Latest "Pioneer Mascot" Costume Design

(left) Pioneer Mascot version 2.0 (right) Boonetown's Boone

Here's Version 2.0 drawing/draft of the "Pioneer Mascot" from the costume company. Its been given a little more muscle and "athletic build." Some have mentioned that they wanted "long sleeves" and that is being discussed. Obviously, short sleeves show off the muscles.

The good news is that we already have $4,400 in the bank from donations. We hope to have a quote by the end of next weekend.

The disappointing news is that the Mascot will not be ready until mid-May. We were hoping to take delivery this season but mid-May will give us more time to get our ducks in a row and not rush into a mascot.

Feel free to post comments on what you like or don't like about the drawing. Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions or feedback is welcome.

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

I kind of feel like the face should be more rounded... at least a little bit. The square jaw just makes him more look like a lumberjack or something then our Boone.

dggoddard said...

Thanks. Keep the comments coming. :-)

Anonymous said...

The thing that I think a lot of people like about Boone is that he is cute--he is kind of shorter and stockier, not lean and muscular. It seems like his face should be more rounded and his midsection a little more rounded to honor the the original Boone.

dggoddard said...

Keep the comments coming. We're listening.

Twister said...

I really like this new version of the Pioneer and prefer it over the old Boone. I think a Pioneer should be rugged and tough looking. I like Boone, but he needs more "tough" and less "cuddly".

dggoddard said...

I think one thing I'm hearing is that females prefer "Old Boone" & males like "New Boone." Can people confirm this? Certainly this was the case when I was at DU in the '80s.

If this is the case, I'd be inclined to the order mascot with interchangable heads rather than try and split the baby and the bathwater.

Keep the feedback coming. Speak now or forever hold your peace.

Anonymous said...

This version is a great way to update the old version and Bring Back Boone! Show off those muscles and that square jaw... if you're going to have a human like mascot, shouldn't it have a "rugged" quality about it... one that says "This is who we are, and we're going to kick your butt!"? Because if it isn't, then you should add a pink skirt to him ;)

Twister said...

How about widening the shoulders a bit? New Boone has a large head-- wider shoulders might be more aesthetic.

vizoroo said...

Traditional values vs change.
Have we heard that before?

I think the vest should say DU, not just D.
And I agree the body should be a little
rounder--not so narrow waisted.

I realize "Sparty" is the model,but do we have to clone his head? achsdu17 is corect--looks more like a lumberjack.

I think we do need mascot personna, and there will be many opinions. As they say details, details, details.
Keep the Faith!
You're on the right track

vizoroo said...

P.S. I like Boone's smile better than Sparty's clone.

Anonymous said...

The square jaw is good. Huge muscles, narrow waist, brawny--we want an ass kicker, not a teddy bear!!

dggoddard said...

Keep the feedback coming. We have until Saturday night to make a decision.

We now have the quote and we have the money raised.

Thanks to your feedback today, we are now formally exploring the option of purchasing a 2nd "Boone" head to place on the mascot, so that we would have "New School Pioneer" & "Old School Boone."

Keep the feedback coming. No detail is too small. We're going to be discussing all of these ideas with the donors.

Thanks.

Anonymous said...

I like Boone 2.0 and I like the older Boone. In the end, I think it’s great that we're talking about what Boone should look like and not whether we should have Boone at all.

If people like his more “studly” physique, then he should spend more time in his short sleeve shirt (maybe Boone's been spending the last ten years in the Coors Fitness Center)... If people don't care for his muscle, then he should spend more time in a hockey jersey that doesn't quite show his brawn. Either way, this is a huge improvement over where we've been for the last ten years.

I do think his Jersey Number should be 87, in honor of the 87% of the DU community who voted for his return.

dggoddard said...

Great idea about the hockey jersey. We could get an oversized jersey custom made.

#87 is priceless.

Bravo. Bravo. Bravo.

Anonymous said...

I think the "D" rather than "DU" or "Denver" makes it clear (and protects us) that this is an unofficial mascot that is not trying to step on school name or existing branding.

Down the road, if the mascot ever becomes official again, or if there are no problems, you could easily replace the D with DU or Denver.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure of the point? The New Boone really isn't that much different, and won't address the concerns raised. So, if it's not going to be too different, why change it at all? Stay with Happy Fat Boone, I would say (coming from a guy).

Anonymous said...

