Mascot Madness
I may need to grow up.
By Ben Osborne
Generally speaking, I’m a pretty serious basketball fan. Meaning, when I attend a game in person, I watch intently, studying the players and the coaches as though I were in class (actually, it’s probably with more intent then when I was in class, since the latter often found me asleep). My seriousness means that when it comes to most of the in-arena distractions found at NBA games, I can be as opposed to them as the most crotchety old timer; I dislike the music played when the game is in play, I hate the t-shirt toss and I despise (though possibly not as much as Russ) ThunderStix.
However, as my co-workers know, my negativity goes out the window when mascots are involved. I bring this up because Sunday night at the Meadowlands the Nets celebrated the “birthday” of their mascot, Sly. I couldn’t attend the game (though I will be in the house tonight when the Nets host the resurgent Nuggets and SLAM cover subject Allen Iverson), but I was there in spirit, and even had the Nets send me this photo of the festivities. To be honest, Sly is actually one of the lamer mascots; mainly because it’s unclear what a fox has to do with the swamp-inhabiting Nets. Not that Duncan was much better, though I did get the latter’s autograph when I was 10. For another, his in-game bits rarely entertain. But Sunday night, Sly did the best thing possible: he recruited other mascots to join in the fun.
As far as I’m concerned, the multiple mascots in one setting is a can’t miss. As a student at GW, our mascot, George, bored the s–t out of me. But when, once a season or so, he brought along mascots from Georgetown, George Mason, the Orioles, the Wizards, Maryland, etc, hilarity usually ensued. Especially for those following Scot Pollard’s advice.
This Sly party also reminded me of the Brooklyn Cyclone game I attended in 2001 when Cyclone mascot Sandy the Seagull brought along his pals, Clammy Sosa and Shark McGwire. Check out this site for more on Shark and Clammy (and their friends such as Deion Salamanders and LeBroco James.)
While Sly is a mediocre mascot (definition: a person, animal, or thing that is believed to bring good luck, usually one that becomes the symbol of a particular group, especially a team) the NBA does have a few good ones. MavsMan—the most athletic and best dunking mascot—is solid, as is the classic Phoenix Suns gorilla. I also like Benny the Bull, though the Chicago PD may not agree.
College hoops has some great ones, too. The Stanford Tree, which is prone to mischief always makes me chuckle. It also reminds me of a bet I won as an elementary school student, when a friend’s father refused to believe me that Stanford’s nickname was the Cardinal, not the Cardinals. We called the school to check and I won a crisp $20 bill. Obviously a color can’t be a logo, so Stanford rolls with the Tree. Works for me. The St. Joe’s Hawk, which famously flaps it’s “wings” for the duration of every single game, is another standout in the field. Staying in the City of Brotherly Love, the Phillie Phanatic is probably baseball’s best mascot.
Ironically, most of my mascot observing is done from afar. Check out the venues I most frequently attend sporting events: Yankee Stadium for baseball, Madison Square Garden for basketball and Giants Stadium for football. Tradition-steeped as they are, neither the Yankees, Knicks or Giants employ a mascot (nor does my favorite sports franchise, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who I see in L.A. whenever possible). None of the above absences bother me in the least bit, so I guess I’m not proposing that everyone have a mascot. But I am admitting that when I see a good mascot on TV or at a game of a less traditional franchise, they do put a smile on my otherwise serious face.
Lang (a mascot fan in his own right, if not as serious as me) and I once heard about a mascot convention in Las Vegas and we were going to try and go to write about it for SLAM. Sitting in the Editor-in-Chief’s chair like I do now, I realize that was an absurd idea and I know why my predecessors Russ or Ryan had zero interest in that idea. How can we give precious magazine pages to mascots? But my weekly online column that takes up nothing but cyberspace? This thing was made for mascots…
45 Responses to “Mascot Madness”
Mar.20 at 12:05 pm
Cub Buenning says:
Ben, you gotta give love to the Nuggets’ Rocky, who has been one of the league’s best mascots for years! Not afraid to poke fun at the opposing team’s best players (just ask Chuck.) The dude even held out a few seasons ago for more money…. and got it!
Mar.20 at 12:05 pm
Lang Whitaker says:
When I was a kid we had Harry the Hawk come to one of my Dad’s birthday parties.
