The University of Albany, SUNY may not have bears roaming campus like Baylor, but no other college in America has the Great Dane for a mascot. Do you know what a Great Dane is? A lumbering, slobbering, aggressive dog of war that towers over most short people. That's right, I said dog of war. Wake Forest's Demon Deacon was regarded as the most frightening college mascot because he reminds students of the looming ravages of time; UAlbany can clobber that argument in the face with this: The Great Dane was bred to help Germans, the formerly genocide happy people of Europe, kill things!
According to UAlbany's Athletics brochures, the school selected Scooby as the official mascot in 1965. Before '65 during the manliest era in American history, UAlbany had an equally manly mascot known as Pierre the Pedguin. A Pedguin was an imaginary creature meant to represent UAlbany's status as a teacher college. Penguin and the word "pedagogy" were merged in an epic fail that gave birth to the name the Pedguin and the school's athletic teams, The Pedagogues. It's nice to think the Pedguin is an extinct, handicapped fourth cousin of the Penguin, vindicating Darwin for totally calling natural selection; sadly, the Pedguin met a more boring demise.
In 1965, according to back issues of the stunningly handsome Albany Student Press, UAlbany changed mascots from Pierre the Pedguin to the nameless Great Dane. In a shocking turn of events, the state of Pennsylvania also named the Great Dane its official state dog that year. Whether or not Pennsylvania was trying to be cool like their German ancestors, whom if you remember bred these dogs for war, we'll never know. According to StateSymbolUSA.org, "When the Speaker of the House called for a voice vote to designate the Great Dane, yips, growls and barks assaulted his ears from every part of the chamber! With a rap of his gavel, the Speaker confirmed that the 'arfs have it' and the 'Barking Dog Vote' entered the annals of legislative history.” Can't you feel the legislative rush of excitement that must fill the halls of Pennsylvania's government?
Article comments
1 - nicolas
ridiculous drivel.
2 - Keri
Clearly, you have never met a dane before. But think you for spouting your opinions as facts.
Off to go hug my lumbering, slobbering aggressive dog of war now. Hope she doesn't maul me.