Strange Mascots in the United States

When hearing the word "mascot", what does it conjure up in your memory? The first one to come to mind is probably the one from your High School. My high school's (Plano East Senior High, Plano, Texas) mascot was the Panthers. According to Webster's Dictionary, a mascot is defined as "a person, animal, or object adopted by a group as a symbolic figure especially to bring them good luck ." Mascots come in many shapes and sizes, ranging from the simple to the unique, but luck? I will leave that to the teams to decide. Some schools try to be tough or majestic, when choosing a name. But how tough is a Tree? Couldn't Stanford come up with a better name? When looking at mascots, there are several categories they can be classified into. The most commonly used mascots are: Cowboys, Lions, Warriors, Colts, and Panthers. Common names are easy and do not take much thought or effort. If a team really wants to be creative and unique, then strange is where it's at.

5. Let's start with the Itasca Wampus Cats - Itasca, TX. What is Wampus Cat? A six legged cat from Cherokee mythology. Yes, a cat is common mascot, but why a six legged cat? It can run and fight at the same time. Tough indeed.

4. The Hoopeston Cornjerkers - Hoopeston, IL. I am not sure why a team would want to be called the Cornjerkers. The name does not strike fear into opponents. I guess the opposition spends so much time trying to figure out what the mascot means, they forget to play the game.

3. The Banana Slug - University of California Santa Cruz. The banana slug is a real ugly creature. Can't really say much about this one, just that it is really weird.

2. The Fighting Okra of Delta State. Its green and good to eat, but not very scary on the football field.

1. Finally, the number one strangest mascot is the Saint Louis University Billiken. A Billiken is furry creature that defies explanation. There are several stories surrounding it, but no one has yet pinned down the what a Billiken really is.

Source: Miriam Webster Dictionary, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mascot