Let's just call ourselves the George Washington University Students. No current student who doesn't understand the difference between a Colonial and colonist can't possibly be offended by calling the teams the Students, right? Or maybe we call them the Student Athletes? We were already way ahead of our time by not referring to women's teams by inserting the word "Lady" into nicknames (which for the record I really liked that we didn't do that), so let's be ahead of our time by showing our inclusivity and just be the GWU Students!

Or maybe Collegiates?

Last edited by ColonialNY (6/16/2022 5:07 am)

GWGrad2013 wrote:

It’s getting to the point where the average family can’t even afford to go grocery shopping, let alone drive to the grocery store, and yet all you weirdos can talk about is a riot almost two years ago. So, so, so pathetically out-of-touch. November can’t come soon enough.

That's the world we live in, champ. Every country is experiencing it. But I'm guessing you already know that, but are too under the spell of our American charlatan to care.

It won’t be the hippos unless we are giving up on women’s sports.  Can’t imagine too many women who want to be called a hippo.

If we're getting rid of Colonials because it's too similar to Colonizers there's just no way it's gonna be the Revolutionaries.

Using the above interpretation skills, Revolutionaries could mean the Bolsheviks, the Taiping Rebellion,  the Confederacy,  or even the January 6th folks. There's a "revolutionary" out there to piss off every student and alum.

Simply amazing. We have some people complaining on the other thread that we aren't paying enough attention to January 6th. But then have no problem with the name Revolutionaries. If you are offended by Colonials, I would think Revolutionaries in this day and age might be more offensive. Just saying.

Revolution - a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system.

Hatchet Man wrote:

GWGrad2013 wrote:

It’s getting to the point where the average family can’t even afford to go grocery shopping, let alone drive to the grocery store, and yet all you weirdos can talk about is a riot almost two years ago. So, so, so pathetically out-of-touch. November can’t come soon enough.

That's the world we live in, champ. Every country is experiencing it. But I'm guessing you already know that, but are too under the spell of our American charlatan to care.

Nah that may be the world you accept living in but some of us have higher aspirations for our economic policies. But perhaps you should park yourself outside the gas pumps and just tell people that it's just the World we live in so they should accept it. I bet you will get some interesting reactions.

I think in the context of GW revolutionaries is a fine name. Keeping the mascot as George sets the tone for the revolutionary war revolutionaries. Now if the mascot was the crazy face paint and bull horns guy who stormed the capital, then revolutionaries might be a problematic name

Hatchet Man wrote:

I like the Revolutionaries (or Revs for short), though I think the Generals would work as well. Please no Hippos, unless you are dropping to D3. Those kinda names might work for UC Santa Cruz (Banana Slugs), but not for schools competing at a higher level.

I like Generals - I get the George Washington Generals is a little close to the Washington Generals of Globetrotters ignominy, but i have a feeling it won't resonate with too many people. 

"The Team Formerly Known as the Colonials"  (With all due respect to this thread, I wish we were discussing something else, (such as the actual team)  rather than this nonsense.

Last edited by Long Suffering Fan (6/16/2022 9:47 am)

Gwmayhem wrote:

Mike K wrote:

ESPN AP Article

According to an online statement from the university, a that committee determined that supporters of "Colonials" view it as referring to "those who lived in the American colonies, especially those who fought for independence and democracy," while opponents see the term as referring to "colonizers who stole land and resources from indigenous groups, killed or exiled Native peoples and introduced slavery into the colonies."

NO, NO, NO!  Definitions of words are not matters of opinion.  You can't take the word "refrigerator" and state that one group views the word as an appliance designed to store and keep food cold while others define it as a fluid put in a car to enable power steering.  Colonizer and Colonial are different words with different meanings, not subject to interpretation.

Merriam-Webster: Colonial (noun): a member or inhabitant of a colony.

Even as an outsider I've always had an affinity for GW but I always felt Colonials as a mascot or moniker for your teams was foolish. George Washington literally risked his life and fought a war to no longer be called a colonial and now his namesake college links the two together? That makes no sense.

I'm obviously not close enough to the situation to make a call one way or another about how sound the process to change the moniker has been, but even if the process has been flawed, to me the outcome seems correct. George Washington shouldn't be called the Colonials and hopefully they go with a mascot and/or moniker that more closely resembles what made George Washington so special for our country