Big thanks to BlazerJay's dragonzrealm.com website.

Damn thing must use "Crest Toothpaste", hehe. I think its teeth should be yeller, like his claws ( just being sarcastic, folks). Hey, truthfully, Im happy it's complete and will be there for its dedication.

Very nice work. Can't imagine how long it took to do that.

Unfortunately, I still think it belongs at a theme park.

To all the haters - It looks good.

MB, what do you think?

LUV it!!!!! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOO

If it is going in over at the playground at the Epic School I love it. Otherwise, see the other 4 threads on this topic.

legalblazer Wrote:If it is going in over at the playground at the Epic School I love it. Otherwise, see the other 4 threads on this topic.

It looks better than I thought it would, more cartoony than I had hoped. It will last us until we can get it in bronze.

I like it. It looks like the logo.
IMO, this is not for adults to look at and feel energized about their college. It would never strike fear into another team no matter how you painted it. To me, it is an attraction for the kids to come look at and see it blow smoke.

And 20 yrs from now:
people will be talking about how they thought the dragon was real when they first saw it - when they were 4 yrs old.
Not a bunch of geezers saying how UAB would have won a national championship if the dragon had been a better color.

Looking forward to the day when I can bring my yet unconceived (I hope) grandkids to see the UAB dragon.

And then walk over to the world class on-campus sports complex to watch the nationally ranked UAB sporting activity of the day.

That thing looks dumb. When do we get the statues of Mickey & Minnie Mouse?

It looks okay. I think the weather will be good for it. Once it gets a little faded and all, I think it will look pretty cool.

Oh, and I seriously doubt the tradition committee got together and said, "Let's do this for the children"

It's a good start!

Cjrun's $0.02

It looks awesome and beats what we have in front of Bartow now (nothing)

And for those who say our mascot looks cartoonish has anybody seen the um tiger lately



or for that matter any of the mickey mouse tigers bossman creates?

It's looks like it has been caught doing something wrong and has it's arms up like...
"Dont taze me bro!"....
Wait until Fox 6 gets a hold of this..
I will bring my putter Tuesday with some turf to put around it.

SWEEEEEEEEEEET!!! it's better than I thought it would be.

People are gonna complain no matter what, but in the end it's a start of tradition and school pride. I'll see ya'll on the 29th.

dragonbreath Wrote:It's looks like it has been caught doing something wrong and has it's arms up like...
"Dont taze me bro!"....
Wait until Fox 6 gets a hold of this..
I will bring my putter Tuesday with some turf to put around it.

Bring some kids and no one will criticize.

I think a tradition will get started where student groups/outgoing seniors paint the dragon for special events (like put a basketball jersey on it or a homecoming t-shirt). That would be the best use of it.

As far as 4 year olds go, universities aren't playgrounds or theme parks so if the kids want to see something fun point them to the west and east for Visionland and Six Flags.

[/b]Wow, I am really surprised by all the negativity around here. I think it looks great, pretty close to the trademarked version that is used on everything. So if this is cartoony or miniature golf, then so is everything else. It is a freaking mascot, not a symbol of your diploma or the standards of the school, that is the thing with the woman on it, which is very dignified and all that. Or the Gene Bartow statue which is very diginified. This is supposed to be fun, not so damn serious.

That we should point kids to visionland or six flags is one of the most short sighted things I have ever heard. My 2 year old son loves Blaze and that is about the only thing that keeps him entertained at football and basketball games. He will grow to love the sport, but what is wrong with appealling to future generations? Do they need to shut down all the stuff at Blazer Village since it is meant for kids too?

dfarr Wrote:That thing looks dumb. When do we get the statues of Mickey & Minnie Mouse?

Where wil they go? With Papa Smurf outside the nursing school?

You are comparing apples to oranges.

Blazer Village and the actual mascot aren't "permanent" fixtures on campus and are meant for entertainment. The statue is a permanent fixture on campus and is supposed to symbolize more than something cute for kids to look at before they go into the games and look at our cute mascot. AGAIN, this is a university, not a playground for kids. I'm all for bringing the youngins to games to grow our fan base but at the end of the day our university should represent more than a theme park.

cb4029 Wrote:

To all the haters - It looks good.

MB, what do you think?

+1

cb4029 Wrote:

legalblazer Wrote:If it is going in over at the playground at the Epic School I love it. Otherwise, see the other 4 threads on this topic.

