Mascots
The other day, Barbara and I took John and his girlfriend Mandy out for dinner. During the course of the conversation, we discussed the mascots of the schools we attended.
John said he had always been a cat. From the Little Lions of Covington Elementary to the CJ Schoen Middle School "?'s" I forgot what they were, but it was a cat. He was a Panther at William Pitcher Junior High, a Lion at Covington High, a Lion at Southeastern Louisiana University, and finally a Tiger at LSU.
Not to be out done, I decided to have a little fun. I went to the Kansas School for the Blind from K-5th grade. I told them that we were the Kansas School for the Blind Guide Dogs. Then I did a cheer: We're the guide dogs ruf ruf ruf
We're the guide dogs and we're tough.
Of course the Kansas School for the Blind didn't have a mascot that I could remember. I had an image of a black lab straining at his leader being held back by a muscle bound blind guy.
It was funny, but maybe you had to be there.
In junior high, I went to Trailridge and we were the Blazers. The mascot was some guy who looked like a hiker. A local high school in this area are the Skippers – an image guaranteed to strike fear into the hearts of their opponents. “Oh know, it's the SKIPPERS, run for your lives.” They always make me think of YMCA.
Minnesota has the Golden Gophers. I am not sure, but are gophers a vicious animal? They live under ground and are prey for other animals. How about Ducks, are they tough? What's a Tar Heel? What's a Hoosier or a Sooner?
Some of these mascots are regional and historic. I kind of know what a Sooner, Tar Heel, and a Hoosier are, but if you didn't watch a lot of sports or look it up, you wouldn't know.
Mascots have taken on star status. They are in ESPN commercials and their costumes are elaborate. They are giant walking stuffed animals. I wonder if they escaped from Disney Land and settled around the country at various institutions for work.
At the beginning of the football preseason, one of the New Orleans Saints was injured when a erratic driving mascot ran into him with his 4-wheeler. I guess it is hard to see where you are going in those suits, but maybe he did it on purpose.
I like mascots. They are tradition, but that does not stop the PC police from trying to ruin everything. When the NCAA tried to strong-arm schools into changing their Indian mascots, it demonstrated how higher learning is really run by morons.
Maybe now they have decided to concern themselves with things that really matter, like how many trans fats are in their cafeterias.
So here's to the mascots. Whether you are tough, cute, or funny, you are a part of the game and the tradition.
Until the next time
John Strain