Not All Mascots Are Created Equal…
Thursday, January 15th, 2009
Some are dicks like SCROTIE: Who would’ve thought that a large, cheering prick complete with testicles could drum up such excitement at sporting events? Students at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), that’s who. They absolutely adore their Scrotie, most specifically for the riproarious amount of shame and disgust he brings to the hallowed fields and halls. Sad to say, he’s looking a bit flaccid in the picture, but not all mascots are created equal.
Some are kegs like Keggy: Though never approved by the higher-ups of Dartmouth University, Keggy definitely has 
the approval of the fans in Hanover, NH. According to those in the know, this grinning escapee from the merry ole land of Oz was the #1 fan at all things Dartmouth and has proven himself a worthy fellow, as far as wins are concerned that is.
And then there’s the fine feathered creatures like Hawk-man: Students at St. Joe’s have plenty of incentive to be the mascot for basketball games, because doing so waives all tuition fees. How about this for a catch? The poor bastard has to flap his arms for the entire 40 minutes of the game. If you think that’s easy, try it for 5.
Hawks, Dicks and Kegs aside, I think I'll stick with my beloved Bengal Tiger---as in Memphis Tigers. Tom number two passed away last year in October at the age of 17. It was very sad. Tom the third is now our reigning king.
I am told that Tom III attends football games, but the confines and excitement of a basketball court would be a bit much. Think about it from a predator’s perspective. Having to watch all that prey running by without giving chase would be excruciating. That’s why we have Pouncer, our fine student mascot.
HISTORY OF TOM and POUNCERRRRRR (thanks to the Memphis Tigers Official site)
When the University of Memphis first fielded a football team in the fall of 1912, there was no nickname for the boys.
Some folks called them by their uniform colors: the Blue and Gray Warriors of West Tennessee Normal School. Blue and Gray, by the way, was supposed to unite the Yankees and the Southerners. In any case, after the final game of the 1914 season, there was a student parade. During this event, you could hear students shouting, “We fight like Tigers.” Hence,the nickname was born.
“Tigers” was only used in campus publications, though. The newspapers downtown kept calling them the “Normals” or the “Blue and Gray”. How boring was that!
Under Coach Lester Barnard in 1922, Normal’s football team provided a ring of truth to that old student Tiger yell about their fighting proficiency. The team even adopted a motto - “Every Man a Tiger” - and, therefore, went on to score 174 points while allowing the opposition a measly 29.
In the late 1920s, student publications and downtown newspapers, for some strange reason, began referring to the Memphis football team as the “Teachers” or “Tutors.” (And we thought Normal was boring.) The ‘Tiger’ nickname would not return until 1939, when a Bengal Tiger was finally adopted as the official mascot.
Go Tigers!