‘Star Wars’ Adm. Ackbar pushed as Ole Miss mascot to take Colonel Reb’s place: ‘It’s a trap!’
By Shelia Byrd, APWednesday, February 24, 2010
Admiral Ackbar as Ole Miss mascot? ‘It’s a trap!’
JACKSON, Miss. — Some students at the University of Mississippi want Admiral Ackbar of “Star Wars” fame for their new mascot — but as Ackbar himself might say, “It’s a trap.”
Officials say there’s virtually no chance the fish-faced leader of the Rebel Alliance in the movie could become the on-field mascot for the Rebels of Ole Miss.
The Associated Student Body president dismisses it as “comic relief.”
But that doesn’t deter some Ole Miss “Star Wars” fanatics from promoting the pop-eyed space character.
Students voted this week to begin the search for a new mascot at the Southeastern Conference school. The Oxford-based university has been without a mascot since 2003, when Colonel Reb, a caricature of an aging Southern planter, was run off the field.
On the Net: www.notatrap.org