Errr...that darned "OS" is back on my mind...

I'm reading the "Oregon Stater." For those who don't know, it's the alumni magazine published by the Oregon State University Alumni Association...sent out periodically to inform graduates of who has died, who's donated huge quantities of money to the univ., and what research is going on in one of the many science colleges/departments.

Today's magazine has an article called, "gimme an 'o' gimme and 's'. Essay: You, too, can learn to love the new two-letter sports logo."

Ugh! As I related in one of my very first blogs, I HATE th new logo! Dammit, I went to Oregon State University! I was there when Benny Beaver and his beautiful "partner," Bernice, ran the roost. Benny had a bad tail, which sometimes looked as though he was carrying a load, if you get what I mean. Ok, so the football team was so bad back then that all students gained entrance to the games for free...and, well, honestly, we all came in with bottles of rum/peppermint schnapps, and whatever other cheap liquor we could get our hands on. There was an old joke. It went something like this, "I left my 2 tickets to the Beaver game on my dashboard and forgot to roll up my windows before leaving. When I came back to my car, I expected to find the tickets stolen, but instead, there were 2 more!"

Those were the days, you see, 'cause it was all about being a hard-working student with no car, living in the dorms, with very little money, but a lot energy to burn. Today, almost every student has a car and a debit card and enough money to have drinks at "Cloud 9." We, however, used to go to the "Oregon Museum" for beer and picking up guys. We had so very little money that we managed to sip on our pitcher of beer for hours.

We were Oregon State University students...and we wore our ratty OSU hoodies with pride. Everyone we passed knew we were from OSU, cause our clothes said "OSU." Now, with the "OS" logo, folks might think, "Oh, look at that kid. He's from Oregon Skaters," or, "Hey, does 'OS' stand for anything I should know about?"

If you want to read the article, you'll find that the author, Kevin Miller, gives a lot of explanation about how the new logo came about. I'm sorry, but I'm from Oklahoma, and I have always known the difference between the 2 logos, even through Oklahoma State University shares the same colors as my beloved OSU! But, they are the Cowboys. We are the Beavers. Their mascot carries 2 6-shooters. Our beaver is mad as hell, with his big incisors flaring with rage. Kevin even goes into detail by showing all of the other proposals for the new logo. There are some good...but, honestly, I could do better. I know it! Heck, my students....oh, I'll give it up...

I will never accept OS. I refuse to buy merchandise with the logo on it. Okay, too late. My husband received a beautiful new Oregon State University jacket for his birthday, as he is a recruiter for the College of Forestry and had an old, faded OSU jacket that was honestly embarassing! When I went to buy the jacket at the bookstore, YIKES! The only things available were "OU-ed" already! I asked the clerk, "Excuse me. Where can I find the real OSU garments?" She said, "You're looking at them."

Join with me. Rebel against the marketing ploy. Stand up for the return of the OS and the U on sports apparel!