(above) Video footage of WCHA hockey and mascot stunts in the 1980's
The Maroon Loon, a hockey mascot which came into being in the 1980s, receives a video tribute from former University of Minnesota-Duluth student and former Loon, Jay Jackson, 46, now of Fountain Hills, Ariz. He was a risk-taking, high-energy, crazy-skating costumed Loon during some of UMD’s best seasons in the 1980s. He’s now a star inline skater and often competes in Duluth at the NorthShore Inline Marathon.
10 comments:
I remember the Loon being at the DU/UMD 1986 WCHA playoff series at the DU Arena. He was great, and really added to the atmosphere. It nearly gave it a "professional wrestling" feel!!
ruckus?!?!
That's good stuff. There is SO much you can do with a mascot program, along with a little bit of budget money and creativity. Unfortunatley you will never see it here at Denver. You have to look at leagues like the CHL, ECHL, NAHL & USHL to really get some good entertainment value from your mascot.
I'm sure the mascot is great and all but I could barely watch a minute of that video. :/
For those of us that followed college hockey in the 1980's this grainy video give a pretty accurate depiction of what went on.
DU used to dive an Audi out on the ice during intermissions for the car giveaways.
Tacky promotions, low tech broadcasts, no video screens and 40 year old run-down arena. This was the WCHA.
Love the video. Brings back a lot of memories growing up in Duluth and being a Dogs fan. Some great archive footage, if you are a Dogs fan. Have been a DU fan since moving to Denver area in 1990 (but still a closet Dogs fan). My family has great side bets during the hockey season with family for UMD, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, the Goofs, St Cloud, North Dakota and CC. My sister and I will be betting on the series this weekend with the winner getting a Pepper Cheeseburger at the Pickwick in Duluth. I got a split on the series with NoDak so no Pepper Cheeseburger yet.
Anyone remember the time I skated on my stilts in the old barn in Denver? I did a flip over the boards and the stilts got caught on the overhang that covered the bench like a baseball dugout. I was stuck upside down till a ref came and knocked my stilts off the ceiling and then of course I crashed to the floor of the bench. O good times. Miss DU.... Jay Jackson
I remember the Loon very well. The stilts were magnificent, and very original. UMD had awesome teams in the mid 80s, and we had very memorable games with them, including the infamous "Coffin" playoff game in 1986, when DG and his fraternity brothers brought a real casket into the arena and paraded it into the UMD fan section.
I also remember a Brian Haedrick (sp?) who was the loon in the late 80s and early 90s. The WCHA even adopted the loon as a league mascot in that era for the final 5 even though UMD wasn't in it. Great stuff.
Never heard of this pepper cheeseburger -- Found the recipe online. That sounds like a fantastic thing to eat..!
The Loon was a great mascot, and the stilts were hilarious. The Kurvers/Maciver era was a great one for the Bulldogs, they were a strong DU adversary. Perhaps those days are back...
Trivia test for DG...do you remember who WON that Audi? And took it to Iowa. The fix was in I think :)
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