Saturday 13 September 2014

What Does The "E" Stand For?

Some may look at these boots and figure that the ice crew in Dallas will be wearing branded rubber boots this season. That is not the case. No, these boots belong to the newest member of the Dallas Stars family. The Stars held their annual fan festival today, and they unveiled their newest addition at the event. The reason there wasn't a major announcement is because this new addition will spend more time off the ice than on it, but he should bring smiles to kids faces if they don't turn and run in the opposite direction.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to Victor E. Green.
You may be asking what Victor E. Green is, and I have to admit that I can't tell you. He's furry, he has hockey-stick shaped antennae, it appears he has some sort of bird's nest on his head, and he's a Dallas Stars fan.

In all seriousness, he's apparently some sort of alien - Stars? stars? get it? - based on his bio picture. His birthplace is "a galaxy far, far away", his roommate is the Zamboni, his relationship status is "alienated", and his favorite movies are "ET, Monsters Inc., and Wall-E". The Stars are really stretching on this mascot, but I appreciate them tying everything together - primary color, logo, and mascot - in one package, albeit a rather strange package. He looks less like an alien and more like a furry, bipedal, four-limbed insect.

That being said, kudos to the Dallas Stars for trying to reach out to the younger generation and for producing an immediately-recognizable marketing tool. Dallas has been playing to sections of empty green seats in the American Airlines Arena for far too long, so hopefully Victor E. Green can start getting some of the younger demographic to prompt their parents for tickets to the hockey game so they can spend time laughing and interacting with Dallas' newest teammate.

Fans of the Dallas Stars took to Twitter to voice their opinions. It seems that Victor E. Green is already polarizing fans to either love him or hate him.
Look, there's nothing wrong with Victor E. Green on the surface. Sure, it might be hard to determine that he's an alien without that biography sheet, but there are lots of mascots out there that don't necessarily fit into their teams' overall marketing plan. The Winnipeg Jets have Mick E. Moose. The Toronto Maple Leafs have Carlton the bear. The Dallas Stars have Victor E. Green. Not so different, is it?

You can pile on the Stars for having a weird-looking alien as their mascot, but let's make one thing very clear: if you spend that much time worrying about the mascot and you're older than twelve years-old, you're going to miss a great season of Dallas Stars hockey.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

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