We here at TheUConnBlog do not spend a large amount of time writing about St. John's. Sure, they may hold the record for the most wins by an opponent at Gampel, but much like Syracuse's much-maligned football team, the modern Red Storm are merely a pathetic shadow of what they once were. But today, we're happy to grant St. John's a share of the limelight, and cast it on one member of the school in particular: its yet-to-be-named mascot, which was revealed late last week.
You see, up until 1994, St. John's happily used the not exactly culturally sensitive nickname "redmen" and even worse, had this lovely little stereotype as a mascot:
Anyway, to make a long story short, it was pointed out to St. John's that a racist stereotype of an oppressed group of people might not be the best image for the school to embrace, and so they changed the name, opting for "Red Storm."
However, since it is really, really hard to make a storm costume, the school was left without a large, creepy creature to wander around the stands at sporting events. The solution? Wait a decade and then have a contest, which resulted in the creation of the new St. John's mascot being whatever that bird thing on the top of this post happens to be, more formally known as the "Thunderbird." At this point I think it is important to stop and note some of the other options that now will be denied the chance to represent the Big East's 15th best basketball team: Thunder Horse, Storm Hero, Thunderbolt, and my favorite: Red Storm Bear.
Anyway, the new Thunderbird looks so ridiculous that I do not know if words can be used to mock it adequately, so instead I will just refer you to this photo gallery.
The real question though, is what this creature's name will be. For that, I refer you to the St. John's department of communications:
"Will the mascot be "Johnny The Thunderbird?", or "Bolt," "Spirit," "Stormy," or "Surge?" Or will the Thunderbird be named something else, as students will have the opportunity to write in a vote."
I don't know about you, but I'm pulling for Stormy.
H/T - Deadspin