Those of you who have attended Vertical Challenge events over the last month, or who have followed us on Facebook, have no doubt noticed a big new addition we’ve made. Our friends at Stonyfield, in addition to sending out samples of their delicious organic yogurt products, have brought with them an inflatable cow.
She instantly became a fun addition to the tour, serving as a tunnel for racers to proceed to the starting gates. We knew she had to have one more thing to establish herself. She needed a name.
So we asked you, the Vertical Challenge fanbase, for your suggestions. Many of you have kids, so you’ve been through this ritual before. Sure enough, you had some great suggestions. We’ll run through a few before we announce the winner at the end of this article.
There was a part of us that really wanted to pick one that Brian Wade and others suggested: “Frank.” Lois Addison even added four exclamation points to indicate how much she loved that one: “Frank!!!!” Ethan Levesque took it to another level with “Freaky Frank.” The theme derives from, we presume, Vertical Challenge co-founder Frank Tansey. We would have been able to make jokes about that for years. Feel free to ask Frank to pose for a photo with you by the cow, though.
Some were puns, which is udder-ly fantastic. Oh, sorry, couldn’t resist. Just like Christopher McElhinny couldn’t resist “Holly Cow” and Katie Sobieraj went with “Vertical Cowlange.”
Several drew from the Vertical Challenge and its traditions. KJ Serisky and Victoria Lehning, for instance, both suggested variations of Mooey Cow, hearkening back to the Chewy Dog stuffed animals we award.
A number of folks played off a dairy theme in honor of Stonyfield’s tasty products. Buttercup, Buttermilk Betsy, Cocoa, Cookies-n-cream, and Milkway all poured out of the suggestion bottle. Our friend Meggie took it one step further, reasoning: “Since it’s the Stonyfield cow, how about ‘Rocky.’” She also contributed “‘Pierre’ (French for cow) or ‘Champ’ (French for field)?” Kyah and Ann Travers thought “Cowabunga” made sense for a cow adventurous enough to come to the races.
We had variations on the winter weather. Jenn Forest typed this one the way we all usually say it: “Brrrrrrtha.” A number of folks wanted to call her “Snowbell.” Lorraine Krochina suggested “Snowflake.” Marge Serisky went with “MOOOO SNOW” – ALL CAPS were in the original, to be clear.
“Moo” riffs proved by far the most popular. Susan Hayden had “Molly Moo.” Joanne Mason thought of “Maddie Moo.” Rebecca Leonard thought our beautiful bovine was “Moovelous.” Maddy Sheppard liked “Winnie The Moo.” Healy Norton was in a big-time moo mood with “Moo-ey McMoo Moo.”
As you can see, we had a lot of wonderful ideas from which to choose. So how did we ultimately decide to, you know, moove forward (sorry, more puns)? Well, we actually went back to the first thing people started to call her onsite and a name that was also suggested online by several people: “MooMoo.” Part of its appeal is that it’s easy for kids to say and it’s also just plain fun. Plus it came about organically, which just seemed appropriate for a cow allied with healthy and organic Stonyfield yogurt.
We’ll draw three winners at random from everybody who submitted names and they’ll win lift tickets to Cannon Mountain, where MooMoo made her VC debut. And the next time you’re at a Vertical Challenge tour stop, take your photo with her or just say hi! Thanks to everyone who participated!