Mar.20 at 12:08 pm
Rick Kang says:
FYI, there was a great article on Mascots in Details magazine a few years back (the Jordan “Don’t Leave, Mike!” cover), wherein they talked to the Stanford Tree, Sly, the St. Joe’s Hawk and the godfather of them all, the San Diego Chicken. Also — Jayson Williams had a column in the issue about avoiding Mr. Jordan’s ire — nothing in there about loaded shotguns (sorry, cheapshot). One great St. Joe’s Hawk moment — apparently the Hawk got into in with another mascot at a game, who knocked the bird’s head off — but dude kept on flapping those wings. Ya gotta luv that heart!
Mar.20 at 12:16 pm
Nadav Mor says:
Ide say G State’s dude is the most athletic dunker mascot
Mar.20 at 12:23 pm
Jack says:
What about the video Lang posted a long time ago of the Hawks mascot driving a motorbike down the sidewalks?
Mar.20 at 12:32 pm
Ben Osborne says:
Like I said, Lang is pro mascots.
Mar.20 at 1:03 pm
JZ says:
Gotta give some love to Lou Seal from the Giants!
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?o=3&f=/c/a/2003/09/21/LV262472.DTL
Mar.20 at 1:08 pm
Bill Biehl says:
What? No mention of the best mascot in college, Brutus Buckeye?
Mar.20 at 1:10 pm
Dean says:
the raptor is the best……. and get this … he gets paid $120,000 annually to be a moscot…WTF!
Mar.20 at 1:19 pm
mutoni says:
is that for real, dean? i’m in the wrong line of work…
Mar.20 at 1:36 pm
Toney Blare says:
When baseball went through the cocaine trials in the 80’s, it was revealed that Pittsburgh’s Pirate Parrot was a connect for many players.
Mar.20 at 1:53 pm
Ryan Jones says:
In fairness, Mutoni, being a moscot is hard work.
Mar.20 at 1:53 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Bill: Good one. Check how my man does:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pZJ1MH3zJU
Mar.20 at 2:00 pm
Lang Whitaker says:
I believe you’re referring to this, Jack…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbswnoacwSg
Mar.20 at 2:05 pm
Sam Rubenstein says:
Mr. Met is a cultural icon.
And is that really true that the Raptors mascot makes $120 grand? For 41 games and various appearances? Canada here I come.
Mar.20 at 2:06 pm
Sparker says:
i’m glad someone else mentioned that video of the moped mascot that lang posted, b/c i was wondering if i had dreamed it
Mar.20 at 2:08 pm
Dallas J. says:
Props for mentioning MavsMan. He’s a classic mascot. Sad that these days he’s underutilized in favor of that assclown “CHAMP” - the stupid horse. Instead of fierce MavsMan dunks and stunts, we see Champ riding around on a tricycle or some shit. You listening Cuban?
Mar.20 at 2:24 pm
Cheryl says:
The Heat’s Burnie is hilarious during halftime, and the Spurs horse/dog/whatever is pretty funny too. Hey, I’m liking this post.
Mar.20 at 2:27 pm
Nadav Mor says:
coyote?
Mar.20 at 2:57 pm
J says:
I’ve noticed the Raptor was at the past few All-Star games. Do they get voted in to?
Mar.20 at 3:03 pm
Hersey says:
The Gorilla came to my high school in Reno the semester before I moved to Phoenix. That shiz was hype. After the dunks, he stood on the rim waving the school flag. Everyone was fired up. The Gorilla is the OG of the mascot game.
Mar.20 at 3:05 pm
Lang Whitaker says:
Hersey, did you move to Phoenix because of the gorilla?
Mar.20 at 3:19 pm
SK says:
Lucky the Leprechaun is just awful. I’m sure Red misses a lot of things about being alive, but not that.
Mar.20 at 3:30 pm
bs on you says:
the raptor mascot is the best. and im not just sayin dat cause im from da tdot, but because he just is the best
Mar.20 at 3:31 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Do we have room for unofficial mascots in this post? You’ve most likely gotta be 30-plus to know this guy…
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/la-sp-crowe8jan08,1,6541276.story?coll=la-headlines-sports-nba
Mar.20 at 3:59 pm
caputo says:
Dammm Ben, You were still in college when the Wizards became the Wizards?
Mar.20 at 4:18 pm
maddskizzle says:
The Toronto mascot, cleverly named The Raptor, was named the best mascot in North American professional sports by gameops.com, a Web site dedicated to monitoring the entertainment value of sporting events. “If you want to see a creative, energetic and passionate mascot, you are looking for the Raptor,” read the blurb in the site’s Best of 2006 section. “Toronto’s NBA mascot also brings more variety than anyone in the mascot business. As many struggling franchises find, having a reliably entertaining and popular mascot can help soothe the pain of a team that may not be as dependable.” The Raptor has made over 3,500 public appearances since his 1995 “rebirth” at the NBA Draft in Toronto.
