[i]Originally posted by SF4Nynah[/i]@Jan 27 2005, 05:29 PM [b] Yeah, being founded in '49 was the one I always heard as being most true. Although there have been some people I talked to who thought that it was purely because we were on Highway 49. [/b]That joke was a staple of comedians and other entertainers that used to perform at school.
âYou guys are the only school I know of whoâs nicknamed after a highwayâ
Ha, ha, ha.
By the way, whatâs LBSUâs excuse?
[b]By the way, what's LBSU's excuse?[/b]
I look at their site to see and could not find anything about it. However, the San Francisco 49ers are name after the gold rush in Ca. in 1849âŚ
[i]Originally posted by 49erpi[/i]@Jan 27 2005, 05:53 PM [b] The year 1949 is not the reason and it says so in your link, which is the same link that gets posted every year. [/b]My bad. I was on my way out the door and read that the gold rush and NC 49 references were incorrect, so I assumed the story about 1949 was the reason. Thanks for correcting me, and sorry if the link gets posted every year. I've only been visiting this board for a couple of days, so I didn't know.
Also, someone asked about Long Beach State. From their website:
âThe schoolâs official mascot is the 49er, in honor of the schoolâs founding in 1949 and the fact that the city of Long Beach, like many other cities in California, prospered due to the 1850 gold rush. In athletics, not only is â49erâ used as the mascot of Long Beach State athletics, but we also use the term âThe Beachâ and for baseball only, âDirtbagsâ The reason for the secondary nicknames is because, Long Beach State is the only school in the country with a âBeachâ in its name, while the baseball team has developed its nickname thanks to their gritty play and determinationâ
[b] sorry if the link gets posted every year.[/b]
This was not directed at you.
I was refering to the guys that have been on these boards for years and should know better because we go over this every year.
Iâm a skeptical empiricist on most matters. Just because a media guide says it doesnât make it fact. When youâre dealing with events 50+ years old, facts can get a little twisted.
I find it hard to believe that it is just coincidence that Mrs. Bonnie managed to found Charlotte College in 1949 and our nickname is the 49ers. The whole âpioneering spirit to discover new treasuresâ by itself seems like a stretch. If it was all about the foundersâ tenacity, then the mascot could have been a viking or a bull or something. I think itâs probably a combination of both the year and the foundersâ tenacity.
I was a little shocked when the question came up on the screen, and none of the answers were right. I wondered if Jeff Mullins knew that and covered by saying that âthere are many answers that fitâ
[i]Originally posted by Sideshow[/i]@Jan 27 2005, 06:56 PM [b] I'm a skeptical empiricist on most matters. Just because a media guide says it doesn't make it fact. When you're dealing with events 50+ years old, facts can get a little twisted.I find it hard to believe that it is just coincidence that Mrs. Bonnie managed to found Charlotte College in 1949 and our nickname is the 49ers. The whole âpioneering spirit to discover new treasuresâ by itself seems like a stretch. If it was all about the foundersâ tenacity, then the mascot could have been a viking or a bull or something. I think itâs probably a combination of both the year and the foundersâ tenacity. [/b]
Iâm friends with alumni that graduated 30+ years ago and they are friends with older Alum and this is the story they agree with.
The school was founded in 1946, became Charlotte College in 1949 and part of the UNC system in 1965. The students then had a say in what the nickname would be.
Scary thought:
Our football team (Club team a while back) was called
"The Owls"⌠Whew that was a close one.
Pi, the fact that in one portion of the uncc website is your exmplanation, and in another the website seems to imply that 1949 had to do with it does throw an air of uncertainty into the matter.
Itâs just speculation on my part as to what the answer is. I donât think any of us on this message board really know. The website and media guide are not the innerernt words of God. And a friend of a friend who says so isnât very bankable either, in my opinion. I played the telephone game in grade school, I know what happens over time and with many intermediaries.
I always thought a better name would have been the Veterans:
But we are the 49ers now and forever, for whatever reason.
[i]Originally posted by Sideshow[/i]@Jan 27 2005, 08:37 PM [b] Pi, the fact that in one portion of the uncc website is your exmplanation, and in another the website seems to imply that 1949 had to do with it does throw an air of uncertainty into the matter.Itâs just speculation on my part as to what the answer is. I donât think any of us on this message board really know. The website and media guide are not the innerernt words of God. And a friend of a friend who says so isnât very bankable either, in my opinion. I played the telephone game in grade school, I know what happens over time and with many intermediaries. [/b]
[b]And a friend of a friend who says so isn't very bankable either, in my opinion. I played the telephone game in grade school, I know what happens over time and with many intermediaries.[/b]
I wouldnât call sitting at a table and talking to people who are as close to the situation as you can get âthe telephone gameâ. I would call it corroberation.
