This past Saturday Ole Miss football fans were introduced to Tony the Landshark who is the new onfield mascot for the Rebels.
So we knew it was coming at Saturday’s ‘Meet the Rebels’ day with the unveiling of the new Land Shark Mascot Tony. He was named after former Ole Miss player Tony Fein who was the first Rebels player to throw up the Landshark gesture in a game. As soon as the first image hit social media, the naysayers and opposing fans immediately criticized the selection and some made claims that our mascot is a huge laughingstock of college football. Really?
Has anybody seen Stanford’s tree, Alabama’s elephant and Ohio State’s Brutus to name a few. The bottom line is this. If the players and the kids love it that’s all that matters. The merchandise which was released is really cool so all in all the Ole Miss marketing department has done a great job. Tony may not be perfect but you can’t please everyone.
A MSU fan photo shopped me with Tony. So, thanks!😎 pic.twitter.com/fpLWFHprhA
— Jim Shute (@DFWLANDSHARK) August 13, 2018
Everybody Stay Focused
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We need to focus on what matters and that is winning football games. Save your energy for that instead of focusing on uniforms and mascots. In less than three weeks, we will tee it up against Texas Tech, a game that we can and must win.
Mississippi State fans and other SEC rivals will try to get under our skin to distract us away from the games themselves. Don’t fall for it. Be better than that! I can’t wait to get to Houston and support our Rebels and you should do the same. There are plenty of tickets left and there will be discounted tickets out there as we get closer to September 1st.
If Ole Miss has as many or more fans than Texas Tech in their own state, it will send a clear message to the college football fans across America that we will not let the NCAA, mascots or anything else derail our plan of having a winning football program.
The last time I looked there was no mascot competition or rankings. They are there for the kids and the pageantry of the game. So, don’t let a shark bite distract you from being the best Rebel you can be. See you in Houston. Hotty Toddy!