He's a militant leader not a fricken teddy bear. Grab your guns and be prepared to fight.

dggoddard said...

After we get the mascot, the goal is to get the students to vote.

Boone vs. Ruckus vs. A tree vs. 2.0 vs. whatever

So what we decide this week isn't the end of the line. Its just a step in the battle. We want to give the students the best possible mascot and let them unleash their creativity and drive.

I can tell you that the students that I'm in contact with are psyched at the prospect of finally getting a mascot.

So keep the feedback coming, this is a very healthy debate.

Anonymous said...

3:02.....well said. Happy Fat Boone looks like a doughboy. Too soft and not enough man. We need a tough leg-whipping, eye-gouging elbow-throwing, uppercut-throwing, nail-eating Boone who can stomp on and then drop kick badgers, gophers, huskies, tigers, bulldogs mavericks, and seawolves. Then he can put his size 15 boot right up Haktol's ass.

Anonymous said...

I would have to say that I like the shorter sleeves more than the longer sleeves that you said some people were preferring in your last email, DG.

Gotta show off those guns; since he probably won't be running around with a blunderbuss. ;)

Anonymous said...

The Frozen Four is in D.C. in April. It would be great if the Atlanta company could speed it up to meet that date. I was at the championships in Boston and Columbus and with The Pios playing their best now I can fell the Frozen Four getting warmer for us.

Anonymous said...

The Frozen Four is April 9-11. Very doubtful that the mascot could be ready in time. The mid-May date seemed pretty firm.

We're sending the deposit on Monday after we discuss all the feedback on Saturday.

Whitey said...

I read today DU is forming yet another committee to 'find themselves' and create a new mascot. Has ANYTHING good ever come out of one of those things? Face it, Boone is where we should be and all the PC idiots need to get over themselves. Boone is only threatening to those who have personal problems to begin with and we should not have to forgo our traditions to appease a small group of people who just want some attention. Bob Coombe is clearly tone deaf to dismiss Boone and it is up to the real world to bring him back to reality.Drop him a note, EMail or phone him and let his staff know what a boner they pulled by canceling Boone.
Whitey
ccsucks@aol.com

Anonymous said...

Well said Whitey!

Anonymous said...

Anyone down to have a public protest?

I'm absolutely serious.

dggoddard said...

Someone once said the National Football League symbolized everything that was wrong with America; violence interrupted by committee meetings.

One of the reasons we're better off building "Version 2.0" instead of an exact replica of the 1968 drawing is to see how its received and learn from the process. If 2.0 is a failure, because the students don't embrace it, we can tweak the next design. We can easily raise another $4,000 and build an exact Boone any time in the future.

You better believe that DU will be watching what we do right and wrong throughout this process. Our efforts place pressure on DU to adopt a "Pioneer" figure because adopting a Tree or a Hawk will obviously be rejected by DU fans.

At the end of the day the decision of the mascot belongs in the hands of the students. We going to be giving the students a first hand look at a "Pioneer" mascot and see how it goes. They're psyched for us to roll this thing out.

Anonymous said...

My vote is for original Boone! Isn't that what everybody's been working so hard to keep?

Anonymous said...

I was at the championships in Boston and Columbus and I can definitly see the Pios in this years frozen Four in D.C. Is there any chance of accelerating the costume one month and having the debut at the Frozen Four? That would be an awesome introduction.
Also, how about BOONE across his chest rather than D?
I have previously pladged Firty bucks. The check isn't in the mail yet but count on it.

dggoddard said...

Keep the feedback coming. We're going to print all these ideas and discuss them on Saturday.

The mascot is going be able to wear oversized DU hoops jerseys, hockey sweaters and lacrosse jerseys, ect. and we can write Boone or whatever we want on the back of the jerseys.

Aluuum said...

How about BOON across the chest instead of the D?

Anonymous said...

I was in Boston and Columbus and I can see D.C. looming. We are playing our best hockey now when it is most important. Can the costume be accelerated one month to be displayed at the frozen Four. That would be an awesome introduction to Denver Boon and bury that red tailed chicken forever. Then even politico Coombs couldn't stop the movement.

dggoddard said...

We've contacted the mascot company and we've written into the contract that we'll pay them $500 extra if they finish the mascot by April 7th in time for the Frozen Four.

They are very doubtful that it will be ready in time, but the offer is on the table.

DU had better make it or else LetsGoDU will be a pay subscription site next season. :-)