Oh - I'm so insulted.
What purpose did your post have other than antagonizing me? I've never directly said anything derrogatory about your opinion of the statue. I've only commented/cracked jokes about the statue, yet you attack me yet again (however impotently) since I won't jump on your ra ra bandwagon.

Yes, I think it looks bad now (yard flamingoes for the mini park anyone?) and it will only look worse after that paint starts fading/chipping, etc.

I was at Georgia State's homecoming when they unveiled this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/procrast8/207648571/
That is what belongs on a campus, not a climb toy from a McDonald's Playland.

STLouis Blazer Wrote:You are comparing apples to oranges.

Blazer Village and the actual mascot aren't "permanent" fixtures on campus and are meant for entertainment. The statue is a permanent fixture on campus and is supposed to symbolize more than something cute for kids to look at before they go into the games and look at our cute mascot. AGAIN, this is a university, not a playground for kids. I'm all for bringing the youngins to games to grow our fan base but at the end of the day our university should represent more than a theme park.

It does symbolize more than something for kids to look at, it symbolizes our mascot, which it looks exactly like. Again, if the statue is cartoony, then so is everything that has Blaze on it. Also, it is a statue, its purpose is to be looked at, do all of them have to be dignified and classy? Can't we have one that appeals to something besides the older crowd? I know that I want to have my picture taken in front of it with my son and my other son that is on the way. As a matter of fact, I want to have a picture of the 2 of them in front of that every year. As someone else mentioned, no statue will win a single game, or convince a single recruit (athletic or otherwise) to come here, but this one might make some kids, students and parents happy, what is wrong with that?

http://www.tjneil.com

We missed out on the Elvis:



and the mermaid:

would be super cool if bronzed...

legalblazer Wrote:

cb4029 Wrote:

legalblazer Wrote:If it is going in over at the playground at the Epic School I love it. Otherwise, see the other 4 threads on this topic.

Oh - I'm so insulted.
What purpose did your post have other than antagonizing me? I've never directly said anything derrogatory about your opinion of the statue. I've only commented/cracked jokes about the statue, yet you attack me yet again (however impotently) since I won't jump on your ra ra bandwagon.

Yes, I think it looks bad now (yard flamingoes for the mini park anyone?) and it will only look worse after that paint starts fading/chipping, etc.

I was at Georgia State's homecoming when they unveiled this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/procrast8/207648571/
That is what belongs on a campus, not a climb toy from a McDonald's Playland.

Now now lets let cooler heads prevail we don't people leaving the site to take a sabbatical or anything

cjrun Wrote:Now now lets let cooler heads prevail we don't people leaving the site to take a sabbatical or anything

hah!

Give me one fraternity, a pressure washer, and a dare.... you get

cjrun Wrote:Now now lets let cooler heads prevail we don't people leaving the site to take a sabbatical or anything

No worries - my head is cool. I'm just calling out a certain someone for continuing to make contentless and/or get the last word in posts in reply to mine. Comment on the statue, etc., but stop sniping me because I say I don't like it.

(Granted in this case, it's a lot easier to poke fun at this thing than it is to take up for it.)

It brings to mind my favorite cartoon from the early 60's, Cecil The Sea Sick Sea Serpent.

It will strike fear into the hearts of 2 year olds walking by with their folks.....not much else.

BTR Wrote:

Sooooooo much better.

Can someone remind me how much this thing cost?

STLouis Blazer Wrote:I think a tradition will get started where student groups/outgoing seniors paint the dragon for special events (like put a basketball jersey on it or a homecoming t-shirt). That would be the best use of it.

As far as 4 year olds go, universities aren't playgrounds or theme parks so if the kids want to see something fun point them to the west and east for Visionland and Six Flags.

I think this goes to show you our university is still only about 40 years in existance. After about another 100 , we should be good to go. I know the students at Troy are going to get a good laugh. Their Trogan statue was left natural stone color. I guess we will catch on soon.

cjrun Wrote:Can someone remind me how much this thing cost?

Remember $30,000... I repeat.... $30,000....

cjrun Wrote:Can someone remind me how much this thing cost?

$30K

iam4uab Wrote:

cjrun Wrote:Can someone remind me how much this thing cost?

$30K

do we not have enough artists in the school of arts and humanities who could've done it for less?

legalblazer Wrote:

cb4029 Wrote:

legalblazer Wrote:If it is going in over at the playground at the Epic School I love it. Otherwise, see the other 4 threads on this topic.

