# What's the stupidest sports mascot you've ever heard? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 13, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656 "2003-06-13T20:23:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![thi6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@thi6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thi6)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656/21 "2003-06-14T00:13:25Z")
My high school has the Marines. They have a big anchor as their symbol. The neighboring town is the home of the Maroons, which lends itself well to school colors, but that’s about it. And when I was attending, there was a school that had a hodag as their mascot. I don’t know what a hodag is, and apparently they didn’t either, because they have since changed it. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656/22 "2003-06-14T00:15:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gangster Octopus \* > **Well there is the Penn Quakers. Not exactly the fiercest group imaginable.** The high school in New Philadelphia, Ohio has the team name the _Fighting_ Quakers. When i was in elementary school, we were the Rankin Rookies, but the goofy name was justified by the depiction of the rookie – a cool as ice dude with a cap pulled low over his eyes slouching by the R in “Rookies.” It was changed to the Rams later, which is better name but not nearly as cool an icon. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656/23 "2003-06-14T00:15:32Z")
A little bit of ignorance to clear up here. (Note these are the ‘official’ stories as opposed to public perception and mean little, but it doesn’t hurt to know.) First, about Stanford, see [long version](http://gostanford.ocsn.com/school-bio/stan-nickname-mascot.html) here. Short version : They are the Cardinal, the color, not the bird. An inoffensive replacement for the Indians (after they could not decide on a new one, though Robber Barons, Sequoias, Trees, Cardinal_s_, Railroaders, Spikes, Huns, and Griffins were possibilities.) The tree is part of the band, but is not an official mascot. It is based on the Palo Alto for which the town is named. Then there’s this: > [@](#): > > I hail from good ol’ UC Davis. Our team has always been the Aggies, but our mascot used to be a mustang, because mustangs are cool, I guess. Not just the teams, but the students have always been the Aggies. You probably knew this, but it comes from being part of the UC College of Agriculture. Believe it or not, the mustang has a definite origin which I know. At a 1924 basketball game a reporter described the Aggies as playing like ‘Stallions’, which became a nickname. A year later it was changed to ‘Mustang’ (singular) because being Agricultural students, they knew the difference. The Mustang even has a name, “Ollie” (based on UC Berkeley’s Golden Bear “Oskie”). > [@](#): > > Then, for some reason, it became necessary to choose a new mascot. There were several option, my favorite being the cow (hey, cows are just cool). The possibility of having a fistulated mascot appealed to me. Instead, our mascot became the “Aggie”. What the hell is an aggie? Nobody seemed to know, though it apparently had something to do with farming. It ended up being, basically, a really goofy looking farmer. > > Of course, this happened shortly before I graduated, so I don’t know if they stuck with it, or if the gayitude of the Aggie mascot struck somebody, and they came up with something that looked as if it could actually put up a fight. > > Anyway, the Aggie wasn’t nearly as pathetic as some of the other mascots I’m reading about here, but it was pretty non-threatening, especially when compared to our chief rival, the Sac State Hornets. The voting was only something that was handled at the student government level. You might have realized that the only time the adminstration listens to the student referendums is when they vote for fee increases for themselves (and they have, several times now). They weren’t going to change the mascot solely on a student vote. They did acknowledge the confusion of fans, so came up with something new, and it wasn’t because they don’t like homosexual farmers. A marketing firm was hired and this was the result : [UC Davis logo](http://www-dateline.ucdavis.edu/043099/DL_newlogo.html) - a mustang in a C with the word ‘Aggies’ underneath. And … Sac State Sucks. The strangest mascot I can think of are the Texas A&I-Kingsville Javelinas (a smallish wild pig), and the California (Pennsylvania) Vulcans (yes, they don’t defeat their teams with logic but who wants to be a crippled blacksmith?) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656/24 "2003-06-14T00:20:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dooku \* > Worst mascot has gotta be [Youppi](http://mlb.mlb.com/mon/photo/ph_team_mascot.jpg), the Montreal Expos…uh…whatever it is. Surely you jest (and, yes, I _am_ calling you “Shirley”). The big orange clown was much beloved in this town. More so than the team, actually. Were the Toledo Mudhens Klinger kept referring to on _M_A_S_H\* real? ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656/25 "2003-06-14T00:33:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Earl of the CC \* > \*\*The CGNU Dumple? Actually, that was pretty cool. \*\* You can’t really blame them. They were _really_ hungry and tired. And yes, there is such a thing as the [Toledo Mud Hens.](http://www.mudhens.com/) They are a minor league baseball team, a farm team for the Detroit Tigers. “Oh look, it’s the Jolly Dumple, come to celebrate our victory!” ---
