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School drops Cougars as team name because it might offend women
KLBJ AM ^ | January 19, 2012 (Updated report) | Geoff Herbert

Posted on 07/01/2014 12:07:37 PM PDT by Arrowhead1952

Corner Canyon High School hasn't even opened yet, and it's already facing controversy.

The new school, scheduled to open in 2013 in Draper, Utah, announced this week that it had chosen its mascot and school colors.

According to KSTU-TV Fox 13, future students within the school's boundaries were mailed ballots to vote for the sports teams' colors and mascot. The colors navy, silver and white were selected and the Charger was named the mascot -- the first in Utah to use it.

The Chargers wasn't the most popular team name with the kids. Instead, the top name was the Cougars, getting 23 percent of the votes. Other choices included the Chargers, Diamondbacks, Falcons, Raptors, Broncos, Bears and Cavaliers.

But the Cougar was rejected as the mascot because board members decided it might be seen as offensive to middle-aged women.

As pointed out on TV shows like Courteney Cox's "Cougar Town" and Tina Fey's "30 Rock" (one episode titled "Cougars" featured the 41-year-old Fey going on a date with a 20-year-old), the term has become popularly known to describe an older woman who dates younger men. Even online dating websites have popped up specifically for the "cougar" crowd, connecting interested males with females that are 15-30 years their senior.

There are, of course, other teams that already use the team name Cougars, including three other high schools in the state. As Prep Rally points out, even Utah's biggest college, Brigham Young University, uses the animal as its mascot which is probably why so many kids voted for it.

But those teams existed before the term "cougar" had its place in popular culture and it became more common for stars like Demi Moore to date someone half her age, such as her ex-husband Ashton Kutcher. Back then, a cougar was just a fierce animal also referred to as a puma or mountain lion.

So did the school board need to worry about its teams being associated with the new connotation?

"Sensitivity and political correctness regarding the names of athletic teams has officially reached a ridiculous peak," USA Today wrote.

What do you think? Is Cougars an offensive name for a team?


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: cougars
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To: Osage Orange
Can’t imagine someone objected to comment #5...????

Yes, she was naked, but showed far less other pics here. Some people don't have a sense of humor.

21 posted on 07/01/2014 12:22:24 PM PDT by FatherofFive (Islam is evil and must be eradicated)
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To: Arrowhead1952
"charger: war horse steed mount horse nag (slang)stud stallion mare brood mare wild horse equine foal filly gelding dobbin (slang)work horse pack horse animal"

Well if they are going to be a horses ass about it, "Charger" is as good a mascot as any.

22 posted on 07/01/2014 12:22:36 PM PDT by DannyTN
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To: Dilbert San Diego

Absolutely - What a beautiful pair of....eyes.


23 posted on 07/01/2014 12:22:45 PM PDT by Bob
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To: Arrowhead1952

I can’t imagine a... Mature, attractive woman would be offended by the term, since it is usually used by young bucks who think she’s hot.

Now I can see the cadre of the National Association of Gals (NAGS) being offended, cause no one thought they were hot at any age.


24 posted on 07/01/2014 12:25:05 PM PDT by AFreeBird
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To: Arrowhead1952

How long has the term “cougar” been used to refer to women? So now they can just start using a term and within a short period of time dictate how it can be used?

Come to think of it, when was the last time you saw an advertisement for a vacuum cleaner that “sucks”? Do the Flintstones still have a “gay old time”?


25 posted on 07/01/2014 12:27:07 PM PDT by Rusty0604
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To: Arrowhead1952

Go Cougars !


26 posted on 07/01/2014 12:27:11 PM PDT by ßuddaßudd (>> F U B O << "What the hell kind of country is this if I can only hate a man if he's white?")
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To: Rusty0604
How long has the term “cougar” been used to refer to women?

Not very. I think the "mature woman seeking sex from young men" meaning is less than 10 years old.

27 posted on 07/01/2014 12:28:33 PM PDT by NorthMountain
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To: FatherofFive

Well heck it was a National Geographic pic...for crying out loud!?!?!?!?!?


28 posted on 07/01/2014 12:29:00 PM PDT by Osage Orange (I have strong feelings about gun control. If there's a gun around, I want to be controlling it.)
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To: Arrowhead1952

One good thing to come out of this. Even though the school is brand new, the parents and kids know early on that they have a bunch of MORONS on the school board.

Replace them before they start would be my advice to these folks.


29 posted on 07/01/2014 12:29:10 PM PDT by FlJoePa ("Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won't taste good")
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To: MrB

I’m not quite THAT old, but at my age women 10-15 years older might as well be dead.


30 posted on 07/01/2014 12:30:01 PM PDT by ZirconEncrustedTweezers (I'm not anti-government, government's anti-me.)
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To: NorthMountain

I miss my 67 cougar. Long story short, it had to be sold to appease the spouse.


31 posted on 07/01/2014 12:31:21 PM PDT by wally_bert (There are no winners in a game of losers. I'm Tommy Joyce, welcome to the Oriental Lounge.q)
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To: Rusty0604

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEj9bvnEJDQ


32 posted on 07/01/2014 12:33:57 PM PDT by Osage Orange (I have strong feelings about gun control. If there's a gun around, I want to be controlling it.)
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To: Bob

“She’s got HUGE... tracts of land!”


33 posted on 07/01/2014 12:34:27 PM PDT by 17th Miss Regt
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To: MrB
Ha!!!

You bad!!

HA!!

34 posted on 07/01/2014 12:34:48 PM PDT by Osage Orange (I have strong feelings about gun control. If there's a gun around, I want to be controlling it.)
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To: NorthMountain

That’s what I thought. Am I having a bad dream where the inmates have taken over the asylum?


35 posted on 07/01/2014 12:35:09 PM PDT by Rusty0604
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To: Arrowhead1952

Women should be offended to be called Cougars, not offended by the word used for a school mascot. jeez


36 posted on 07/01/2014 12:35:17 PM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: Sarah Barracuda

Maybe it was because the “official seal” of the school featured a CD of Journey’s Greatest Hits, a bottle of cabernet and a hotel room key.


37 posted on 07/01/2014 12:38:04 PM PDT by Buckeye Battle Cry (Audentis Fortuna Iuvat)
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To: Rusty0604

The inmates took over the asylum a long time ago. Trends in popular culture and informal language are driven almost exclusively by deviants, perverts, morons, politicians, liars, activists, and miseducated children. It’s difficult to think like an intelligent man, while using the language stupid and immature people. This is deliberate.


38 posted on 07/01/2014 12:38:45 PM PDT by NorthMountain
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To: Osage Orange

LOL that vacuum cleaner really does suck!


39 posted on 07/01/2014 12:39:07 PM PDT by Rusty0604
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To: NorthMountain

NM - I lost my virginity in the back seat of a green cougar just like the one featured in the top photo. Sadly, it was not to the model in the pic.


40 posted on 07/01/2014 12:39:09 PM PDT by Buckeye Battle Cry (Audentis Fortuna Iuvat)
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