Colbert-inspired mascot a hit. Will more teams follow?

	Stephen Colbert has enjoyed great critical success, but now he's really arrived -- a mascot has been named after him. AP

I officially have a new favorite mascot. Actually, I have for a few weeks now. His name is Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle. And if you haven't heard of him by now, you simply haven't been paying attention.

The Saginaw Spirit, which play in the Ontario Hockey League team, lost their first four games of the year, but won 10 of 11 after naming their mascot in honor of Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert, host of The Colbert Report, which airs immediately after The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

The Spirit had launched a contest to name the mascot several months ago, which Colbert originally mentioned on his show back in August. Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle debuted on Sept. 30, and the Spirit ascended along right along with the nonpareil publicity wave. Steagle even sports wire-rimmed glasses just like Colbert.

In a taped segment that aired at Steagle's unveiling, Colbert, who brilliantly and satirically and ironically plays an uber-patriotic over-the-top talk show host on his show, told Spirit fans, "It's long been my dream to visit your fair city as a gigantic electronic head." Colbert later quipped on his show, with more than a little bit of sarcasm, "You're not just playing for yourselves or the people of Saginaw anymore. You're playing for my personal glory."

Team memorabilia sales have skyrocketed. Team officials said working with Colbert's producers throughout the entire process has been fantastic. The only real detractor I could find was Saginaw News copy editor Bill Cornish, who wrote, in part, "I've been told to lighten up, that you can't tell where Colbert's TV persona and his real life begin and end. Unlike Colbert, I deal in real life. I have little respect for people like Colbert who make a living glorifying themselves and criticizing other people. That philosophy flies in the face of the family values that my wife and I work hard to instill in our family ... Tread carefully, Spirit. You're walking thin ice. I'm not sure Colbert will increase your attendance. And, in the long run, he could crack it."

Hopefully by now even Cornish has changed his mind. The Spirit are flourishing in the national spotlight, and whether or not you're a fan of The Colbert Report -- in full disclosure, I must admit it's been on Season Pass on my TiVo since the show's second week, roughly a year ago -- you can't deny that this entire production has been a masterstroke. But it does beg the question, which other teams could benefit from a similarly goofball but well-executing publicity scheme?

Should the Arizona Cardinals ditch Big Red for The Big Red Head? They could hook up a deal with Carrot Top. New team slogan: "As bad as it looks on TV, at least you didn't pay to see this in person." In fact, an added bonus would be that "Scott Thompson," if that is the real name of the alleged comedian, could double as a backup offensive lineman.

Maybe Jerry Seinfeld could work out a deal with the Mets. Why can't Mr. Met's first name be Jerry? Imagine the look on Seinfeld's face when it's announced that he's the guest of honor at What's The Deal With Choking To The Cardinals? Day.

There are so many teams in need of a mascot makeover. For example, the Arizona Diamondbacks have D. Baxter, which is a bobcat, even though Diamondbacks are, umm, well, snakes. Legend has it the stupid thing got its name after it was thought up by one of Jay Bell's kids. Or just take the horribly named Who Dey, the Cincinnati Bengals' tiger mascot. In fact, the following paragraph was taken verbatim from the Bengals' official team site, in case you were wondering how badly they actually need a new name for this creature: "Who Dey resides in the jungle of Paul Brown Stadium. When he's not entertaining fellow Bengals fans at the games, visiting the people of Cincinnati, or visiting his friends at National City, he loves to hang out with his teammates and Coach Lewis. Who Dey also likes to read, listen to music, and ride his scooter for exercise. He says his favorite book is Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak and he is always jamming to his favorite song Welcome to the Jungle. Who Dey's favorite foods are fried raven, dried dawg on toast, and salted steelers."

Yes, someone actually got paid to write that. And having read that, how can anyone think Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle is any more preposterous?

Justin Doom can be reached at sidoomsday@yahoo.com. Some of his past columns can be found here.