Their stadium holds 18,000 people and their annual game against Canton McKinley is to Ohio high school football what Ohio State versus Michigan is to college football.
And now Ted Strickland wants to piss them off.
Massillon Washington High is nicknamed the Tigers—not an inventive nickname, but a proud, strong one. For 41 years, a live tiger named Obie—more accurately, a series of live tigers named Obie—has been stationed on the sidelines at football games, locked in a cage and generally looking menacing. Like that one scene on the train in Last Crusade, the tiger has been an effective means of startling the opponents (or River Phoenix, depending on which example you're going with here). The folks at the Humane Society have stood up and said — and I paraphrase here — "It belongs in a museum, or, if available, a well-regulated exotic animal preserve." Gov. Strickland has sided with them and will sign an executive order in the fall that will "stop the flow of dangerous, wild animals in the pet trade for keeping by people ill-equipped to care for them," thereby putting all those mom-and-pop exotic animal preserves out of business and whisking Obie away from Massillon High, presumably to the safe, lush confines of the Toledo Zoo.It's been a bad enough few days in Ohio, Governor.
Your singing scared off LeBron and Harvey Pekar died.
After that, do you really need to piss off an Ohio tradition?
You failed.... AGAIN!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cantonrep.com/stark/x1876494098/Tiger-mascot-Obie-can-stay
Actually, I think I (and Deadspin, where this post originated) succeeded.
ReplyDeleteEnough attention was called to it that Strickland saw the writing on the wall and changed his position.
Glad to see Ted doesn't mess EVERYTHING up.
LOL... He didn't CHANGE his position. He never HAD that position, fool.
ReplyDeleteNow he's the hero of Massilon AND the Farm Bureau.
Nice faceplant, Keeling.
Try to keep up here, Modern.
ReplyDeleteOn July 12th, this article came out:
http://www.cantonrep.com/newsnow/x41629380/Final-roar-Rule-threatens-Massillon-mascot
After 41 years of guarding the sideline, tackling footballs and working on his roar, Obie — Massillon’s live tiger mascot — could be sidelined for good.
“It would be a shame if we got rid of Obie,” said Bob Hollender, a member of the Tiger Booster Club and a 29-year veteran of the Obie Crew. “This tradition has gone on for 41 years now. Forty-one years. There will be a lot of unhappy people in Massillon if we can’t get a new baby Obie.”
This fall, Gov. Ted Strickland plans to sign an executive order that could prevent any future live tiger mascots in Massillon. The new law would be the result of an agreement reached recently with the Humane Society of the United States and organizations representing the care of livestock and agriculture in Ohio.
It discusses the order Strickland was ready to sign as well as the efforts to reach out to him to dissuade him against it.
Then the Deadspin article came out and blew it up. Then I posted about it.
Then at 10:49pm last night, the article you posted with Strickland's new position came out.
It's a very simple timeline. It's not my fault you can't comprehend it.
Strickland realized the rule he was going to sign was going to piss off Massillon. He became aware of it and changed it.
And as I mentioned above, I'm glad he did.
Um, except the NEW article you link to doesn't ever say that what Governor Strickland was "prepared" to sign (which, in reality, is still being DRAFTED) didn't explicitly impact Obie.
ReplyDeleteThey were concerned it might. When asked, the Governor said it wouldn't case closed.
He didn't CHANGE his position or the order. The same guy you just quoted is elated to hear that the Governor has Massillon's back.
In other words, Strickland is a hero in Massilon and with the Farm Bureau.
And you quoted a website nobody has heard of that falsely claimed Strickland supported something he didn't without ever actually contacting his office about him.
I know this kind of FACEPLANT hurts, but you need to get beyond the shock of your utter failure.
I comprehend the timeline, but I also comprehend the facts. There was no order that as drafted would have barred Obie the Tiger that Ted was about to sign. It's still being drafted, but it was never affect school mascots.
They aren't pissed at Ted, they think he's a hero.
He DID change his position.
ReplyDeleteDid you not catch this in the article I posted?
"A spokeswoman for Strickland noted that it’s too early to know for sure how Massillon’s mascot would be affected by the new laws."
But now he says he will adjust the rule to make sure the Tiger is excepted.
That is a change, no matter how you read it.
You SURE you're a lawyer? Aren't they supposed to comprehend language and stuff?
BTW, if you are on the internet as much as you, and are a dude...and haven't heard of Deadspin, then something is wrong with you.
Too early to know yesterday if Obie would be affect to we know he won't isn't a change in position or policy.
ReplyDeleteTo adjust something it must FIRST exist. It didn't.
Claiming I'm dense to cover your own is an odd deflection.
You're conflacting a policy decision with a policy reversal which is what DIDN'T happen.
I know it's tough to accept that instead of pissing off Massillon, Strickland is now a hero. But it's ok.
That first paragraph of your previous comment may be the worst written paragraph in the history of man.
ReplyDeleteAs for whether something existed or not, well, it did.
The new law would be the result of an agreement reached recently with the Humane Society of the United States and organizations representing the care of livestock and agriculture in Ohio.
There was an agreement made on behalf of the Governor.
Then this came out about Obie, and he changed his position so that Obie would not be effected.
Once again, I'm glad he did, but it's intellectually dishonest to make the claims you are attempting to make.
Keeling, I love how you invent a position out of thin air, get proven wrong, and insist that it's me being intellectually dishonest.
ReplyDeleteThere was nothing, NOTHING in the agreement that directly applied to this mascot. School folks feared it might... a spokeswoman was asked about it and a day later made clear that it wouldn't. There was no change in position except from "We don't know yet" to "we know it won't."
That's hardly a reversal.
But you keep deluding yourself you're that influential with the Strickland Administration.
Go Tigers!
You say, there is "NOTHING in the agreement that directly applied to this mascot".
ReplyDeleteIf that's the case, the wording of the executive order won't address in any way mascot traditions at schools or sporting events.
But, per the Canton Rep article:
Gov. Ted Strickland announced Tuesday that he will ensure the rules regarding the sale and care of exotic animals allow for live mascot traditions at Ohio high schools and colleges to continue.
That infers wording WILL be inserted to confirm animals like Obie can continue to be at sporting events.
If that wording has to be inserted, it's a very clear change from the original executive order as agreed to by Ted Strickland.
I guess we'll see when the Executive Order comes out.
I look forward to it.
Go Bulldogs.