Columbia is no stranger to sports. Anyone who's tried to get around town on gameday can tell you that. Every restaurant or shop you go into has a large garnet rooster somewhere in sight. Our beloved Cocky is one of the things on campus that can brighten up any day. But now that a minor league baseball team is coming back to Columbia we can all choose a new mascot to hail and pose for Instagram pictures with.
In 2016, Hardball Capital will be bringing a new team to Columbia, and they're letting the people of Columbia name it. Submissions can be made at columbiaproball.com and the Daily Gamecock staff came up with some possibilities for submissions.
Some of us went the classic route, suggesting names based on a South Carolina theme, like the Wrens (the state bird), the Shags (the state dance) or the Northern Right Whales (the state migratory marine mammal, obviously.)
Some of us went for the obvious options, like resurrecting the Bombers, the name of the last minor league team that called Columbia home. Others said "Why not the Bulls, since it's on Bull Street?"
Others took a slightly more humorous route, if more of a bitter one. They came up with suggestions like the Loud Trains or the Thoughtless Jaywalkers or the Ruckers, to honor our beloved Darius.
No matter what the name ends up being, we see it as a good sign that the corporation that is bringing the team to town wants to include the community in what the team will look like and represent. The addition of the new team will bring a lot of excitement and fanfare to an already loyal community of sports fans.
Come 2016, the cheers coming from the baseball stadium will be all the more prideful because the fans will have had a say in who they are cheering for.