How Do You Feel About Dinger, The Rockies Mascot?

Let me start off by saying that this has nothing to do with the whole "racial slur" confusion that occurred recently but rather just some random thoughts that are floating around in my brain (a very random and bizarre place) after attending my first Rockies game in about 18 years..

First off,  my 6 year-old loves Dinger, but then again, he loves anything that is a mascot, cartoonish character, etc...but with that being said, my initial reaction to seeing Dinger for the first time was: That is the cutest mascot I've ever seen in my life. Cool dinosaur, but he doesn't look very intimidating with his little rainbow polka dots.

I love the dinosaur concept for a mascot, especially here with our impressive dinosaur history in these parts, but after hearing from a few of my colleagues and other Rockies fans, Dinger doesn't really "ring" with everyone.

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I don't think there is anything wrong with Dinger personally, but I do think a little makeover wouldn't be a terrible idea, starting with the rainbow polka dots. I love rainbows, don't get me wrong, but if you're a mascot for a professional sports team, there has to be at least a LITTLE BIT of an intimidation factor and there's none with Dinger. In fact, Dinger may be the most adorable and cutest mascot out there.

So let's keep the cute but throw in at least a sprinkle of intimidation into the mix, but nothing too crazy, because you don't want to scare the kids. I think a little wardrobe sprucing up is in order for Dinger starting with simply sticking to the team's color scheme, which I love.

As for the name "Dinger"...while I don't hate it, I don't love it. I get the tie in because as a baseball fan, when you think of Coors Field and the thin air, you think of home runs and balls flying out of the yard rather frequently, hence the name "Dinger" which in case you didn't know is a slang term for a home run.

However, is it just me or would "Rocky" be a really cool name for a mascot for the Colorado Rockies? I don't know, I'm no expert on this matter (FAR FROM IT), but this is just some random stuff I've been thinking about after bringing my 6 year-old to his first Rockies game this past Sunday.

Let me reiterate, I DO NOT want the Rockies to get a new mascot, I love Dinger and I don't think his name needs to change, not even after the silly situation that just occurred, but simply after attending my first Rockies game since 2003, I just think that maybe we can freshen up Dinger's look a bit?

Either way, I love Dinger for more than just what the mascot does on the field entertaining fans, but more importantly for what he does off the field and in the community appearing at various events and giving kids at Children's Hospital some smiles and laughs as well.

Check out the moment Dinger "hatched" on to the scene back in 1994.

YouTube/ MLB