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Email your name and location to savesherwood@talktalk.net to add your name to the petition
On Friday 29th July 2007, Nottingham Forest Football Club announced that Sherwood the Bear (pictured above) would be "retiring" to be replaced by Robin Hood.
Fans were shocked and upset, including me. So I resolved to start a petition to present to the club to try and save our cuddly mascot. I have spread the word on Radio Nottingham's Breakfast Show, and also on the BBC Nottingham website. I have subtly stuck a message on the This is Nottingham website (although they have not replied to my request to run a feature on this story), and Radio Five Live Drive have also lent a hand.
I am just an ordinary fan, trying to stand up for other fans. I work full-time and have other commitments outside office hours, so am running this campaign very much in my spare time - hence the site is a bit "bitty" and probably not as professional as it could be. The support and comments I am getting from you is making it all worthwhile.
Fans were shocked and upset, including me. So I resolved to start a petition to present to the club to try and save our cuddly mascot. I have spread the word on Radio Nottingham's Breakfast Show, and also on the BBC Nottingham website. I have subtly stuck a message on the This is Nottingham website (although they have not replied to my request to run a feature on this story), and Radio Five Live Drive have also lent a hand.
I am just an ordinary fan, trying to stand up for other fans. I work full-time and have other commitments outside office hours, so am running this campaign very much in my spare time - hence the site is a bit "bitty" and probably not as professional as it could be. The support and comments I am getting from you is making it all worthwhile.
THE FANS HAVE SPOKEN!
Update, 12th August 2007:
The season got underway on Saturday with a 0-0 draw against Bournemouth. See Nottingham Forest blog
for reaction. Interestingly, Robin's debut was greeted with a handful
of boos (to be honest, I didn't hear them, but one of my spies in the
Upper Trent End did), and some polite applause, but mainly
indifference*. As I have said before, don't boo Robin, it is not his
fault that Sherwood has been retired.
In my appearance on Five Live Drive, I did point out that one of my main bugbears has been that the club appear to have made this decision without consulting us, the fans. In an email, and in a response to Five Live, the club say that they have consulted interested parties. However, in my last email to Joe Sharphouse, Marketing Assistant at NFFC, I asked who these parties were, and have not yet received a response. The correspondence between myself and the club is now available here.
After this brief flurry of activity, things may now start to get back to normal - as intimated in Joe's last email, we have already won a minor victory, as "Sherwood has only retired from mascot duties, so keep your eyes out for him at The City Ground next season. I too hope he will be celebrating promotion with us in May!". Although we have no way of substantiating this, it does seem as though the club have backtracked slightly by not putting Sherwood permanently out to pasture. So, a minor but significant victory!
In my appearance on Five Live Drive, I did point out that one of my main bugbears has been that the club appear to have made this decision without consulting us, the fans. In an email, and in a response to Five Live, the club say that they have consulted interested parties. However, in my last email to Joe Sharphouse, Marketing Assistant at NFFC, I asked who these parties were, and have not yet received a response. The correspondence between myself and the club is now available here.
After this brief flurry of activity, things may now start to get back to normal - as intimated in Joe's last email, we have already won a minor victory, as "Sherwood has only retired from mascot duties, so keep your eyes out for him at The City Ground next season. I too hope he will be celebrating promotion with us in May!". Although we have no way of substantiating this, it does seem as though the club have backtracked slightly by not putting Sherwood permanently out to pasture. So, a minor but significant victory!
The
petition will remain open until the end of August - please keep
encouraging people to sign up, and if there are enough names, I will
still send the petition to NFFC next month.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!
Rishab Baruah - Save Sherwood campaign
View the petition - View correspondence from the club - View comments from the fans - Sign up!
Forest supporter Liz Padmore has set up a Facebook group to Save Sherwood - see the comments page for more details
* From where I was sitting, some fans may have been fooled into thinking that there was a round of applause for Robin Hood - however, upon closer inspection, it was because some of the players were in front of the 'A' block and receiving positive vibes from the fans!