In 2011 Purdue tried to re-design Purdue Pete. They spent $25,000, did a focus group, and tried to say Pete was frightening children.
It sucked and barely lasted a week before Pete Classic was returned as is right and proper.
Remember kids, tradition cannot be focus-grouped. It is often organic and builds up over time, like “IU Sucks”, and people get pissed off when you mess with it.
Other people don’t seem to learn, as West Bromwich Albion, a soccer club playing in the Championship over in England (think Triple-A to the Premier League’s MLB) took our popular “Boiler Up” tradition (grown organically by Arnette Tiller) a little too literally:
A man dressed as a combi boiler, who fans on social media were quick to name Boiler Man, was introduced to the Hawthorns crowd on Saturday as the Baggies lost 2-1 to Bolton.