**Author:** ![Pelleas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e8c25b/32.png) [@Pelleas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pelleas)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656/26 "2003-06-14T00:44:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dumbguy \* > \*\*I’m a fan of the classics. I’ve always liked the South Carolina **Gamecocks** and the TCU **Hornfrogs**. \*\* That’s TCU **Horned Frogs**. My Alma Mater. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656/27 "2003-06-14T00:45:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lear’s\_fool \* > **isn’t harvard’s mascot The Tree?** No, the Tree is Stanford’s mascot. Harvard’s mascot is [John Harvard](http://www.news.harvard.edu/tour/4.html) himself. ---
**Author:** ![verbenabeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@verbenabeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/verbenabeast)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656/28 "2003-06-14T01:08:35Z")
ah… yes… Montgomery’s baseball team… I could almost move away (see spoilers in OP) but I DO have some to share that are pretty cool… Also in Alabama we have the Troy State Trojans, and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks… they play every year… you can imagine how big it is when the 'Cocks take on the Trojans I dig the Wichita State Shockers… but my all time Favorite (besides the UofA Crimson Tide) is the Richmond Spiders… AWESOME nickname/mascott! ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656/29 "2003-06-14T01:15:37Z")
The [UCR Highlanders](http://edres.ucr.edu/research_park/highlanders.gif) ound scool at first, but ends up strange when you see the bear wearing a kilt. Sometimes the bear will have the Mel-Gibsonesque blue face (fur?) paint. The aforementioned [Slugs](http://sketch_lion.tripod.com/School/logo.jpg) are weird, but somehow [fitting](http://www.ucsc.edu/about/campus_mascot.html) with the UCSC vibe. [This fellow](http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/stma/sports/genrel/trads/mascot-lg.jpg) and his team, the St. Mary’s Gaels, seems odd, too, without an [explanation](http://smcgaels.ocsn.com/trads/stma-mascot.html). I don’t know what an Aggie is, either. [Crazy Crab](http://www.heckledepot.com/hallfame.shtml)? Who’s that? We’d never have something that stupid. That must have been a Dodger thing. I’m a coding _maniac_! ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656/30 "2003-06-14T01:17:13Z")
Go Fighting Cephalopods! ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656/31 "2003-06-14T02:00:47Z")
The mascot of Tulane University in New Orleans is [the Green Wave.](http://tulanegreenwave.ocsn.com/index-main.html#) ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656/32 "2003-06-14T02:11:47Z")
Hey, **Bartman**! My little sister graduated as a Fighting Lambkin. Even she thought it was sissy-fied. Esp with _those_ colors. ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656/33 "2003-06-14T02:17:28Z")
Aww dang, someone already brought up my school’s Anteater and the only worse UC mascot, the Banana Slug. On the bright side, since the Anteater is blatantly ripped from B.C., it supposedly goes “zot zot”. The rallying cheer for UCI’s sports teams goes “U, C, I, _zot_!” Which, when yelled by a crowd of drunken, apathetic UCI students, sounds more like “UCI sucks!” There’s a reason we decided to build a new science library instead of getting a football team. – Dragon “Z to the O to the muthafreakin’ T” blink ---
**Author:** ![80sHairMetalMaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/8/ed655f/32.png) [@80sHairMetalMaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/80sHairMetalMaven)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656/34 "2003-06-14T03:15:12Z")
LOL\* Well…I did a little Googling and found out in Texas we have the following wierd mascots" San Saba Armadillos (aka Nature’s Speedbump) Winters Blizzards (yeah I know…Winter, Blizzard…you’d THINK they’d go hand in hand…but not in Texas. We don’t GET blizzards here.) St Joseph’s Academy Brownsville Bloodhounds (They’ll SNIFF a defeat outta ya!Har!) Lake Worth Bullfrogs (Ribbit ribbit!) Port Arthur Bumblebees (not overly frightening unless you’re allergic to bee stings I would think) Central Catholic (San Antonio) Buttons (yes buttons!Real buttons like on a shirt.:smack:) Chinquapin Burrs (like the stupid things that get stuck to your socks…) Hockaday School (Dallas)Daisies (like the flower. Who’s gonna be scared by a FLOWER??Ha!) Taylor Ducks (Ducks…not overly fierce or ferocious,I’d think) Living Waters (Austin)Doves (must be a Christian school…hmm) Bishop Lynch Fightin Friars (I always get a picture of a very drunk Friar Tuck armed with a broken wine bottle and a rusty pitchfork with this one) Trent Gorillas (yeah that’s what I said…GORILLAS!oogabooga!) Hutto Hippos Hereford Herd (again…not scary unless they stampede) Falfurria Jerseys (who’s gonna be scared by a shirt?) Masonic Home Mighty Mites (what the heck is a Mighty Mite?A fiersome toddler?