August 26, 2014 12:12 pm
Recently, I was drinking my morning coffee and perusing my tumblr dash – you know: starting the day in a true summer-vacation fashion, and I came across a short blogpost (x) somebody had made about mascots .
As you can see, the writer was basically saying that Mascots are a mockery of furries.
Tangent: What’s a furry, you ask? Well, Urban Dictionary gives a surprisingly-nuanced definition (which you can read by clicking here, if you’d like) that . . . also happens to be pretty long. So, if you’re feeling lazy, lets just define furries as a group of people who anthropomorphize animals to a bajillion different degrees – some of them assuming animal personas to the extent that they identify themselves as an actual animal.
So, now that we’ve got definitions taken care of . . .
I read some of the comments on the original post, and it ultimately piqued my curiosity about the origin of Mascots. With a whir of my touch-typing fingertips (thank you Mrs. Green, wherever-you-are, it’s the best skill 9th grade gave to me), I started to peruse the massive compendium of knowledge concerning Mascots brought to you by the infallible Saint Wikipedia. (You might not be able to cite it in papers, but it’s a good way to start researching!)
There is a whole list of mascots (probably incomplete, but still) on Wikipedia for your personal perusing pleasure, and (true to human nature) everybody thinks they have the absolute best. There are polls all over the place about which might be the greatest mascot. Personally, I don’t like #1/ “Best” titles, because they oversimplify. THUS, I have decided to provide you with my very own Mascot Awards Ceremony. I’m sure you’re on pins and needles, so I’ll get right into it.
To take this lighthearted nut at simple face value would be a mistake. Despite his visible cheer, Brutus has had quite a trying history, for an anthropomorphized nut, that is. He’s been kidnapped at least five times since 1965, from what I can gather, and I would daresay he’s come through more hard times than one Buckeye nut ever deserved. Yet, here he is, in 2014, still smiling. Brutus might be a nut, but he is a survivor, and that’s more than many mascots can boast.
Now retired, apparently, this die-hard, pineapple-toting warrior was quite fearsome, from what I can tell.
Suffice it to say: In addition to his large, plague-mask-reminiscent beak, Petey the Petrel has a very well developed identity, folks.
Seriously. Look at that face.
I never knew corn could be that intimidating, and I grew up surrounded by fields of the stuff. All I have to say is: These fans are missing a golden opportunity if they don’t make extensive wordplay involving the word “clobber”.
Also, as a side note, this leads to some interesting fan-base attire.
I wonder if any of their opponents have come up with some kind of corn-popper analogy yet.
What on God’s green earth is a Eutectic, you ask? It’s the scientific process where two solids combine to form a liquid. (Yes, of course I looked it up. What non-chemist would know that kind of thing???) The best part about this nerdy team symbol is how seriously it is stil taken as a mascot, though.
Surprisingly famous, even making number 1 on ESPN’s 2008 top ten mascot names in College Basketball, this mascot doesn’t exactly strike fear into my heart at first glance. One snarky judge from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals of CA, even referenced them in an opinion discourse.
This is exactly what you think it is. If you are at all interested in an AMAZING article about Scrotie, please click this link, because the author’s lovely clear explanation of their mascot is matched in excellence only by the amount of penis-themed, chortle-inducing wordplay they use. In an article he wrote for the Providence Phoenix, David Scharfenberg calls the RISD sports crew
“a co-ed assemblage that has been turning the dick joke into high art — OK, low art — for 50 years now.”
It’s also worth noting that the ice hockey team of the RISD are called the “Nads” . . . Fans apparently cheer them on with loud cries of “Go Nads!”. No joke. And don’t get me started on the RISD Pricks (a fencing club) and the RISD Seamen (a sailing club).
Now, while they have attempted to render this many-layered vegetable-substitute-for-chips more intimidating with design, the plain truth of it is: Artie is adorable.
Posted by Abby
Categories: Scholarly, Sedentary Pursuits
Tags: Artie the Artichoke, Brutus Buckeye, Concordia College, fun facts about mascots, furries, mascot awards ceremony, mascots, Oglethorpe University Mascot, Ohio State University Mascot, origin of mascot, Rowan University Mascot, Sammy the Slug, school mascots, Scrotie the Mascot, strange mascots, The Banana Slugs of the University of California-Santa Cruz, The Cobbers, The Eutectic, The Rhode Island School of Design Mascot, The Saing Louis College of Pharmacy Mascot, The Stormy Petrel, University of California-Santa Cruz Mascot, University of Richmond, Webst-UR, weird mascots, what is a mascot, Whoo RU
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