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Printer-Friendly ModeSpirit name mascot after Colbert
October 23, 2006 —
The Saginaw Spirit have a new fan in their corner who just happens to have a whole nation in his.
Stephen Colbert, host of the hit Comedy Central show The Colbert Report, has been backing the team on air the last several weeks after the team named its new mascot after him in late September.
Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle has been at the heart of the publicity, transforming the Spirit from a local minor league hockey team to a sort of underground pop culture media darling. Colbert pleaded with his viewers (who he calls "nation") in mid-August to bombard the Spirit's Web site with votes that would attach his name to the new six-foot mascot. Since then, the show and the organization have formed an eccentric partnership that has drawn the attention of local media as well as put the Spirit on the proverbial national map.
The importance of voting
Colbert's national television plea came as a surprise to members of the Spirit organization, catching them off guard as they watched the show. During the segment, Colbert discussed his ambition to get things named after him and mentioned that the team was looking to name its new eagle mascot, and he encouraged his viewers to cast their vote.
The eagle motif is a natural fit for Colbert, whose patriotic satire on the show leaves his character with an obsessive infatuation for eagles (one of the majestic birds already bears his name after an American Bald Eagle hatched at the San Francisco Zoo was named after the comedian earlier this year). On the show, Colbert often refers to the eagle as his son, Steven Jr., or "The Steagle." So when Colbert urged his viewers to visit the Saginaw Spirit Web site, he suggested they choose the name Colbert or "The Colbeagle," a suggestion that eventually developed into the full name used today.
Within minutes of the segment's conclusion, organization officials reported seeing 10 times the amount of Web site traffic than normal, seeming to provide a natural example of what Colbert suggested at the end of the segment when he sarcastically remarked, "Saginaw Spirit, you can't buy this kind of publicity."
And Colbert was right. Spirit officials attempted to get in contact with the show's producer within a half hour of the segment airing, trying to get on board and take advantage of the publicity Colbert was tempting them with.
The Steagle unveiled
From there, the Spirit stayed in contact with the show's producers, eventually informing them the mini-mascot would take Colbert's name. Colbert even took the naming a step further, asking Spirit officials if it was possible to give the mascot glasses. While not in the original design, they went along and had a pair of giant glasses designed that could essentially be stapled to the mascot's large foam head. The glasses seemed to add the perfect final touch, transforming the mascot into its current, clumsy, accident-prone self and providing a slight similarity to the Emmy-nominated comedian.
"Our office has worked on bringing Stephen in and working with him, and he's just been fantastic," says Director of Game Day Operations Jim Biewer. "He loves that we named the eagle after him."
Steagle was unveiled during a pre-game ceremony Sept. 30 and introduced by Colbert via a pre-recorded tape played on the arena's video scoreboard.
"It's long been my dream to visit your fair city as a gigantic electronic head," Colbert said to the Saginaw crowd.
Those unable to attend the unveiling itself had a chance to catch it three days later when Colbert ran a four-minute segment detailing Steagle's arrival. The segment was partially made possible by SVSU graduate Bill Konesko, who is in Media and Community Relations for the team. Konesko says he has been the point man for much of the footage Colbert runs, even heading to the airport the morning after the unveiling to get the footage flown to New York for Colbert to run on his Oct. 3 show.
On the show that night, Colbert discussed his adoration of the new mascot while wearing a Spirit jersey and boasting that the Spirit won its first game of the season the night Steagle was unveiled.
"You're not just playing for yourselves or the people of Saginaw anymore," he said. "You're playing for my personal glory."
Winning over a nation
Colbert's unique partnership with the Spirit and the publicity he has given the team has had an impact in several areas. Officials report an increase in merchandise sales and requests for Spirit jerseys, particularly those with Colbert's name sewn on the back. The national attention was even picked up by Sports Illustrated, as the popular magazine ran a brief article detailing the relationship in its Oct. 16 issue.
Another positive thing for the Spirit has been the show's ability to reach a demographic that is somewhat challenging for the organization to reach. Historically, the games have primarily drawn a family audience, though the organization has worked to reach the college demographic. With that very demographic making up the majority of The Colbert Report's viewers, the organization hopes they can appeal to a group previously difficult to reach.
"The Colbert demographic has been a demographic that maybe we haven't connected with as much as we had hoped," says Spirit majority owner Dick Garber. "I hope it has a positive effect on our demographic and brings a little different clientele into our hockey game."
"Win one for the Steagle"
One thing that should help the Spirit draw that crowd is the coincidental winning streak the team went on after Steagle's unveiling. In a script it seems only Colbert himself could write, the Spirit rattled off seven straight victories after the new mascot was introduced. The good fortune did not go unnoticed by Colbert, who kept viewers updated on the Spirit's success during two additional segments. Colbert provided play-by-play commentary of highlights during a win over the Sudbury Wolves two weeks ago and talked a little smack to the Spirit's upcoming opponents during a segment last week. All the while, Colbert implied that the Spirit's victories were tied directly to a certain four-eyed feathered friend.
"Steagle is a winner," Colbert said. "If we sent him to Iraq, the war would be over in a month."
During the most recent segment, Colbert called out the team's opponent from Friday night, the Sarnia Sting, saying, "Sarnia sucks and so does Sting." Unfortunately for Colbert and the Spirit, the Sting got the last laugh in a 5-2 victory, putting an end to the Spirit's seven -game Steagle winning streak.
Konesko says the organization has been surprised by the amount of publicity the show has given the team and thrilled with the amount of research Colbert and the show's producers and creators put into compiling the Spirit segments.
"We expected a Pinto and we got a Cadillac," Konesko says of the relationship between the team and The Colbert Report.
Garber, meanwhile, is excited about everything thus far, saying the added publicity is not only good for the team but good for the fans and for the city in general
"We're really looking forward to it and making it a positive and cool thing to come to Spirit hockey games," he says. "That can only be good for our program and our community.”
