GeezerJock magazine to change name in January
GeezerJock magazine has taken a lot of hits for its memorably cheeky name, and now its braintrust has decided to punt. The 8-times-a-year publication will be retitled Masters Athlete in the first issue of 2008. I learned this first from today’s Chicago Sun-Times, in a Mark Brown article: “(Editor Sean) Callahan . . . had one piece of disappointing news for me. They’re changing the magazine’s name to Masters Athlete, a concession to all the serious older athletes, women in particular, who don’t want to think of themselves as geezer jocks. A pity.” Shocked, I wrote Sean. I asked whether the magazine’s new owner, Turnstile Publications, forced the change.
Sean dodged that question in his note to me:
Yup, we’re changing the name. Masters Athlete is more inclusive of athletes in their 40s. It’s also more inclusive for women. Our magazine is taking a big tent approach. It takes effect with the January-February 2008 issue. We’ve been considering this move for a long time.
GeezerJock will continue in several ways: There will still be a GeezerJock of the Year and we’ll have a newsmakers column called “GeezerJocks.”
I suspect that Sean and publisher Brian Reilly preferred the original title but had to face economic realities and corporate pressures — and newsstand realities.
GJ spent most of its first three years defending the title. That may have weighed in the process as well. In fact, the current December issue has a letter from Evanston’s Stan Wojciechowski titled “The name is embarrassing.”
Pity that people don’t appreciate a good joke. My Geezerjock cap and T-shirt bring smiles to many, and the name was great publicity for a publication that might otherwise fly under the radar. But GJ has to follow the money, and a name change won’t dilute its quality or value.
But it’s the end of an era. The title is dead. Long live the title.
Geezerjock magazine takes its leap of faith
They pulled the trigger. Anyone wanting to start a subscription to GeezerJock magazine now has to pony up $30 for 18 issues or $40 for 30. (Both give you Web access to current issue and its archived articles, though.) This is great news, however, for masters media — since the Chicago publishers of GJ now think they have a broad enough reader base (about 75,000 after giving away free subscriptions for a year) to make a go of it. Charter subscribers will continue getting GJ — at least into 2007. Newbies will have to pay.
GeezerJock magazine announces its first issue — again
GeezerJock magazine is like its namesake athletes. It has its senior moments. The PR Newswire reports that “GeezerJock Media LLC announced today that the first official issue of GeezerJock magazine will begin arriving in the mailboxes of subscribers this week.” This means the wonderful issue dated October 2004 was just for practice. Or a false start. No matter.
25 Responses
I think I have a pretty good sense of humor but from beginning of Geezerjock magazine I have not liked the name. Frankly I think it appeals to a male sense of humor, the good old boy humor of the high school locker room. Calling females “jocks” was never meant as a term of endearment when I was growing up. It was meant to insult, belittle, and put down girls who were athletic. It let those of us who participated in sports in the pre Title IX days know that we were not considered to be properly feminine, and probably were doomed to grow up to be old maids. It was never meant to be a positive term, and certainly not meant to flatter.
It still is not a term that flatters women of any age. Frankly I have viewed the name of the magazine as patronizing of older women athletes, just another way for the good old boys to try to keep older women in their place.
Those of you who want to strut around in your good old boy Geezer Jock hats and t-shirts – knock yourself out-just do not expect applause. I for one am glad that the name will be changed, then I might not drop it in the trash can on the way from the mailbox into my house.
I don’t have Mary Harada’s e-mail so if it’s ok I would like to say something to her.I just love her comments and thoughts on various topics as she responds pretty often to Ken’s blog.
I;ll probably never get to another masters’national meet but would love to meet her
Thanks,
Phyllis Provost/Dallas,Tx.
YAYYYYY! yahoo!!!!!!!
When I was in high school, we ladies called ourselves “jockettes” instead of “jocks.” That was our way of making the name something of which we were proud.
This side of the pond, the change has got to be welcome. But what on earth, my friends, is “a big tent approach”? Do tell!
The term “big tent” is meant to convey the notion of including everyone or as many as possible. It is often used to describe a political party platform in the US that has something for everybody to appeal to a wide range of voters is said to have a “big tent” platform.
And thanks Phyllis for your kind words- I hope to meet you one of these days.
Nice Picture of Liz Palmer in the latest issue of GJ mag – I glanced at it before it went into the recycle bag. Liz looks nothing like the big dog avatar she uses on the forum!
I did not like the name at all. Now I might actually look at it. Milan
I like the magazine but hated the title. The title sounded like a joke even though the magazine is a serious effort. Great idea.
