Wednesday, April 11, 2007

I've always wondered

...why they call him Oski.

From Oski.com:

"The official mascot of the University of California, Oski, has been a tradition at the school since making his debut on September 26, 1941 during the football season-opener against St. Mary's. Prior to his arrival, live mascots were used at Memorial Stadium with varying degrees of success. It was decided in 1940 that a costumed mascot would make a more suitable alternative to a live bear.

Named after the popular turn of the 20th century 'Oski Wow-Wow' yell, the Cal mascot is selected by the Oski Committee, a governing body that oversees all aspects of caring for the lovable, 5-foot-7-inch, size 15 tennis shoe wearing Bear. Oski's identity is unknown to everyone, with the exception of the committee.

Oski Wow-Wow!
Whiskey Wee-Wee!
Olee! Muckie-eye!
Olee! Berkeley-eye!
California! Wow!"

What a silly yell.

12 comments:

Turd Ferguson said...

Thats probably the stupidest cheer I've ever seen.

Anonymous said...

RBlog,

This has nothing to do with your post, but do you have a recommendation of a good non-text book covering the subject of Marketing??

I have to do a book report for my b-school marketing class and have no idea what book to choose. Since you are booky and in B-school, I figured you may have some good recommendations.

RB said...

Turd (and co.), have you noticed that Cal's homecoming next fall is against OSU? 10/13! Buy your tickets now!

RB said...

Hi Wife!

I'm so flattered you asked!

I've been wanting to read Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Everyone is buzzing about that right now, and I would say it's about marketing but appeals to wider audiences.

The Blue Ocean Strategy made quite a splash (hah) earlier this year. That one is by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne.

It might also be kinda funny to do a book report on something like Narketing for Dummies just to find out how useful something like that is. It would be pretty funny if a book like that actually covered pretty much everything you learn in intro to Marketing in b-school.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tips!!

I'll check them out and get back to you with my review.

I've got two marketing professionals in the class, plus the prof is a retired marketing executive. So, I've got to do a little more reading of my audience to see if they would see the humor of the marketing for dummies. Too soon to tell.

Thanks!!

Anonymous said...

Hey!! After reading the synopsis and a couple of other blogs about the "Made to Stick" book, I'm kind of excited to read it. Plus I can see it being a peice of cake to do a presentation about.

I may just skip work for a bit to go grab a copy at Borders.

Thanks again!! You've saved me countless hours (or minutes)of web searching.

Anonymous said...

I defer to RB in all things litereary but what about the "Tipping Point"? Too mainstream?

Anonymous said...

You know, my Grandma tells a story: When she was attending Berkeley she had a teddy bear named Oski. She was also dating the boy that designed the first Oski costume. She doesn't think the common name was a coincidence, but who knows...

Anonymous said...

anonymous, you expect us to believe this outlandish story without even knowing who you are?? Reveal yourself!!

RB said...

Agreed. That sounds like a mighty tall tale from Grandma.

Anonymous said...

Plus, Oski drinks bear through his eye.

Anonymous said...

and when Shark says "bear", he means "beer".