Over 90% of those polled at the TFN site thought the mascot sucks, and this is the oblivious, sunny-day spin we get from USATF. My god, no wonder the PR side of track is in the tank.
-Buck Jones -----Original Message----- From: USATF Communications [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Thursday, January 02, 2003 2:05 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: t-and-f: USATF Release: Mascot name game continues Contact: Jill M. Geer USATF Director of Communications [EMAIL PROTECTED] 317-261-0500 http://www.usatf.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, January 2, 2002 Name Game continues for USATF mascot INDIANAPOLIS - USA Track & Field's new mascot, the subject of a great deal of buzz on the Internet and in print, soon will have a name. Track and field fans have until January 6 to submit their suggestions for a mascot moniker on the USATF Web site, www.usatf.org. At that time, USATF will post its top five finalists for the official name. Fans can then go online to vote for their favorite. Voting will be open through January 15. The winning name will be announced February 1 at the first stop on USATF's 2003 Indoor Golden Spike Tour, the adidas Boston Indoor Games. Unveiled December 5 at the Opening Session of USATF's Annual Meeting, the mascot caused a commotion when USATF posted its photo online and invited fans to submit names. More than 3,000 suggestions for a mascot name have been made thus far on USATF's Web site, though not all suggestions can be reproduced in a family-friendly press release. All the name suggestions - good, bad and "creative" - have helped make the mascot naming contest the biggest Internet success in USATF's history. Rob Walker of the online magazine Slate.com in December wrote an article on the mascot, instantly making it news in non-sports media. At the same time, Track & Field News - whose editor, E. Garry Hill, was quoted by Walker in Slate - conducted an online survey (www.trackandfieldnews.com) to determine what the track public thinks of the mascot, and numerous newspapers and magazines have carried news of the mascot as well. To take part in the mascot-naming contest, and for more information about the Indoor Golden Spike Tour, visit the USATF Web site, www.usatf.org # # #