It seems like a significant part of the country is caught up in this thing called “March Madness”. As a sports fan and someone that is far too hopeful that her bracket won't get blown up by one too many upsets, I decided to do my own twist on the sportsball action people obsess about every year: Mascots. You heard me, mascots.
The word mascot has been traced back to a dialectal use in Provence and Gascony in France, where it was used to describe anything which brought luck to a household.
The word was first popularized in 1880, when French composer Edmond Audran wrote a popular comic operetta titled La Mascotte. However, it had been in use in France long before this, as French slang among gamblers, derived from the Occitan word masco, meaning "witch", and also mascoto, meaning "spell" (not to be confused with moscato, which is a type of wine).
But that’s not the fun part of this post. The fun part here is the mascots that we all love to question today. I have compiled a short list of awards for top mascots that I have arbitrarily decided. You’re welcome, internet.
Cutest mascot (tie): University of Cincinnati and UC Irvine
Cincinnati has one of the cutest, albeit weird, mascots I’ve ever seen: the bearcat. Yeah, I know. I didn’t think that it was a real thing either. Irvine, on the other hand, has a highly-identifiable and adorable mascot: the anteater. Peter the Anteater is supposedly 50 years old and minors in Myrmecology. Fun fact: An astronaut took a three inch tall plush toy version of Peter on the space shuttle Endeavor.
The word mascot has been traced back to a dialectal use in Provence and Gascony in France, where it was used to describe anything which brought luck to a household.
The word was first popularized in 1880, when French composer Edmond Audran wrote a popular comic operetta titled La Mascotte. However, it had been in use in France long before this, as French slang among gamblers, derived from the Occitan word masco, meaning "witch", and also mascoto, meaning "spell" (not to be confused with moscato, which is a type of wine).
But that’s not the fun part of this post. The fun part here is the mascots that we all love to question today. I have compiled a short list of awards for top mascots that I have arbitrarily decided. You’re welcome, internet.
Cutest mascot (tie): University of Cincinnati and UC Irvine
Cincinnati has one of the cutest, albeit weird, mascots I’ve ever seen: the bearcat. Yeah, I know. I didn’t think that it was a real thing either. Irvine, on the other hand, has a highly-identifiable and adorable mascot: the anteater. Peter the Anteater is supposedly 50 years old and minors in Myrmecology. Fun fact: An astronaut took a three inch tall plush toy version of Peter on the space shuttle Endeavor.
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| Hi! I'm a bearcat! |
Coolest live mascot award: Louisiana State University
I would like you to get to know Mike, the live Bengal tiger and school mascot. Mike I was originally named “Sheik,” and even years after coming to LSU in 1936 he would roar when his trainer would call the old name. To this day, rumors swirl that Mike II died mid-season during a losing streak and was secretly replaced.
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| Mike even has his own on-campus habitat! |
No, they don’t just walk around wearing funny dress jackets. The school mascot is Blaze. Blaze the dragon. It’s a dragon, guys.
Their mascot (since an Aggie isn’t easy to visually represent), is Reveille the dog. The first Reveille was a stray dog a few Corps of Cadets members hit with their car and smuggled home in 1931. The next morning at the bugle call, the dog started barking, revealing the newly-acquired (and illegal) pet and earning her the name Reveille. She would eventually be made a five-star Cadet General by the U.S. Army before dying and being given a military funeral.
Best historical basis for a mascot award: Manhattan College
The unique nickname of the Manhattan College athletic teams, the Jaspers, comes from one of the College's most memorable figures, Brother Jasper of Mary, FSC, who served at the College in the late 19th century. Fun fact: the college claims that Brother Jasper started the baseball tradition of the “seventh inning stretch”.
Chaucer the Chanticleer (SHON-ti-clear) is named after the author of The Canterbury Tales. As the university explains, in the “Nun’s Priest Tale,” the Chanticleer is a “proud and fierce rooster who dominates the barnyard.” According to the school website: “With all of his splendor and great looks, Chanticleer is also greatly feared and mightily respected by all.”
This rooster's got swag.
And finally.....
Silliest mascots award (tie): Evergreen State College and UC Santa Cruz
First, let me tell you what a geoduck is. The geoduck is among the world’s largest clams, weighing three pounds on average. It’s so large, it can’t fit into its own shell. Speedy the geoduck is one of just two non-insect invertebrate college mascots. The other is Sammy the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slug.
"Mom?"
