Woodpeckers organize protest after being declared “not family friendly” by Commissioner Konop…
I have it on good authority that Woodpeckers are organizing after hearing about this incident in the Blade where Lucas County Commissioner Ben Konop is quoted as saying:
Mr. Konop said he’d strongly suggest against those names because they are “not family-friendly,” even though they have merchandising value.
“We want a team to rally behind and that is certainly not Woodpeckers,” he said.
“We are … building the arena for which the teams would play in … there is a certain degree of autonomy we want to give the Mud Hens, but on this issue I would strongly urge them to avoid going down the path of the Woodpecker,” Mr. Konop said.
I’ve discovered this video…where I have been informed that a secret message to all local Woodpeckers has been sent out for them to congregate downtown to protest what they feel is a defamation of their reputation.
Asked for his comment, Maple, a local woodpecker stated, “Wait till we get the vote Konop, then you’ll be singing a different tune about Woodpeckers”.
Update..evidently due to the secretive nature of this video, YouTube has gone off line hence the above video is currently not available. Could the Woodpeckers be preventing this?
OK, “Woodpeckers” alone is not that bad (although it doesn’t really conjure up images of tough hockey players or arena football players). I think the problem comes in when the term peckerhead was being used in conjunction with Woodpeckers. Really, that’s not a family-friendly nickname.
You can’t tell me that no one else has had a problem with this potential name. Try to be a bit more creative down at the Hen House when thinking of names…there are better potential names out there.
And really….Toledo already has so many silly things attached to it, do we really need to be known as Peckerheads?
January 15th, 2008 at 12:02 pmAs a peckerhead, I am offended at your profiling. We don’t peck at trees like some bird does.
Peckerheads are proud and exuberant. We share the joy and happiness with the community that our ethnic group has an opportunity to be part of an elite organization.
I think the moniker “Peckerheads”, altho it dosen’t have a chance at all, has a more memorable ring than the woodpecker.
IMHO.
January 15th, 2008 at 12:19 pmFrom a marketing standpoint the name would bring sales from outside the area, from a nickname standpoint, of course the sexual connotation is an issue.
That said, if the choice came down to Muskrat, or a Woodpecker, I’d probably opt for the Woodpecker. As the article points out, the name could very well end up being the Toledo Woodpeckers as is that is one of the names that has been filed for with the patent and trademark office along with “Peckers” and “Peckerheads”.
A crowd of people wearing Woodpecker hats can be “Peckerheads” without it meaning anything “unfit”. Woodpeckers after all do have the word, “pecker” in their name meaning “to peck”.
Was most of my post tongue in cheek? Of course, every now and then I do have to do something fun.
January 15th, 2008 at 12:26 pmso was mine, being tongue in cheek….who’d actually believe I was a peckrhead anyway, right?
January 15th, 2008 at 12:53 pmBrian,
I know yours was, I actually was writing while you were posting.
I don’t think you are a peckerhead but…I’m sure you could be a good one if you wanted to be.
January 15th, 2008 at 12:58 pmbring it on woodpeckers
January 15th, 2008 at 1:00 pmBe careful Ben, Muddy could turn on you…You know what they say, “Birds of a feather flock together”. I heard Muddy was secretly being lobbied and we are talking about some major birdfeed.
January 15th, 2008 at 1:09 pmBe careful Ben, remember when G. Dubya said “bring it on”.
January 15th, 2008 at 1:27 pmThem damn woodpeckers might start dive-bombing you.
(Thinking in type) Since all the “nats” are swarming around 1 Gov., we’ll have to come up with something that goes w/ Toledo’s history. It was built on the “Black Swamp”. “Glass City” is over used. We’re on the Maumee River and Lake Erie.
Ah Ha! “Black Swamp Gators” and “Glass City Gulls”
January 15th, 2008 at 5:36 pmI’ve got a great name. I know everyone thinks their name is the best, but this one has some great possibilities as far as marketing tie-ins. How about:
The TOLEDO RIVER MONSTERS.
Think about it. You could have a contest for kids to design what the monster would look like. Maybe he could look like a cross between the Philly Fanatic, Sully from Monsters Inc, and one of those H.R. Pufnstuf guys. You could play “The Monster Mash” during down times to get the crowd dancing and a “Monster Growl” sound when they score (like the Lions Roar, Vikings Horn, etc.) – You could sell “Monster Claws” to the kids, have “Monster Burgers” and “Monster Dogs” at the concession stands… The possibilities are endless.
I know some of you may think “That name doesn’t even make any sense, there’s no monsters in the Maumee river!” – However, let me point out that no one’s ever REALLY seen the Loch Ness Monster either and look how much attention he’s brought to that small town in Scotland. The mighty Maumee is too dark and muddy to really know for sure what lurks in its’ depths. You could create a “Legend of the River Monster” children’s book and sell it to the kiddies….
January 15th, 2008 at 6:29 pmWhat about “Toledo Titanium” or “Toledo Titans”? I’m a fan of alliteration.
January 15th, 2008 at 7:39 pmOk – I know I’ve been busy and missed quite a few things, but I’m with Ben Konop on this. In case no one ever had the gall to mention it (which is my main function in life) ‘pecker’ is a very common slang term to reference the ‘penis’.
Many times I have heard the term peckerhead used as a derogatory label.
This is what people are having trouble getting past. And why I’m sitting here laughing in front of my computer.
I think Toledo has enough of a credibility issue right now without doing something as stoopid as this.
