Sunday, September 05, 1999
Villa Madonna nickname soon to be changed
N.KY. INSIDER
×by
BY NEIL SCHMIDT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
At Villa Madonna Academy, the snakes soon will be silenced.
The school's Vipers nickname is being changed, because the Benedictine nuns who run the school think the term deviates from Villa's Christian philosophies. The school's executive director, Sister Victoria Eisenman, found 55 quotations of the word viper in the Bible — “All synonymous with evil or the Devil,” she said.
The name change will coincide with the opening of Villa's new gymnasium, which is scheduled for the end of this school year. The school has been soliciting suggestions from students, parents and alumni.
A little history: Villa was an all-girls school until 1985, before which its teams were called the Vixens. When boys arrived, they became the Vikings, but that lasted only a few years until the girls teams suggested Vikings sounded like a male-only nickname.
Looking for a new name, the school assembled a list of seven finalists and let the students vote.
“I didn't think a thing when I saw Vipers on that list,” Sister Eisenman said. “If I had dreamed anyone would want Vipers, I would have taken it off.”
Guess which won.
“When it sunk in, I said, "Oh no,'” Sister Eisenman said. “I tried to veto it, but I was told the news had already been in the Enquirer. We were stuck.”
Now ready for a change, Villa will take care to be both non-offensive and unique. Alliteration, as it has always had previously, isn't a necessity.
“Our choices are rather limited with all the animals (nicknames) being taken already in Northern Kentucky,” Athletic Director Mike Woods said.
“We could go with a pro name (e.g. Bengals, Rams). Or we could go abstract, like the Lightning or an IHL (International Hockey League) type of name.”
Some suggestions have been silly — Villa first-graders came up with Villa Gorillas — but few met every criterion: clean, aggressive-sounding and unique.
There are five leading candidates so far: Volcanoes, Voyagers, Lightning, Lions and Aces.
“The lion has strength, and everything about lions in the Bible is not derogatory,” Sister Eisenman said. “With Aces, if you put VM in front, you get the initials of the school.”
A spirited debate continues. Sister Eisenman promises nothing but a non-offensive nickname.
“It doesn't have to be holy, just something neutral,” she said. “I'm not going to make that (Viper) mistake again.”
FIELDS DONE SOON: Boone County soon will have its field finished, but St.Henry still doesn't have a due date.
Boone's football/soccer complex, undergoing construction of new bleachers and a press box, is scheduled to re-open Friday. But Boone won't host the football game scheduled there that night against Cincinnati LaSalle.
When it appeared the field wouldn't be ready in time, Boone officials asked if the game could be moved to LaSalle. Now LaSalle won't give it back.
Construction of St.Henry's new soccer field continues. St.Henry officials say they hope the facility will open Sept.13, though the ongoing Crusader Invitational soccer tournament had to move to the Towne & Country Sports Complex in Wilder.
SOCCER TOURNEY: The fifth annual Scott Christian Invitational soccer tournament will take place Sept.18-19 at Central Park Fields in Burlington. Admission is free.
The tournament will include about 50 teams of boys and girls up to age 13. It is named in memory of Scott Christian, a 15-year-old Boone County High School soccer player who died in 1992 from injuries received in a game.
Proceeds go to the Scott Christian Soccer Foundation, which awards scholarships to high school seniors who intend to continue their soccer careers in college.
For info, call 283-1926.
UK BEANIES: The Kentucky Wildcats are one of just 30 college mascots chosen for a line of upscale beanbag toys called Team Mascots.
The limited-edition toys will be available for $14.95 each. Call (800) 544-6135 for info. The mascots will be retired Feb.14.
Neil Schmidt is The Enquirer's Northern Kentucky sports reporter. Call him at 578-5582 or send e-mail to nschmidt@enquirer.com.
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