Why Texas Tech Should Adopt a New Mascot
I was looking at the picture of new football coach Matt Wells being greeted at Lubbock's airport, and it occurred to me that nothing in the pic looked like a "Red Raider."
So, is it Matadors or Red Raiders? Red Raiders, check. So why are Zorro and Yosemite Sam (or what Ellen DeGeneres called "Hillbilly Elmo") our mascots? I don't get it, and I never have.
Follow me here. The first definition I got for a "raider" is: "a person who attacks an enemy on the enemy's territory." Is that not cool? I think it's the coolest, especially when translated into a sports situation. So how does a "raider" become a cowboy of any type? It just makes NO sense.
I know there are those who will scream "tradition." Raider Red was created in 1971 and only because some teams/conference wouldn't let Texas Tech bring the Masked Rider's horse on the field. So keep in mind that A) new traditions are started all the time, and B) tradition is usually dead men's baggage, and there's no reason to carry that around.
So what would a new "Red Raider" look like? Well first, red. Then since "Guns Up" is a thing, you need to have that element in there. The rest is up for grabs. I would think out of the hundreds of thousands of alumni out there, as well as tons of graphic artists, someone could great something really cool and unique.
We're starting a new era of football at Texas Tech, and a new mascot to go with it would be awesome. Do I think this will ever happen? Uh, no. But it's fun to consider.