When the Georgia Southern Eagles took the field against the Savannah State Tigers, fans were excited to get another season started. Not only did the team reveal their 2015 GoDaddy Bowl Champions banner and new “Gold Rush” uniforms, but they unveiled a new costume for their mascot “GUS.”
While the first two revelations were well-received by the fans, the mascot change was not. Many of them took to Twitter and started the trend #BringBackGus and expressed their hatred for the new mascot.
https://twitter.com/gataglenningram/status/772272218931736576
Sometimes it feels like somebody's watching me. #BringBackGus pic.twitter.com/nZ7mydZjGi
— Donnie 😷 (@Atlanta_Eagle) September 4, 2016
@GS_AthMKTG So…You guys know anything about this??? #BringBackGus pic.twitter.com/RON6XSpXmc
— Georgia Southern Guy (@GaSouthernGuy) September 4, 2016
Old Gus vs. new Gus #BringBackGUS@GSAthletics pic.twitter.com/bbh6TdXpgH
— Jackson Popkin (@jackson_popkin) September 4, 2016
@GaSouthernCheer @GSAthletics The fans have spoken…#BringBackGus pic.twitter.com/cENxbpupwn
— Stephanie (@StephF2014) September 4, 2016
Whoever deicide to kill Gus and bring in his ugly younger brother should be fired #BringBackGus
— Ryan Duke (@dukegsu) September 4, 2016
I swear, they're the same person. #BringBackGus pic.twitter.com/5WMEZTWADL
— James Braswell (@JimmyBraswell) September 4, 2016
https://twitter.com/MadMattBarrett/status/772266283580682240
Athletic director Tom Kleinlein saw the outrage and addressed the fans, saying that he had no control over the mascot’s new look.
https://twitter.com/TKleinleinAD/status/772267939932336132
https://twitter.com/TKleinleinAD/status/772268323195219968
One fan even took to the internet and started a GoFundMe account to raise enough money to bring back the old GUS.
There is no telling if that account will actually work or if the old mascot will ever be back, but WJCL sports director and Georgia Southern alum Frank Sulkowski gave fans a special tribute to the old mascot.
For all my #BringBackGus folks…I've made a little tribute to help us sleep better tonight. pic.twitter.com/Hy4m4WAA81
— Frank Sulkowski WJCL (@TheBigGuyWJCL) September 4, 2016
It would certainly be interesting to see if the Eagles listen to their fans.
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Photo Credit: Twitter
