The 5 Funniest, Strangest & Best Mascots in Sports

Nowhere in sports are traditions, mascots and nicknames as revered as in college football. Fans in many states all across our great land cheer for teams where they attended college. However, in most parts of the U.S.A., a lot of the most ardent fans have never even set foot upon the campus.

More college football fans have no idea how or when their favorite college football program got it's nickname or mascot and don't care. They just know that cheering for their homestate or nearby team is just how things are done in their area.

First I will list what I consider to be the funniest/strangest mascots in college football, then the best. Anybody can call their team "Tigers" or (ugh!) "Bulldogs".The teams considered for the list have names that are unique, some good, some just strange.

The strangest mascots In college football are:

Georgetown Hoyas
Just what is a "Hoya" you ask? The word is derived from the Greek word hoios, (hoia is the plural) which means "what a." Add in the latin word saxa which means "rocks" and you get "what rocks"? Huh? And worse yet, the mascot is a bulldog.

Idaho Vandals
The Idaho fight song has a line about "a tribe from the north". Whether Idaho is one of the last holdouts with an Indian name or named after petty criminals, neither is exactly what most schools are shooting for, right? The name conjures up visions of little thugs spray painting gang symbols on picket fences.

Nebraska Cornhuskers
Although Nebraska has a great football tradition, among traditional football powers the name "Cornhuskers" has to be the worst. Two things come to mind when I think about Nebraska football.

Back in the 70's and early 80's when Barry Switzer's Oklahoma Sooners were using the Huskers as tackling dummies almost every year, an OU fan had a sign that simply stated: Nebraska Shucks!

The second thing is, a former co-worker of mine who, how can I put this nicely, had a reputation for, as the boy in National Lampoon's vacation put it: "bopping his bologna". The young man extolled the virtue of Cornhuskers lotion as his secret to keeping his hands in good shape.

Stanford Cardinal
It's not so much the name that puts Leland Stanford University on the list of strangest mascots. It's the mascot itself. You see, the Stanford mascot is a tree. My question is: what happens when Stanford meets up on the playing field with a team called the Lumberjacks?

Worse yet, as members of the Pac-10 conference, Stanford plays the Oregon State Beavers every year. we know what Beavers can do to a tree. Also, the California Golden Bears are the archrivals of Stanford and Bears climb trees on a regular basis.

Worst of all: what happens when the Stanford tree takes the field and is met by the mascot of the Washington Huskies? As one who had a Husky/Malamute for 12 years, I can tell you, that particular breed can "mark their territory" like nobody's business. Last I heard, the Washington mascot was actually a Malamute for what it's worth.

Lastly, the 5th and final entry into the strangest mascots is the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. The landlocked Tulsa area is a looooong way from the nearest major body of water, other than the Arkansas River. Funny, I can't remember any Hurricanes coming off the Arkansas lately.

As for the best mascots in college football, I might be strung up in my home state without mentioning the Arkansas Razorbacks.

100 years ago this fall, then coach Hugo Bezdek said his Arkansas Cardinals "played like a bunch of wild Razorback hogs" , the name stuck and the rest is history. Tusk is the Hogs' live mascot and is kept in a cage driven around the field before football games much to fans delight.

Colorado Buffaloes
This is another unique college football nickname and mascot. I don't know if Ralphie the Buffalo is still led onto the field before football games, but the Colorado mascot is both unique and cool. Teams with live mascots are the best.

Florida Gators
No, the Gators are not on the list just because they have won college football mythical national championship 2 of the last 4 years and won a couple of NCAA basketball titles in recent years, too. But it doesn't hurt.

The Alligator is synonymous with the state of Florida, so few mascots are more perfect for their school than that. Calling the football stadium "The Swamp" and the "Gator Chomp" gesture are fitting also.

Michigan Wolverines
You might get an argument from their neighbors to the south, but how do you name a football team after a nut? There are reportedly no Wolverines in the state of Michigan, but neither are their any other Wolverines in the world of sports, at least from the college level up.

If head football coach Rich Rodriguez doesn't start winning some games, he might have to fulfill his contract by donning one of those fuzzy suits and leading cheers in Ann Arbor.

As bad as I hate to put this team on this list, the Texas Longhorns and Bevo are one of the best mascots in college football. Again, the name is unique, they have a live mascot and opponents know they have accomplished something when they have beaten the Horns in any sport, especially football.

Although Texas has a big edge in the overall series between Arkansas and Texas, some of the great victories by the Hogs were over Texas. During a Cotton Bowl win on Jan. 1, 2000 over Texas, a sign was spotted in the crowd: "Beef, it's what's for dinner".

Even though Bevo wasn't sent to the slaughterhouse after that game, former Pitt, Texas A&M and Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill once fired up his troops at MSU before a game with UT by castrating a bull on the practice field in front of his team. A Longhorn is a neutered bull, you see...