Oh - I'm so insulted.
What purpose did your post have other than antagonizing me? I've never directly said anything derrogatory about your opinion of the statue. I've only commented/cracked jokes about the statue, yet you attack me yet again (however impotently) since I won't jump on your ra ra bandwagon.

Yes, I think it looks bad now (yard flamingoes for the mini park anyone?) and it will only look worse after that paint starts fading/chipping, etc.

I was at Georgia State's homecoming when they unveiled this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/procrast8/207648571/
That is what belongs on a campus, not a climb toy from a McDonald's Playland.

Sorry, I could not help myself.

The kids will love it and thats going to help build our future fan base

iam4uab Wrote:

cjrun Wrote:Can someone remind me how much this thing cost?

$30K

If they've already spent $30k, then a few more dollars to remove the amusement park paint scheme shouldn't be too big a deal. As is, the thing would make a cool addition to a homecoming float, but is not on the level of a permanent campus addition.

BlazerCPA1 Wrote:Wow, I am really surprised by all the negativity around here. I think it looks great, pretty close to the trademarked version that is used on everything. So if this is cartoony or miniature golf, then so is everything else. It is a freaking mascot, not a symbol of your diploma or the standards of the school, that is the thing with the woman on it, which is very dignified and all that. Or the Gene Bartow statue which is very diginified. This is supposed to be fun, not so damn serious.

That we should point kids to visionland or six flags is one of the most short sighted things I have ever heard. My 2 year old son loves Blaze and that is about the only thing that keeps him entertained at football and basketball games. He will grow to love the sport, but what is wrong with appealling to future generations? Do they need to shut down all the stuff at Blazer Village since it is meant for kids too?

+1

blazerboi Wrote:The kids will love it and thats going to help build our future fan base

Maybe we should have just gone with the following then. My kids really love this....

i think its super-snazzy! honestly, it never entered my mind that it looked cartoony and mini-golf like until i started reading all the negativity around here...i can tell you that where i work, at the university of iowa (which has a ton more tradition then the blazers), people love all the ultra-cartoony, dumb looking mascot statues

cb4029 Wrote:

BlazerCPA1 Wrote:Wow, I am really surprised by all the negativity around here. I think it looks great, pretty close to the trademarked version that is used on everything. So if this is cartoony or miniature golf, then so is everything else. It is a freaking mascot, not a symbol of your diploma or the standards of the school, that is the thing with the woman on it, which is very dignified and all that. Or the Gene Bartow statue which is very diginified. This is supposed to be fun, not so damn serious.

That we should point kids to visionland or six flags is one of the most short sighted things I have ever heard. My 2 year old son loves Blaze and that is about the only thing that keeps him entertained at football and basketball games. He will grow to love the sport, but what is wrong with appealling to future generations? Do they need to shut down all the stuff at Blazer Village since it is meant for kids too?

+1

Nope, we could attach a sliding board to the front of the statue for the kids...

I love it.

Anyone else notice the rectangular access panel on the side? I wonder if that is where the pyrotechnics go.

They could have done it the Georgia State way and had a fierce realistic dragon. But that is not what the logo/emblem looks like. It is a caricature or animated/cartoonish rendition of an imaginary animal. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. And kids will love it. And big kids will want to paint lingerie on it or anatomically correct body parts.

I was being sarcastic with the comment about the tv stuff because no one will dare make fun of something that was set up for kids.

If you were looking for something fierce, this was not it. I guess it is all about expectations.

I still like it. Congratulations on a job well done.

Nope.....that is for the see saw and swings that will be installed for the children.

legalblazer Wrote:Anyone else notice the rectangular access panel on the side? I wonder if that is where the pyrotechnics go.

Thats the home of the smoke generator.

Man, all you people are crazy.

I think it looks pretty good. I do agree that BTR's version looks less "cartoonish," however, our mascot is a fantasy creature, not something real (like a panther, cougar, tiger, etc.). Ergo, it is fine with me to have the school's colors represented on the statue.

LairDweller Wrote:i think its super-snazzy! honestly, it never entered my mind that it looked cartoony and mini-golf like until i started reading all the negativity around here...i can tell you that where i work, at the university of iowa (which has a ton more tradition then the blazers), people love all the ultra-cartoony, dumb looking mascot statues

Yeah, those same people are also surrounded by miles & miles of corn, so anything that isn't maize entertains them.

This statue is gayer than AIDS.