Count me in. I never liked the name and cringed every time the magazine showed up in the mail. It really is difficult to take the magazine or the the idea of older athletes serious when the title of the magazine is “geezer jock”. It is interesting that so far mostly women have responded here in the comments and our responses are definitely in support of the name change. It does seem more appropriate, more accurate, and more inclusive. Long live Masters Athlete!
I think the title was in fact stupid and the magazine has a lot of work to do to make it worthwhile….FAS
I am delighted the name will be changed. It was annoying at best and insulting at worst. I guess I don’t have a sense of humor.
A rose by any other name still smells as sweet.
i, for one, shall continue to look forward to seeing Mr. Stone in his GJ cap.
I’m dismayed by most of the comments that have been posted here.
I cannot understand why the title ‘Geezerjock’ magazine can elicit such vitroil… geez (as in ‘gee whiz’, not ‘geezer’)
I can acknowledge why some may disagree with the name as being frivolous or not presenting exhaulted Masters Athletes in a serious enough light…
But to proclaim that by its very title ‘Geezerjock’ is demeaning and belittling to females…that line of thinking is bogus! ‘Geezer’ is not sex-specific and ‘jock’ has evolved to denote ‘athlete’. I know lots of women, my female contemporaries, my kids (I’m the single parent of 3 daughters) and their friends who refer to themselves as ‘jocks’ because they play sports.
Mary, you claim to have a sense of humor. Absolutely not the faintest glimmer of humor comes across in your vitroilic posts. You sound like a self-rightgeous, stern old schoolmarm -which you probably were. If you throw the GJ magazine in the trash because of its title, fine -but don’t deem it sexist or oppressive.
And Frank, you call the title ‘stupid’. That’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it. But- I think for you to say the publication ‘has a lot of work to do to make it worthwile’ is a stupid statement. Have you ever actually ever read the magazine? However you may feel about the title, the content is very good.
Myself, I’m proud to call myself a ‘geezer’. I’m glad to acknowledge, at my age, that I am a person of vitality. With a sense of humor. When I’ve beaten a younger opponent on the play on the ball field, I’ll sometimes say “You’ve been beaten by a geezer”. Or when a younger woman has expressed interest or attraction, I will say ‘Do you know you’re with a geezer?’ And I know it always got a better reaction than giving a lecture an ageism.
Ken, you keep wearing your GJ cap and shirt. I know you use the ‘G’ word often in your blogs. Keep doing it. Let those who find offense in it get their blog fix elsewhere.
LIGHTEN UP (OLD) FOLKS!
Grant I will not stoop to your level of name calling. You are entitled to your opinion, I am entitled to mine. You need to get a grip fella – take a deep breath, let is out slowly, -I am not attacking you personally but you surely do feel free to attack me.
Chill out buddy.
Mr Lamothe: your note is what one calls a “flame”. I am not apologizing to you or anyone for what I wrote. You use the terms ‘vitriolic” – good grief – do you know what that word means? “harsh or corrosive in tone; an acerbic tone …a barrage of acid comments”; really – wow – you do have a very thin skin – especially since the comments were not directed at you personally. But you have turned this into a personal attack – over the name of a magazine – my goodness – my advice to you – is to get a grip on yourself. This is just a post about the name of a magazine -it is not about YOU.
I’m with Mary Harada – The whole concept of a GeezerJock is anti everything we should be about. We (men and women)should not consider ourselves “geezers” or think it’s funny if someone else does, nor should we (especially women) consider ourselves “jocks.” Here is a dictionary definition of both words:
GEEZER: American Heritage Dictionary -n. Slang – An old person, especially an eccentric old man.
JOCK: American Heritage Dictionary – n. 1. An athletic supporter. 2. Sports, An athlete, especially in college. 3. Slang, One characterized by excessive concern for machismo.
Yes, I’m with Larry and Mary. It’s the “geezer” I primarily don’t like. It’s an insulting term. Self-deprecating humor only goes so far.
And I like Mary’s posts, she is honest about what she thinks and often makes me laugh.
Oh and by the way… add that word “schoolmarm” to the list of unpleasant terms for people.
When I read about this on PVP I couldn’t believe it. First of all, we all signed up for the magazine. We asked Geezerjock to send it to us for which they did free of charge. Now that we get the magazine, some feel that the name is not right because it’s demeaning. B as in “B”, S as in “S”. The bottom line is all of us have been on this earth already waaaay longer than we’ll be on this earth. That in itself makes us, “old”,”fossils”, “GEEZERS”,
“ancient”, “antiques” and any other word that says it like it is. Regardless, here’s what I wrote on PVP.
