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January 26, 2010
Steve Galluzzo , Sports Editor
After two championship seasons, it's time for the Pali Blues Soccer Club to adopt a team mascot and General Manager Jason Lemire is anxious for fans to get involved in the process.
"We're always looking for new ways to engage the community," Lemire said. "We were lucky enough to have the Palisades High dolphin at a few of our games last season but this year we want our fans, particularly our younger fans, to help us create a mascot that will be our very own."
The mascot's role would be two-fold: 1) to help pump up the home crowd at Stadium by the Sea and 2) to make public appearances to promote the team's community service initiatives. In short, Lemire envisions someone (or something) who would be fun to see walking down Sunset in the town's annual Fourth of July Parade.
"Some of the greatest, or at least most memorable, sports mascots are born from team names that do not lend themselves in any way to someone dressing up in a funny costume," Lemire pointed out. "Take Mr. Met, for instance. There's really no obvious mascot for the New York Mets, unless of course you consider a man with a large baseball-shaped head an obvious selection. Yet, since his creation in 1964, Mr. Met has helped rally millions of baseball fans and is even a member of the fabled Mascot Hall of Fame (founded by David Raymound, the original Phillie Phanatic)."
If Mr. Met proves anything it is that a team like the Pali Blues can pick just about anything to be its new mascot. The team encourages Palisadian-Post readers to submit their ideas and to be as creative as possible.
Once the basics have been decided'the mascot's name and general description'Lemire plans to turn over design duties to local elementary and middle school students, with finalists posted on the Blues' website and beyond.
"There is no question that Pacific Palisades is full of talented kids," Lemire said. "We want to give them the opportunity to actually see one of their creations come to life."
What exactly that creation will be is yet to be determined. To enter the Pali Blues Mascot Contest, simply email your idea to mascot@bluessoccerclub.com or, even better, mail your submission to The Palisadian-Post, c/o The Pali Blues Mascot Contest at 839 Via de la Paz.
Submissions should include a MASCOT NAME as well as a BASIC DESCRIPTION (type of animal/person/object.) There is no limit to the number of submissions an individual or family can make.
The deadline for submissions for this first part of the contest is February 11, 2010. All submissions will be considered by the Pali Blues and Palisadian-Post staff. To help spark readers' creativity, Lemire offered a few helpful guidelines:
1) Things that are the color blue. 2) Things found "Where the Mountains Meet the Sea." 3) Anything related to soccer. 4) Things that start with the letter "P."
The Palisadian-Post's suggestion? How about "Paulie the Platypus?"
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