Sometimes you need to be obvious about your mascot name. Sometimes you just have to have some dude out there instead of the actual mascot. In this week’s Mascot Monday’s case, sometimes you need both. The Toledo Rockets fly straight out of the MAC and have been piloted by Rocky the Rocket the whole time. We’ll fly into space this week and come back with a little video game nostalgia. Those in the know will know where I”m going with this. Continue reading Mascot Monday: Rocky the Rocket
Yes, I know what you are saying, “That was my favorite TV show from the 50s!” Alas, you are incorrect. It’s this week’s Mascot Monday! Big news is right around the corner for the website in general, but before I drop the bomb on y’all I took a little bit of time to doctor up this week’s mascot. The magic finger poked its away around Wikipedia and it landed on North Carolina State’s Mr. and Mrs. Wuf with the recently introduced Tuffy. Hold on to your vows, we’ll be learning about married life and live wolves.
So it’s not too late to talk some mascots, is it? The NCAA College Basketball Championship played out already and I figured it would be hot time to talk about the mascots for the competitors of this oft ignored sport (at least here anyway). So I’ve already done the UConn Huskies and that mean we focus on the Butler Bulldogs, who made their second straight championship game appearance tonight. The end didn’t fare too well for the Bulldogs, but I’m fairly certain that both Butler Blue II and Hink cheered them on along the way.
My only memory of this week’s Mascot Monday’s team was always seeing them pop up on the random play for EA Sports NCAA College Football 2003 on the Playstation 2. Yeah, I just dated myself there. Anywho, the Akron Zips aren’t exactly the best when it comes to football but somehow, they’ve managed to put up a successful, yet awkward, mascot named Zippy. This week, we’ll explore the world of Zippy, including the origin of the school name and the decision to choose a kangaroo as the mascot. It won’t go too fast as we’ll try our best not to zip through this (har har).
Mascot Monday rolls on to another week and you may be wondering why I’m revisiting another mascot. Welp, you are wrong there as I am not talking about Kansas State’s Willie the Wildcat but Northwestern’s Willie the Wildcat. They have the same name, the same color, and almost the same history. It’s going to be hard to avoid comparisons but I”m going to do my best. I mean one is from the cold winds of Chicago and the other is from the Little Apple of Manhattan, Kansas. See there we go, let’s see what else we find.
Continue reading Mascot Monday: Willie The Wildcat (The Other One)
You know it’s fun to dress up when you’re a mascot. Most of the time, all you have to do is zip up costume, toss on some shoulder pads, and drop a big ole furry head on your shoulders. That’s tons of fun, but to me, slapping on some warpaint and gigging up to look like a warrior is way better. That’s why I’m pumped to talk about The Aztec Warrior and San Diego State. It seems fluffy characters outweigh the human ones so when I get a chance to review one that sports weapons, I get super psyched.
It’s another week of Mascot Monday and we’re heading up to the Great North…West! The Washington Huskies looked to be competitive last year with mega-stud quarterback Jake Locker at the helm. The season fizzled early with a beatdown from Nebraska but they totally redeemed themselves with a win over the Cornhuskers at the Holiday Bowl. This week we bring the freshness as both the live and costumed version of the mascots recently went under some improvements. We’ll also question why some universities don’t give enough love on their websites to mascots. Bring a coat, it’s gonna get just a tad bit chilly.
Another week of Mascot Monday and we’re gonna get a little wacky. Okay, maybe not too wacky, but it’s time to bring back some unusually mascots out there in college-dom. During my research, I’ve come across some weird ones but I’m sticking to my guns when picking mascots for schools that have football programs. Until, of course, I run out. That said, we go all the way up to the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point to take a look at the Pointers. No, not the Pointer Sisters, but Stevie, Stephanie, and the new dog McKenzie.
The University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point saw its inception around 1894. I’m pretty sure the football team didn’t show up until 1980. I’m using math to determine their first season using the overall record from the program highlights page. Hey, they need to sharpen up on their history because it was a hard one to find. What wasn’t hard to find was the history of Stevie Pointer and his family. There’s plenty of info thanks to the student newspaper.
The student newspaper was the first, like so many other mascot stories, to question the need of a mascot. Stevens Point’s newspaper, the Iris, did so in 1896. Fast forward to 1953 and we see that the Iris also gave the mascot the name Stevie. Walt Bascamp in the middle 1960’s designed Stevie off of the Peanuts character Snoopy. I’m not sure where Stephanie came into the picture but it is another attempt to appeal to both genders of football fans.
But that’s not all. Stevie Pointer was a winner too. He won the 1997 Americup Cheer and Dance Championship. I’ve never heard of Americup before but I can guess what the trophy looks like. It’s all thanks to the man under the furry head, Greg Lietz. I’m thinking the momentum of that title win was the driving force for the introduction of McKenzie in 2008. McKenzie is Stevens Point’s first live mascot. He was rescued from Michigan, either the team or some animal abuse I’m not sure.
So let’s go over these furry puppy pointers. Stevie sports the football uniform and the fluffy head of a dog. His ears are perked up and point a little bit to the side and out. Stephanie is rocking the cheerleader uniform complete with pom poms. Her ears droop more down and to the side. McKenzie is a live dog, but he has a the team colors bleeding through the scarf he wears on the field. All in all very conservative and very tight. You can’t really complain about their setup, both in terms of presentation and the fact the college is pretty small.
So there you have it. There’s nothing in particular I can complain or praise about Stevie, Stephanie, and McKenzie. Everyone might complain that they aren’t wacky enough, but really when the name Pointers popped up, you were all wondering just what the heck the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point had as a mascot. Now the Pointer Sisters would’ve been hilarious, but frankly I’m excited about what they have. I’m so excited, and I just can’t hide it.
