Mascot Mayhem
I love team names and mascots. You have to wonder where some of the names came from. Does anybody know exactly how CHS became the ‘Cardinals’? FYI: There are 18 other Cardinal mascots in MO. If you are a MU grad or fan you might know the name ‘Tigers’ came from a Civil War unit stationed in Columbia with that name. The KU ‘Jayhawks’ was a Civil War term for the free-state supporters during the pre-civil war border battles. The OK ‘Sooners’ is a good example of a very appropriate historical mascot from the 1880s land-rush days. We have a ton of animals as mascots: Lions, Tigers, and Bears, Oh My! One of the most common mascots, ‘Bulldogs’, is found in Appleton City, Leeton, and El Dorado. Besides ‘Cardinals’ we have more local birds: Blue Jays, Eagles, and even a ‘Roadrunner’ (SFCC). I like the creative mascots like the Lakeland ‘Vikings’, Sherwood ‘Marksmen’, Windsor ‘Greyhounds’ and the Sacred Heart ‘Gremlins’. Horses are used: Pintos, Colts, Mustangs and Mules. In our MRVC conference, we have a Cardinal, a Rooster, a Yellowjacket, a Tiger, a Wildcat, a Panther, and a Bulldog. If you are older, you will remember the Deepwater ‘Demons’. What a great mascot that must have been. Look these up: the ‘Nimrods’ (Watersmeet, MI), ‘Kewpies’ (Hickman CoMO), and the ‘Atom Smashers’ (Savannah GA). The story goes that a math teacher and a science teacher, during the space-race days, came up with the fearsome ‘Atom Smashers’, and the kids liked it. The opposite of fearsome would be the ‘Bunnies’ from Fisher, IL. There is a school in TX called the Blizzards. That would be like a school in MN being called the Tumble Weeds. There is also a TX School called the ‘Wooden Shoes’. (Named to honor their town’s only cobbler.) Predictable mascots would be the Holly Rosary ‘Saints’, the Dallas ‘Cowboys’, and the Osceola Indians. If you want to collect clever mascots how about Poca HS in TX calling themselves the ‘Dots’. Yes, that made them the ‘Poca Dots’. Alliterations are used a lot like: Butler ‘Bears’, Buffalo ‘Bison’, Fayette ‘Falcons’ and the Warsaw ‘Wildcats’. More favorite mascots: the Archie ‘Whirlwinds’ and the Adrian ‘Blackhawks’. The Indian name ‘Blackhawk’ has not been challenged. Both Adrian and Chicago thank you. I like strong names like the Lexington ‘Minutemen’, the Richmond ‘Spartons’, the Carrollton ‘Trojans’, and the local CCA ‘Patriots’. My old HS was the Lafayette ‘Fighting Irish’, (Strange right? -an Irish French General). As a boy, I was a Savannah ‘Savage’. A few years ago the Savages tried to find a new name, but decided to keep the old one. But, they no longer use an image of an angry Indian. Of course, the ‘Redskins’ are now the ‘Commanders’. Thank goodness the ‘Chiefs’ were not forced to change their name. Many new teams have contests to pick a name, that is where the “Royals” came from. I loved it when the city of Cleveland sued to keep the mascot ‘Browns’ even as their team moved to Baltimore. It would have been weird to say, the Baltimore ‘Browns’.
If the Chiefs moved would you want to keep the Chiefs name/mascot in KC? Some mascots that did not travel well: The Utah Jazz was a better fit in New Orleans, the LA Lakers fit better in MN. Some mascots fit anywhere. The Philadelphia Athletics went to KC, then to Oakland, they all sound right. The ‘Sporting’ KC team used to be the KC ‘Wizzards’. It worked for a while, but the fans shortened it to the “Wiz” and that became a little awkward. I have heard of the ‘Horn Toads’, the ‘Maniacs’, and the ‘Honkers’. In KS we have the Washburn ‘Ichabods’. Mr. Ichabod Washburn was a big benefactor but the mascot evolved over time. The most recognized name in sports is the ‘Yankees’. It would be hard to find a culture on earth that did not know about the ‘Yankees’. The ‘Pretzels are found in Berlin, IL. The Cheerleaders for the Berlin HS team might yell, “Twist them up Pretzels!”. If CHS played them we could yell, “Cardinals peck the Pretzels!” What is your favorite mascot? (After the Cardinals of course.)
Until next time.
