My high school’s mascot was the Horsemen, and the women’s teams were “Lady Horsemen” despite the seeming contradiction in terms.
Mascot story which no one can top: I went as an undergrad to (and now I’m a law student at) Texas Tech. The team name for Tech is the Red Raiders. One fine old tradition of the Red Raiders is the Masked Rider, a Zorro-esque man or woman who would gallop around the football field after Tech scored.
Well, one year, first home game (Homecoming, I might add, and I was in personal attendance), there was a new horse and a new Masked Rider. After the first Tech touchdown, the Rider began the celebration ride. Well, the horse, apparently unused to crowd/band noise and the stadium freaked and took off, rider on his back. He headed for the tunnel, skidded, took a header into the concrete wall, and died on the spot. As a result, those celebratory gallops have been scaled down to an unimpressive little trot.
Anyone else ever seen a mascot commit suicide on the field during a game?
Clintonville, Wisconsin, Home of Four Wheel Drive (FWD).
School mascot: a truck.
Team name: Truckers.
Things that rhyme with truckers: use your imagination here.
For our senior picture, they brought in a fire truck, and everyone climbed aboard or sat in front.
I lived for a brief time in Dracut MA, whose team was “The Midshipmen” (or maybe just “Middies”, but I think that was a nickname).
A high school near where I grew up was the “Spoofhounds”, and there’s the Iowa State “Cyclones” and the Missouri Western State “Griffons”. I’ve never seen these used by any other teams.
I think UMKC’s team is the Kangaroos, and UMRolla has the Miners. They can’t be the only ones using these, but they’re the only ones I know of.
The team in a small town north of here is called the Hutto Hippos. Supposedly, there was some sort of circus accident the a long time ago; guess what animal got loose?
My wife’s high school used to be the Deer. Unfortunately, the game against their arch rival was always scheduled for the day before deer season started (and apparently the game warden lived in the opposing team’s town.) Finally, my wife’s school got tired of going to the game and seeing the deer tied over the truck hoods, so they changed the boys teams’ mascot to the Bobcats. The girls teams are still the Deer, though…
My cousin went to Amhert College, founded by Lord Jeffery Amherst. As a lovely tribute, the mens’ teams were the Lord Jeffs. The women were the Lady Jeffs.
~Kyla
“You couldn’t fool your mother on the foolingest day of your life if you had an electrified fooling machine.”
My HS in Ohio was nicknamed “The Little Giants”. And my college was the Univ. of Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens. 'course the worst might be our beloved Wilmington Blue Rocks (KC Royals A). Blue Rocks? Doesn’t say much for the women of Delaware does it?
Although they have become more PC now, and I don’t know what the nickname is at present, the high school in Pekin, IL used to have teams named the Chinks.
(Also, to be really cranky here, I really think the Pretzels play in Freeport, IL, not New Berlin. Unless, of course, there are two teams of Pretzels.)
Here in central PA- Altoona’s minor league baseball team- The Altoona Curve- a play on curveball and Altoona’s railroad history(the mascot is a train’s engine stack)
My kids affectionately refer to them as the Altoona Melt.
so you found a girl who thinks really deep thoughts. what’s so amazing about really deep thoughts? Tori Amos
My high school’s team name was “the Larries”. I would imagine that it was a take on the name of the school (St. Lawrence Central)–Larry being short for Lawrence. But it still doesn’t make sense. When I was in school we were all wondering what the hell a Larrie is and they gave us some shit about it being a bird. That may be true (I haven’t researched it), but it’s still a stupid name.
I played for an IM team in college which called itself “Big Hair”.
Later, in law school, we formed a soccer team called the “Pro Boners”.
Best one I’ve heard, though, is from a friend of mine. He lived in a town called “Arnold” which was in Mass., I believe. He played on the town softball team, which was called the “Ziffels”.