Another week of Mascot Monday and I know you’re wondering, “Where’s my wacky mascot?” Well, I was going to do it but then I realized that it was President’s Day today and I want to celebrate. Not only do I have the day off, but I’m talking about a mascot or two from a college close to the area. Truman State University recently had some big changes, but their mascot Spike has been around for awhile. We’ll go over him as well as another mascot by the name of Simone. Let’s try to make Harry S. Truman proud.
Another week of Mascot Monday sees us head down to the Southeastern Conference and paying a visit to Vanderbilt’s Mr. C. Now their football team isn’t much to talk about compared to some of the other titans of the SEC. Today we’ll find out with Mr. C why Vanderbilt deserves their stake in the best (it hurts to say) football conference in college. Along the we’ll see Mr. C’s accolades as well as get a visit from an unlikely jokester. Buckle in and get your old school military gear ready, it’s Mr. C time!
This week’s Mascot Monday brings us back down to Texas as we take a look at Conference USA’s UTEP Miners and their foam faced fella, Paydirt Pete. The UTEP mascot’s been going through some changes but the latest iteration brought some success. We’ll take a look at that as well as UTEP’s somewhat up and down football program. I’m getting back into the mascot swing of things and digging deep into Paydirt Pete will show it. Don’t take that out of context, however.
Yes we’re back with the 2011 Edition of Mascot Monday! I gave long and serious thought to quitting this here weekly ditty, but a quick check to the logs revealed that Mascot Monday is one of my more popular items. So here I am forging ahead. I was gonna kick off the year with a BCS bang, but then I realized I already profiled the mascots for all of the BCS Bowl teams. So the next best bang was the one given to Boise State at the hands of the Nevada Wolfpack. We’re going to over the history of the Pack as well as their fluffy mascots. Also, we’ll point out agin why baseball is not covered here.
Nevada showed up athletically around the 1890s and were referred to as the Sagebrushers or Sage Hens. That sounded limp so they were called the ‘Sage Warriors’ in the local newspapers. As with alot of the cool mascot names, a local newspaper described the team with what was to become the actual team name and mascot. In 1921, a writer called the team as a ‘pack of wolves.’ Football wise, they had a program around the 1890s but there doesn’t seem to be much hoopla around it, except for the Cal game that ended in a 0-0 tie. Well, that and last year’s rise to a national ranking.
As for the costumed critter, Wolfie showed up in the 1970s. Since then, there’s been changes left and right with the mascot get-up at Nevada. A Wolfette pranced around in 1986 and Wolfie sported a big old ‘N’ top hat sometime after. Then of course was more familial changes. This site describes it best. Wolfie’s cousin Alphie replaced him in 1999. Wolfie Jr, popped back into the scene in 2007. So we have cousins and sons and I guess a true ‘Pack’ of wolves. It’s still confusing. Was Wolfette Wolfie’s wife or relavtive? How did a Wolfie Jr come about?
Let’s take a look at the alpha of the pack, Alphie. The standard head to toe fur covers Alphie while he sports a football jersey to cover up his naughty bits, Disney style. Back in the day, they changed his look from a fierce one to a more kid friendly one. Fair enough. Woflie Jr. is a spitting image 0f Alphie. There’s not much difference except for clothing style. You know, if Nevada tries hard to keep a family tree together for the Pack, they need to make sure that each member is a little more distinguished.
That’s what it comes down to me for Alphie and Wolfie Jr. I like how they look, but they look too much the same. They need to take lessons from WCW’s version of the Wolfpack. That’s right, we’re talking NWO Wolfpack. Even though they wore the same colors, each member had their own style. Macho Man Randy Savage had his fringy attire while Konnan went the ethnic hispanic route. Heck even Scott Hall and Kevin Nash made sure that one wore the regular shirt while the other wore a tank top. Seriously, Nevada, take a lesson from these guys. They’re just. Too. SWEET!
I can’t take away the big victory from Nevada last year, however. They were the ones that finally toppled the mini giant in the Boise State Broncos. Sure it took a major choke job from the Broncos kicker, but the Wolf Pack stopped the Broncos in their track and garnished a tasty victory in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl over Boston College. So even though Alphie and Wolfie Jr could use a serious makeover, we should celebrate them. Just make sure they don’t dance too hard and fall over themselves again.
As some of you may know, I do a Mascot Monday post ever week in the offseason. What I do is an introspective into the many mascots that parade the sidelines during the games. Some of them are live animals. Some of them are costumed. And even some of them are real people. There isn’t a massive ranking list like the football teams, but I do tell you if the mascot is worth watching and if the school really cares about its spirit. Welp I saw something yesterday that made me think about the state of mascots.
Big Al’s in the house this week as we are one more mascot away from completing the top mascots that we have yet to cover from Phil Steele’s Preseason Top 40. The #3 Alabama Crimson Tide won the big shiny ball last year and look to repeat this year with returning Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram carrying the rock. The competition is hot in the SEC and what better hot weather animal to have around as a mascot then the elephant known as Big Al. We were just as confused as you may be as to why a team by the name of Crimson Tide employs and elephant mascot. We’ll find that out as well as how we think Alabama finishes out the season.
The #7 Florida Gators from Phil Steele’s Preseason Top 40 rankings are the next victim in mascots we haven’t covered yet that make the list. The gender appeasing dynamic duo of Albert and Alberta welcome our wagon as we tool on down to Gainesville and check out how these Gators chomp. Last year, the Gators were led by one of the greatest college football players to ever live, Tim Tebow (yeah that’s right, we said that). This year, they are without him and are looking to fill the huge void left. Will the emptied spirit of the once very inspired Gator football team be rekindled with the help of these two costumed carnivore’s? Let’s find out.