Meredith Medusas?

From Mr. Tudor at the N&O:

"Never heard of the Medusas?
Well, that's because they used to be called the Meredith Angels.
Actually, they still are -- for a while at least.
Meredith, a private women's college in Raleigh, is stepping up its athletic profile.
In the USA South Athletic Conference, Meredith's teams will battle the Averett Cougars and Ferrum Panthers, among others.
And you have to admit, a team going by the name of Angels doesn't sound very intimidating.
Hey, it's a jungle out there. What's an innocent Angel to do except change her persona?
That's why the school has launched a campaign to find a name that will throw a scare into opponents."

Well, here we go. Is this political correctness gone amuck or something even worse? What's the matter with "Angels"? Even a pro baseball team is called "the Angels". Does a girls' sports team need a "scary" name? Was the name offensive to Angels?

We have all sorts of teams with "bad" names (think "Blue Devils", "Demon Deacons"), and some with politically incorrect names (think "Redskins"), and every now and then the idea pops up to change these team names, and I've generally been against changing team names just for the sake of political correctness. This name change seems to go against the grain, but I still don't like it!

Meredith is a girls school, and was/is affiliated with the Baptist Church. I ask, what is the matter with "Angels"? Why do these upstanding girls desire a "bad" name when they had such a "good" one? This does not bode well for these young ladies. I think they need some new role models if they prefer "Medusa" to "Angel". For shame, I say!!

From Rebels to Hurricanes

WECT TV6 & WECT.com - Wilmington, NC news and weather - From Rebels to Hurricanes:

"APRIL 27, 2005 -- Cape Fear Academy is changing its nickname. Come July the school's sports teams will no longer be known as the Rebels.

Students at the private school in Wilmington voted to drop the Rebel name because some felt uncomfortable with its connection to the Confederate cause during the Civil War.

After a student vote and contest for the new logo, Cape Fear Academy has chosen the Hurricane as their new mascot.

Although it was late last spring when the vote was taken to make the change, it was just weeks ago that the logo was finalized.

The Hurricanes logo goes into effect July 1."

Hmmm. When I first heard this I thought "Rebels" might be dropped because of the "Rebels" in Iraq, but it looks like some people are still more hung up on the war between the states, which ended some 140 years ago. Hurricanes...sheesh, what a lame name. At least be original, like say "Red Rovers", or "Marshmellows". Or even better, make the name more distasteful, like, "Redrum Rebels" or "Drunken Pirates". Those would sell some gear!