FOR THE longest time, The GUIDON has referred to the different Ateneo de Manila University varsity teams affiliated with the University Athletic Association of the Philippines by team monikers (e.g. Blue Booters, Lady Spikers, etc.).
The GUIDON Editorial Board has decided to begin recognizing all Ateneo varsity members as either Blue or Lady Eagles, in line with the growing national and international exposure of the Ateneo brand, which necessitates a unified identity for its sports teams.
The monikers that the teams have been assigned over the years shall still be utilized by The GUIDON in its articles, albeit as common nouns that act as identifiers (e.g. “blue booter”) rather than as proper nouns (e.g. “Blue Booter”).
Updated 13:25, July 31, 2015
Is this decision the Guidon’s to make, or is this more appropriately a decision for University Athletics/team management to make?
Hi this is Benjo Afuang, Coordinator of the Office of College Athletics. We applaud your decision to recognize all varsity teams as Blue/Lady Eagles as this a constant debate between the Athletics office and The Guidon staff for as long as I could remember. I just would like to point out that in your statement, you indicated that the team monickers such as Blue Booters, Lady Spikers, Etc. are “Official” Team Monickers. The University Athletics Office does not consider these as official team monickers. We have always referred to all teams as Blue or Lady Eagles. I assume what you meant by it was something internal in your organization. However, it may be perceived by your readers that those monickers were deemed as “official” by the university. I have received questions from some administrators about this. But again, I applaud the decision and I look forward to working with your organization for the coming school year. One Big Fight!
To strengthen the BLUE EAGLE brand, I suggest all Ateneo varsity teams be branded as the Blue Eagles regardless of gender. Thus Alyssa Valdez et al can be called the Ateneo Women’s Volleyball Team or the Blue Eagle Women’s Volleyball Team. The Blue Eagle trademark could also be be adopted by our high school and grade school varsity teams.
Thank you for editing the article.
I suggest all Ateneo varsity teams be branded as the Blue Eagles regardless of gender. Thus Alyssa Valdez et al can be called the Ateneo Women’s Volleyball Team or the Blue Eagle Women’s Volleyball Team.