😕 ) Houston Morris Academy Praying Hands (another Christian school…ooh I’m scared now.Here come the Praying Hands!:D) Randolph Ro-Hawks (not sure what a Ro-Hawk is…rogue maybe?) Texas City Stingarees (I think these little guys are related to Stingrays…I dunno.Sounded wierd enough to me tho) New Braunfels Unicorns (again…NOT SCARY. ) Van Vandals (I think they chose this because of the correlation between the name of the town Van and the word Vandal. Not a role model I’d want for MY kids…yeah,that’s right son. When you go to HS yer gonna be a VANDAL!w00t!) Cameron Yoeman (YOE! MAN!) Grandview Zebras (who in the world would pick this as a mascot?) IDBB ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656/35 "2003-06-14T03:31:28Z")
'Nother UCD Aggie here… Anybody heard o’ the **Compton Tarbabes**? ---
**Author:** ![PlanMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2bfe46/32.png) [@PlanMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlanMan)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656/36 "2003-06-14T03:41:11Z")
Back in the early 70’s, I was attending the University of North Florida, a new school that, at the time had only Juniors, Seniors and Grad school. Anyway, they were starting sports teams and needed a mascot. The student gov’t sponsored election came down to Manatees or Armadillos. The Administration stepped in, and chose Ospreys - a local fish-eagle. Not bad, but, either of the others woulda been cooler. At one time, there was a minor league hockey team in Macon, Ga. called the Whoopie (yup, Macon Whoopie)! I think the current team is the Trax. Back in the 70’s, the NASL soccer team from Boston moved to Jacksonville. They had a good name for up there - TeaMen (ya’ know - Boston Tea Party). Even tho’ Lipton was a sponsor (owner?) the name didn’t really fit here. The paper asked for suggestions. Jacksonville is a big Navy town (carrier base and all that), but the logical morphing of TeaMen to SeaMen just didn’t happen, they kept TeaMen - don’t know why? ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656/37 "2003-06-14T04:59:15Z")
My cousin’s HS team were the Battling Bathers and their mascot was Biff the Bather, a guy in a swimsuit. Mt. Clemons, MI. I’ve often thought the the Minnesota “Golden Gophers” were less than fear-inspiring. StG ---
**Author:** ![Jplacer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85f322/32.png) [@Jplacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jplacer)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656/38 "2003-06-14T05:31:02Z")
In Poca West Virginia … The Poca Dots. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656/39 "2003-06-14T06:29:11Z")
:smack: I don’t know how I forgot about the Evergreen State College [Geoducks](http://www.evergreen.edu/athletics/athleticsprograms.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2003, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656/40 "2003-06-14T06:30:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by panamajack \* > \*\*A little bit of ignorance to clear up here. (Note these are the ‘official’ stories as opposed to public perception and mean little, but it doesn’t hurt to know.) > > First, about Stanford, see [long version](http://gostanford.ocsn.com/school-bio/stan-nickname-mascot.html) here. > > Short version : They are the Cardinal, the color, not the bird. An inoffensive replacement for the Indians (after they could not decide on a new one, though Robber Barons, Sequoias, Trees, Cardinal_s_, Railroaders, Spikes, Huns, and Griffins were possibilities.) > The tree is part of the band, but is not an official mascot. It is based on the Palo Alto for which the town is named. > > The strangest mascot I can think of are the Texas A&I-Kingsville Javelinas (a smallish wild pig), and the California (Pennsylvania) Vulcans (yes, they don’t defeat their teams with logic but who wants to be a crippled blacksmith?) \*\* I used to be the sports editor of a paper in Palo Alto, and I never liked the Cardinal because, technically, you’re supposed to treat it, for the purposes of headlines and stories, like any old mascot that ends in the letter “s.” So you’re supposed to write unnatural sounding phrases like “Cardinal defeat Cal” or “Cardinal earn playoff berth.” I usually went ahead and ignored that rule, though. As for the Vulcans, I wouldn’t mind … if I remember my mythology correctly, Vulcan had one hot babe of a wife! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-sports-mascot-youve-ever-heard/181656.md?page=3)