I didnât see any conflicting website explanations.
Not everything is a conspiracy, Sideshow.
[b]I wouldn't call sitting at a table and talking to people who are as close to the situation as you can get "the telephone game". I would call it corroberation. [/b]
You said you have friends who graduated 30 years ago, who in turn have friends who graduated years before that. Thereâs potential for factual drift.
[b]I didn't see any conflicting website explanations. [/b]
the one that Lugnutz pointed out seemed to imply that the year 1949 had to do with the 49er mascot
I donât think itâs a conspiracy, I just donât think itâs a matter with a clear-cut answer.
i saw the sign it was phat!!! much props
[i]Originally posted by HP49er[/i]@Jan 27 2005, 03:24 PM [b] We'll call you [b]hollywood_kristi[/b] from now on. [/b]That's flippin SWEET! So did you see me then, cause I have yet to see it myself.
[i]Originally posted by Sideshow[/i]@Jan 28 2005, 12:17 AM [b][b]I wouldn't call sitting at a table and talking to people who are as close to the situation as you can get "the telephone game". I would call it corroberation. [/b]You said you have friends who graduated 30 years ago, who in turn have friends who graduated years before that. Thereâs potential for factual drift.
[b]I didn't see any conflicting website explanations. [/b]the one that Lugnutz pointed out seemed to imply that the year 1949 had to do with the 49er mascot
I donât think itâs a conspiracy, I just donât think itâs a matter with a clear-cut answer. [/b]
Now the the funny part, some can say all the want, and knowing them they will and then some⌠Not only do I also know friends that graduated 30 years ago, I myself graduated from UNCC 35 years ago! Also, I was a student at Charlotte College before we even had day classes and it was only a junior college at the old Central High School (I believe is now Central Piedmont CC). I was a student on the first day we moved to the then four buildings on Highway 49.
When we were Charlotte College our nickname was the Owls, appropriately named as there were only night classes offered at the time. When the move was made from CC to UNCC the students (and I believe it originated from the student council but can be wrong on that point) selected two names. One was the Owls, representing the connection with CC and the 49erâs representing the date the school was founded. The students, yes the students voted on these two names. The students VOTED on the name and they did NOT adopt what some fund raised thought sounded good. And lastly, I was one of those students that was in school at the time and was fortunate to have voted.
Also, even though it had no bearing on the schoolâs choice of names, it was of very much interest to the students that the school was on highway 49 and that there were some actual gold mines close by (there was one mine within a mile or so of the school, near Hwy 49 going back toward town from the schoolâŚit was closed and I do not believe anything was ever found there). Several of my friends told me that they voted for the 49er name because of all of the factors noted. They thought it was neatâŚwhat you would say is cool today.
At the time, being an old CC student and playing on their basketball team, I liked our old name since it had meaning to me, I voted that we keep the Owls name and was upset that the name wasnât voted in by the students. It was no real big deal and I now think the 49erâs name linked with the schoolâs origin has more meaning.
I know someONE will rant and rave that this is not so but all I can say is that I was there, I voted and it is part of my Charlotte College/UNCC adventure.
[i]Originally posted by 49erForever[/i]@Jan 28 2005, 09:14 AM [b] When we were Charlotte College our nickname was the Owls, appropriately named as there were only night classes offered at the time. When the move was made from CC to UNCC the students (and I believe it originated from the student council but can be wrong on that point) selected two names. One was the Owls, representing the connection with CC and the 49er's representing the date the school was founded. The students, yes the students voted on these two names. The students VOTED on the name and they did NOT adopt what some fund raised thought sounded good. And lastly, I was one of those students that was in school at the time and was fortunate to have voted.[/b]
Official according to the University:
-Pioneering spirit of the 1849 goldrush, fighting to save the university.
Unofficial (although true reason/meaning from those who experienced it):
-Founded in 1949
-Gold mines close by
-School located on Hwy 49
[i]Originally posted by LeftyNiner+Jan 28 2005, 10:14 AM-->
[b]QUOTE[/b] (LeftyNiner @ Jan 28 2005, 10:14 AM)
Thereâs probably some record of it in the University Archives up on the top floor of the Dalton Library Tower for those who want to do some digging.
Until that happens, my story is the universityâs and Iâm sticking to it.