loved it...

It obviously was not intended for the older fans. I have acknowledged that. However, it is older fans who buy the majority of the tickets, and donate the majority of the donations. It is also older fans who are bailing out faster than any other demographic of Bradley fans.
I wonder if this mascot campaign and development of the Kaboom character, which cost Bradley tens of thousands (I have heard as much as $100K for consulting and creative design and costume work) was ever test marketed with older fans. We know what the test marketing with 5-year olds showed, but if it is going to further alienate the older fans who hold onto the more traditional concepts they have always known, then maybe it isn't worth it. That is all I'm saying. Many of the older fans already think this administration would be happy to see them all die off and go away. I have heard it said by someone at Bradley that the administration thinks Bradley fans are "too attached to their past". They were offended by the attempt to change the Braves name (many threatened to withhold donations if the administration went ahead with what they intended), they were offended by the first attempt to name a squirrely mascot back in 2008 that the majority voted for "No Mascot", they were offended by the ticket price increases, they were offended by the moving of games to the campus arena to cater to non-existent students, and they are upset by the deterioration of the Bradley winning tradition. Don't you think the administration should try to reach out to those fans who have been slapped down enough times already?

[Rick LeHew]

SI got it right !!

http://extramustard.si.com/2014/02/24/bradley-gargoyle-mascot/

[Big Mike]

I like KaBoom......even bought 3 T-shirts!

[amckillip]

I like the Mascot, the name, AND think the PR we're getting for it can only bring more awareness of the university. Why do publications think it's so weird to have a mascot that isn't analogous to our nickname? I have listed dozens of top tier programs that do the exact same thing! Are reporters/bloggers that lazy/uninformed/unintelligent?

[Da Coach]

Another major national sports website weighs in on Bradley's new mascot-
FoxSports-
Is this the scariest mascot in college sports?-

http://msn.foxsports.com/buzzer/story/is-this-the-scariest-mascot-in-college-sports-022414

USA Today-
Meet the most terrifying new mascot in college sports

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/02/meet-the-most-terrifying-new-mascot-in-college-sports/

And one more-
Bradley University unveils terrifying mascot (pics)

http://fansided.com/2014/02/24/bradley-university-unveils-terrifying-mascot-pics/

And here is a similar situation- the New Orleans Pelicans unveiled their new Pelican mascot a few months ago, and it has received unrelenting criticism since it's unveiling. It looks scary and menacing, and the mascot has not grown on anyone.
So the Pelicans have concocted a scheme to redo their mascot- they pretended that the mascot had an accident, injured his face and beak, and must now undergo reconstructive surgery to correct his looks!-

http://nba.si.com/2014/02/10/pierre-pelican-new-orleans-mascot-beak-surgery-new-look/

[amckillip]

So, I think most on here know I'm pretty critical of the current administration. But MSN/FoxSports, SI, USAToday, ESPN... Was the Sweet 16 the last night we got this much publicity?

[Da Coach]

Publicity? or ridicule.
I am not sure this is what the administration was hoping for.
It is hard to find any coverage of the mascot that isn't negative.

[amckillip]

Publicity? or ridicule.
I am not sure this is what the administration was hoping for.
It is hard to find any coverage of the mascot that isn't negative.

Neither the USAToday coverage or the FSN coverage appear negative IMO. And even if it were 'There's no such thing as bad publicity...'

[bigjimmy]

What's the old saying. "Any publicity is good publicity." I find it hard to believe that the higher ups wanted to get this much negative feedback though. I expect plenty of publicity on ESPN 2 Tuesday night. I hope Kaboom! is ready for his closeup.

[LongTimeFan]

My wife and I watched the game on a Fox channel here in CA. We thought the intro was a little overdone but had no problem with the mascot. My wife did fell sorry for the asthma sufferers in the crowd as smoke bothers hers.

The announcers kept mentioning all the smoke though, at least, all of the first half. They laughingly said it was the cause of the lack of scoring ... "smoke in their eyes.

[Bradleyfan1]

This is a good thing! He needs to be as up in the free throw distracting as he can be

I wanna hear Marshall wine about how he was like a 6th man out there hahaha

[Dub]

I frankly think it's weird how many people outside Peoria even give a rip about this mascot issue. This isn't what I want to be known for, and either it's a slow news week in sports, or Bradley is actually more relevant in general than I thought.

[Chibearsfan10125]

Keith Olberman talked about Kaboom on his show last night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi1y_v3g-kQ

[Da Coach]

Keith Olberman talked about Kaboom on his show last night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi1y_v3g-kQ

"World's Worst" Mascot? Wow, what does he have against gargoyles? or Bradley?

But some believe any publicity is good. I don't happen to agree. This cannot be a good thing for Bradley to get this much national ridicule.

[Buesch N Chips]

The mascot is fine. Small minds tend to pile on with superfluous negativity.