What? You mean I’m not a Geezer? I beg to differ! Look at it this way, any person who is over 40 should be able to go back in their minds to when they were teenagers (when we said “don’t trust anyone over 30”)and picture one person, a parent, a teacher, somebody at church, any person or group of people who were over 40 at that time and I can guaranty that person was considered a Geezer. So, I will hope everyone will still consider me “The Vaultin’ Geezer” because frankly……I’m kinda proud of it. Later……….Mike
TO MARY HARADA:
Thanks for the 2-part lecture (your 2 cheery posts directed at me) that were not only, as was your other post,humorless and vitriolic, but also heavy on the patronizing. To the effect of “I never attacked you, fella, how dare you attack me! Mr. Lamothe, I was merely expressing an innocent opinion on the name of a magazine…etc, etc.”
Mary you did attack me. And moreover you attacked Ken Stone. You know Ken Stone well, you seem to be on his Blog site all the time. You know that he was very involved with Geezerjock mag as a regular contributor. And you know, as he specifically stated in this posting that he likes the name and likes wearing the gear. And you must have noticed that he uses the G-word (the dreaded ‘Geezer’)a lot in his musings.
So you say “just another way for the good old boys to try to keep older women in their place.
Those of you who want to strut around in your good old boy Geezer Jock hats and t-shirts….etc.” That, Mary, is accusing Ken Stone of sexual discrimination or worse. As it does the same to me, as someone who, as I explained, likes the name.
The dictionary defines ‘geezer’ as ‘old person or (the worst one) ‘eccentric old man’. The dictionary also defines ‘jock’ as ‘an athlete’ or ‘an enthusiast: a computer jock’. I do not see anything discriminatory toward women in all that. Maybe toward eccentric old men like Ken Stone and me, but, hey we’re ok with it.
Mary, you sound like a pedantic old harpy. Chill out, extinguish those flames: you’re giving geezers a bad name.
TO ALL:
Anybody who has read Geezerjock knows that the magazine title is contraversial. Lots of people really like it, lots of people really don’t like it. You could regularily read opinions from both sides in their letters to the editor. Opinions everybody is entitled to have as long as they’re about the title of the mag.
It’s now a moot point, as the magazine will be changing the title under new ownership.
However, all this contraversy over the ‘Geezerjock’ title kept the magazine alive with a chance to strive. The overwhelming majority of new magazine launches die within a year. But ‘Geezerjock’ survived and will likely thrive under the new name.
Here’s some information straight from someone involved with the magazine “It (the magazine title) certainly made a splash when it first came out. I doubt Turnstile would have bought it had it not gotten the publicity it did.”
Whatever its title, it’s a magazine that should be supported.
For the record, I didn’t feel slurred or attacked by Mary. I get a kick out of her comments. Anyway, let’s try to be cordial here. I can pull the plug on any comment at any time.
Well, I tell you one thing. Nobody on the local high school track calls me a ?¢‚ǨÀúGeezer?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢. It seems to be a word that is not being used that much around highly active members of society. ?¢‚Ǩ?ìMan, look that old bastard working his butt off?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢, they say. ?¢‚Ǩ?ìWhat are you doing to keep in your kind of shape, old man??¢‚Ǩ¬ù ?¢‚Ǩ?ìGuys, see the bald dude throwing up over there? Work as hard as he does.?¢‚Ǩ¬ù The boys and girls on the high school track actually see me, meaning they don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t disregard me as they would if I would present myself as an eccentric old man. They even ask me for advice. Have some self esteem, folks. Carry yourselves proudly and show the world what you are: an athlete. So why should you identify with the title of a magazine you get sent to the house free of charge? Actually, the magazine is not too bad, if you like to have reading material in the restroom. And you can?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t beat the price!
I hate, hate, hate the name and said that I would never, ever, pay for this magazine if they didn’t change the title, regardless of how good I thought the magazine is. I don’t think it’s that great for serious runners anyway, but at least I’ll consider paying for it now. (I don’t mind getting for free, but I still hide it from anybody because of the name.)
I think Mary has raised an excellent point: there are lots of respectful terms of endearment for older males, like “codger”, “geezer” and “coot”, but I can’t think of a single equivalent term honoring the aging female. This is a sexist outrage! Can anyone come up with some?
I’m sad to see that the silly but catchy name “GeezerJock” has been suppressed by people whose dignity is so fragile that they can’t take a little joke.
It is a short step from humorlessness to fanaticism and oppression. Name one dictator with a sense of humor.
Really what a bunch of old farts.
I’m a 78 year old fencer and don’t
mind at all being called a geezerjock.
That’s what we are. Get real guys
Lighten up.
Sorry I won’t be subscribing to your
newly renamed magazine. Let me
know if ever change the name back
to GEEZERJOCK.
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