TMU Just Announced Their New Mascot & Team Name, But Some People Are Confused
It's a "bold" rebrand.
Toronto Metropolitan University campus.
Say goodbye to the Ryerson Rams and "Eggy," and hello to Toronto Metropolitan University's new team name and mascot.
In April, the former Ryerson University officially changed its name to Toronto Metropolitan University.
Of 2,600 names that were apparently being considered, the committee produced a shortlist of potential options based on several factors, and then one was chosen.
The move comes after students and alumni have been calling for a name change over the past few years due to its namesake, Egerton Ryerson, who is credited as being involved in the creation of Canada's residential school system.
With a name change comes a lot of rebranding, and one of those things the university needs to consider is how to represent its school to the world.
The team name
From now on, Ryerson Rams will no longer be the name representing the university. Instead, they are introducing TMU Bold.
"Boldness is a core value of our university. It is shared by our students, reflected in our approach to learning and research, and demonstrated on the court, the field, and the rink by our athletes," said TMU president and vice-chancellor Mohamed Lachemi in a press release.
The university says it landed on that name through community feedback. "People wanted a team name that was unique and confident," says the press release.
"Every legacy begins with a bold decision to start something meaningful, lasting and memorable," Lachemi added. "This is a team name that we can cultivate, own, and celebrate."
The mascot
With a new team name obviously comes a new mascot: Eggy the Ram has been retired, and a falcon is taking his place.
However, "The character development for the new mascot hasn't happened yet — the physical mascot will be unveiled in the coming months," a spokesperson for TMU told Narcity.
People's reactions
While this may come as exciting news to some students and alumni, others on social media are a bit confused.
One Twitter user commented on a promo video saying, "Not trying to be hypercritical here but it doesn't exactly sound like a team name."
At the same time, the rival Waterloo Warriors called it a "bold strategy," later adding, "But seriously — we love it."
Others questioned why the team was named TMU Bold when it could've just been "the Falcons."
Meanwhile, there are a few Reddit threads about the new name and mascot, where many people sound disappointed.
One Redditor said, "I don't care about the falcon as the mascot, I think that's pretty cool, but 'Bold.' That's a pretty corny name to go by in my opinion."
Another hoped the mascot would be an emu — i.e., "TMU Emus" — and someone else just called it "Pathetic."