Was there an old one? Not that we were aware of, no.

Goldy Gopher? (Nah. He belongs more to the adjacent Stadium Village.) Maybe a drunk couple staggering out of Burrito Loco and careening toward frat row? (No, too transient, plus they don't -- YOU DON'T EVEN LIVE HERE!) A wide-eyed kid with a coffee cup and a smoke looking down alleys for Bob Dylan's ghost? (Too obvious; not fun enough.)

Whatever it was, it's being phased out. In its place is an elephant, an elephant called "Dinky," which was introduced in a short video the Dinkytown Business Alliance posted yesterday.

Watch as Dinky walks down the street, snacks on Chinese food, and pretends to do homework at a coffee shop while secretly just wondering if his ears look sexy, just like most Dinkytown residents.

The elephant also checks out a bike, looks at some books, and considers crashing a couple's wedding at the Varsity Theater. All good.

Why Dinkytown's mascot is an elephant is never made clear in this short clip. Maybe Dinky is symbolic of the neighborhood's elephant in the room: Namely, that Dinkytown ain't the same as it once was, and that old one ain't coming back.

We all might as well get used to an area filled with high rise apartments, major chain retailers, and fancy-ass college kids.

And an elephant?