It seems the University’s redesign of the athletic uniforms caused quite a ruckus among both alumni and students; they contend that Sparky was pushed out of the picture.
Actually, this is not the truth. Sparky is still alive and kicking. He has not been abandoned, as some people like to believe.
“My alumni cash will not flow again until I see Sparky back on the ASU helmets,” wrote alumnus Bill Heatherly in a letter to the editor on Aug. 24.
What many may not realize is that Sparky is still on the helmet; he is just on the back rather than on the sides. He still graces the walls of the stadium and the flags around campus.
This new endeavor by the ASU Athletic Department is simply a redesign. It adopted a new logo on the football helmets and on some athletic wear. Students can still buy Sparky apparel at the bookstore, and the Alumni Association redesigned their license plates and kept Sparky as the focus.
Perhaps the most important thing is that Sparky will still run around at football games, University events, and other sports games. If our mascot that runs around is changed to a pitchfork, then there is reason for concern, but Sparky will still hype up the crowd and do push-ups at football games whenever the home team scores.
In the Aug. 29 letter to the editor, faculty member John Lynch said, “As for tradition, he would do well to remember that before Sparky (who still resides on the football helmets, by the way) there was a bulldog, which lasted for over 20 years.”
Imagine the alumni response to when bulldog was replaced with Sparky — their sacred mascot jilted. Yet Sparky quickly became associated with ASU and is recognizable across the country.
Why the stiff resistance to a simple shift of logos on the football helmet? If the ASU community resists change every time ASU undergoes an image makeover, we may as well still be the Owls, the original mascot of the Tempe Normal School in the late 1800s.
ASU has a proud history of evolving. We started out as a teacher’s college, then became Arizona State College and later were elevated to University status by popular vote. Now we are a world-class research institution that gained serious academic prowess over the past decade.
With a reputation to be proud of, why has such a petty clash arisen? Alumni want to be proud of what their school stands for, not how sharp the logo looks. We can be proud of the direction ASU has moved in the past decade, and so should the alumni.
To those withholding alumni cash or foregoing sporting events because of this redesign, rethink this position. What’s more important — boycotting your alma mater over a new image or supporting the Sun Devils in every facet? When we graduate, we will want to see ASU succeed regardless of a mascot.
