re: Has LSU "unofficially" retired Toonces?

As a retailer, I can tell you that the retirement of Toonces is rapidly gaining momentum. I was talking to a national vendor regarding "if-win" LSU BCS championship t-shirts and 3 out of the 4 designs he showed me had the dreaded smiling Toonces on them. I told him no way were we going to go with those. He said, "you're not the only retailer telling us that." Within an hour he had a revised design for one of the shirts, this time with the Tiger Eye on it. Excellent! Now, that goofy tee had been transformed into a very cool shirt with some bite. Hopefully, you'll see it in about ten days at a retailer near you.

Local vendors don't even try to use it. They go with the Tiger Eye, the Fleur-de-Lis Eye of the Tiger or the Fleur de Tigre'. Or, the helmet graphic. They know: Toonces doesn't have a great sell-through.

We're seeing more and more national vendors get in the game with clocks, robes, house and garden flags -- virtually everything -- with anything BUT the Toonces Tiger logo.

I predict 2012 will be a big transitional year for LSU promotional graphics.