But I sure did get a good belly laugh out of it. Just for grins – who was the brain trust that threw this one on the table?
January 15th, 2008 at 9:12 pmThe mudhen is really an American Coot, so the hockey team could be called the Toledo Cooters.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:26 pmHey y’all. I’m from Jawja, and we have a wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
different meaning for ‘cooter’ down home !
I don’t thank it’d be too smart to call yourselves a bunch of cooters, if y’all follow my drift.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:07 pmWe have a bird down there, and the male is known as a ‘peckerhead’. The female of that same species is known as a ‘cooter’.
January 16th, 2008 at 9:45 amLisa Renee I just read all of this. You really should have posted a warning to relieve oneself first before reading this. LMAO!
January 16th, 2008 at 3:26 pmHas anyone ever heard the expression “pecker gnat” Now that conjures up an image not likely to impress anyone!!!
We took a vote in the office and think that the new team should be called “Toledo Mustaches.” We can wear fake mustaches of all sorts, people can grow mustaches, and of course, with all the Police and Firefighters in Toledo already, we think this would be an appropriate name. GOOOOOOOOOO ‘STACHES!
January 17th, 2008 at 1:43 pm‘peckerhead’ and ‘cooter’ would make good mascots, kinda like Muddy and Mudeta.
January 17th, 2008 at 2:20 pmHey – in Toledo ?!!! It could happen…watch what you suggest. Or watch for the announcement on the news and make sure you’re sitting down.
January 17th, 2008 at 3:42 pmWhere I grew up in the north “peckerwood” was a derogatory name for caucasians. I don’t think in this racial climate of Toledo that would be a good idea.
January 18th, 2008 at 7:02 pmBeing from the south, I am constantly amazed when people that ask me where I am from and then say, “oh they (whites) are racists down they”. That to me is so sad, as racism here is so bad it makes the south look like Disney World.
January 18th, 2008 at 9:55 pmHow about the ******* Glass City Shatter******
In the words of the Rolling Stones~~~!
” To live in this town you must be tough, tough, tough, tough, tough!
January 28th, 2008 at 7:51 amYou got rats on the west side
Bed bugs uptown
What a mess this towns in tatters Ive been shattered
My brains been battered, splattered >>>>>” Sounds like Family Hockey to me.
I’ve been trying to promote the name Toledo Glass Warriors. To help please contact the comish Mr. Konop and tell him you want the arena team to be named the Toledo Glass Warriors. Thank you.
May 4th, 2008 at 7:10 pmI’ve been trying to promote the name Toledo Glass Warriors. To help please contact the comish Mr. Konop and tell him you want the arena team to be named the Toledo Glass Warriors.
May 4th, 2008 at 7:11 pmPeckerhead was brilliant! Not only the merchandising but also the tourism generated?! Ben keep your nose out of things that truly don’t pertain to you. I would hang a banner from my apartment window downtown that would refer to the woodpeckers… Not to mention, you are the one accusing peckerheads of being “not family-friendly”…if I’m not mistaken it is merely a name given to someone obsessed with the peckers…or in our case the Woodpeckers. I mean there is metalhead…titled so because metalheads love metal music. Don’t jump to such perverse ideas Mr. Konop….I’m younger than you and I still see the huge advantage of that name! Maybe there is a disadvantage…well now since we are the BUllfrogs…oh yes so vicious but good luck on merchandise! Hopefully ticket sales will suffice!
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:20 pmWoodpeckers organize…..laughing here.
Dan – people have been making a rough reference to male genitalia as ‘peckers’. It’s a vulgarity.
Do you really think Toledo needs to be the butt of yet another joke?
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:55 pmFrom a marketing standpoint, the Toledo Woodpeckers or “peckerheads” would have been brilliant. The product merchandising had the potential to go world wide and the nickname created enough attention that it would have been a better choice than “Bullfrogs”.
Historically the frog has already been used for a sports team in this area – Great Black Swamp Frogs.
The name the “Bullfrogs” has also been used for other teams, including a roller hockey team in California and a college women’s sports team. That said, given our area’s political history especially in my party where we “eat our own” perhaps the Bullfrog is a good choice. It’s cannibalistic and territorial….
One could also find irony in the song that has already been mentioned will be a standard, “Joy to the World” or as some know, “Jeremiah was a bullfrog” was written by Hoyt Axton because of the melody, the lyrics were nonsense and Three Dog Night didn’t even want to put the song on the album “Naturally”.
November 24th, 2008 at 8:23 amNow what about the vulgarity of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks…also referred to as the ‘cocks’? A university being vulgar! Hide the kids! I thought about it…how many Toledoans are fans of the Cocks? Well…I can think of no one…but I can think of many people sporting hats that say “Cocks” on them…now that tends to be a little more vulgar than the shortened version of a bird’s name. I can understand your concern to an extent however it only appears vulgar when you only look at it as vulgar. I think woodpeckers is extremely clever.
The Mudhens: recognized world wide.
Walleye: not a bad name…good potential.
Woodpeckers: oh thats definitely Toledo.
Bullfrogs: Who? Isnt that a roller hockey team in California?
I was part of a local sports team who was also named the frogs.
I suppose my main point is mostly for Mr. Konop and his loyalists. You are an important public figure so please act accordingly. There is no need to perverse the names of animals to meet some ‘family friendly’ agenda. To be honest…when I first heard the name Toledo Woodpeckers…I wasn’t sure I liked it. After further thought I do support.
November 24th, 2008 at 8:55 am