Happy for the O's but that was not in good taste nor was it a very good job to begin with.

Why not have fun with it. Maybe the city can decorate it every Holliday . They line the streets with lights and decorations anyway . It would be neat to see I think.

There are undecorated statues in towns across the nation and for the most part they are ignored. HdG, however, is a vibrant, intelligent community full of fun that likes to reflect current events by decorating the statue of the Marquis de Lafayette. The Marquis, a child of the French Revolution, was very familiar with public expression. I think the fun captured by the HdG decorators would be appreciated by that excellent young man.

Wasn't he wearing rain gear when we flooded?

This is silly! We've decorated the Marquis for various events for years. Back when the Duck Drop first started, we put the year lights in front of it for a week or two after the new year. Lafayette has celebrated Christmas, Haloween and various special events for years. I didn't think anyone actually minded. I certainly don't!

I enjoy seeing him decorated. Do not think it is disrespectful.

One of the things I do enjoy seeing done in town!!!!!!!!

Come on people, lighten up! Its all good clean fun, no one defaced him, and I know these people who did this. They will and have gone back and took it all back down when appropriate. Find an important issue to be outraged about, cause this is mice nuts!

I find nothing disrespectful at all....I have seen it decorated for years christmas,homecoming,first fridays,etc....As long as it stays within what is being celebrated and NOT decorated with disrespectful intentions I say Way to go and be a great community with a sense of humor

If done tastefully it's absolutely appropriate and good for our community. In my travels I've been to Brussels a few times, and they have a very famous statue there called the Manneken Pis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manneken_Pis). It's always interesting to see what outfit (he has hundreds) he's wearing depending on the season or local event. Perhaps we could tie a theme into 1st Fridays a few times a year (O's opening in April, Ravens in Sept) and dress him appropriately those days.

It's AWESOME! Tell the stodgy coots who had a negative response to get up off their can and do something to help HdG instead of complaining.

I love it!!

I do not see disrespect for decorating the statue. At the end of the day, it is a sculpture of someone. It isn't their grave and it isn't a religious statue, so there should not be any hard feelings against it. It is in fun and the decorating is not to harm or deface the value of his character.

I agree with Jay Donoghue. I think that dressing the statue keeps the Marquis' name alive. I'd rather see the statue decorated than neglected. Go, Lafayette!

On a trip to Virginia I noticed a large roadside statue of Jesus had been dressed in Virginia Tech tee shirt and baseball hat. I loved it! More people looked at that statue
and said His name that morning than probably ever before!

Lafayette was a French nobleman who purchased a ship and came to the America on his own dime to fight for liberty and the American colonists. He agreed to serve in the Continental Army without compensation and served on Washington's staff and commanded American troops in battle; he often outfitted troops that served under him with his own money and was also wounded in the Battle of Brandywine. During the war he returned to France to get support from the King for the war effort. He received support and returned to America with General Rochembeau and about 6000 French troops (check out the historic sign at the Middle School on Lewis Lane Rochembeau and his troops camped there). Rochembeau's Army and Washington's Continental Army defeated Cornwallis at the Battle of Yorktown ending the Revolutionary War, Lafayette also commanded American troops during this battle. Lafayette was an American citizenand and is buried in France in soil from Bunker Hill.
It doesn't really bother me to decorate him, it's all done in good fun but Lafayette isn't just some guy who supposedly named HdG but is a war hero who helped us win the Revlutionary War.

The statue is for ALL HdG residents. It is not a duck on someone's front porch. Dressing it up in sports uniforms can offend some people. If you want a to support your team on your own property, by all means do, but leave public monuments alone!