Mar.20 at 5:33 pm
Clipperblog says:
Greatest. Mascot. Ever: http://www.rehabthecrab.com/
Mar.20 at 5:39 pm
Bill Biehl says:
This one is awesome, Stupid alligator. Good timing too. I hope oden takes noah’s head off just like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqrkSskzQOk
Mar.20 at 6:03 pm
Hersey says:
No Lang, AT&T was more responsible for the move to PHX than the Gorilla.
Mar.20 at 6:24 pm
El Boydelz says:
I may have told this story here before, but back in the day my home town had an WBL team, the Saskatchewan Storm (I’m from Saskatoon originally.) It was a Pro 6′5″ and under league. A few noteable guys played in it. John Starks, Vincent Askew, Dudley Bradley, Mario Elie, Chip Engllund (SP?) Alfredrick Hughes. Anyway one night they had a mascot game. The A&W Root bear (a force in the post) Wendy from Wendy’s and so on. It was hilarious, I remember yelling at Wendy to “fill the god d*** lane!” The highlight was that one of the mascots from some local pharmacy was a bottle of pills who due to his costume, didn’t have his arms free! We rode his ass for the duration “play some f-in’ D bottle of pills!!!” Sadly no one bounced the ball off him, he just ran up and down trying not to fall down. A pretty great mascot memory no?!?
Mar.20 at 6:29 pm
Dizzy says:
RAPTOR = BEST. MASCOT. EVER.
Mar.20 at 7:08 pm
BHustle19 says:
why has no one mentioned the real reason we all love mascots??? the fights!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvnNRbROZ0I
Mar.21 at 12:57 am
nacho says:
this is a very interesting post. but being a native sun, my fave is the suns gorilla without a doubt, im not sure but wasnt he the 1st mascot to dunk from a trampoline?? and i would also go as far as putting the gorilla in the all time top 10 mascots of all time. along with the san diego chicken, the philly finatic, the capital city goofball (all u simpsons fans know what im talkin about!) the stanford cardnial, and wilbur the wildcat (yah i got that az bias goin on….)
Mar.21 at 9:28 am
Cub Buenning says:
If you mention the CC Goofball, you can’t nelgect his replacement, Dancin’ Homer.
The Gorilla rules.
Mar.21 at 11:49 am
mike says:
For the anglo-philes/football fans/mascot fans here is the Mascot Grand National. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvBsiAsqw_0
Mar.21 at 12:17 pm
Rob Sohn says:
I agree, the Raptor is the best mascot in basketball. Phanatic is number one in baseball. For those who are enamoured with mascots, I highly recommend a visit to www.bigfool.com and visit the “Mascot Photos” section.
Mar.21 at 5:17 pm
Ben Osborne says:
Rob, thanks for the link. As I suspected, there are numerous mascot heads out there. And, just like with the Raptors basketball team, a disproportionate number of the strong comments are coming from people repping TO.
Mar.22 at 11:37 am
Ryan Jones says:
Mike, Palace appears to have two mascots. Is there any thought that their money would be better spent buying players so they can stay up?
Mar.22 at 1:21 pm
mike says:
Good spot Ryan. If your man Andy Johnson couldn’t keep them up, so I’m not sure the £5 per hour they pay to employ a superfluous 7-foot eagle would’ve made a difference. Still if Everton want to send more cash Palace’s way I reckon 1 of those Eagles would do a better job than James Beattie.
Mar.22 at 9:13 pm
Ryan Jones says:
And Biffa is pretty tall, so he would probably actually make a pretty good mascot. Even trade there, I think.
Mar.23 at 10:06 am
Ben Osborne says:
The NY Times realizes mascots are on point, too (though this headline is a little close for comfort):
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/23/sports/ncaabasketball/23mascots.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin
Unfortunately, the NCAA seems determined to limit the fun…
Mar.23 at 10:46 am
Ryan Jones says:
And it don’t stop…
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/23/sports/ncaabasketball/23mascots.html?ref=sports
Mar.31 at 1:08 am
mark ashley says:
you be the judge…tell me you’re not laughing after waching. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHkmAZ__UU8&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVH-Jwo4rr8&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH-7COn2Nsw&mode=related&search=
Apr.9 at 6:40 pm
sullivan says:
your shot, nothing was mentioned about mr met, and he was the first mascot ever in major league baseball and u think the phillie phanatic is the best please..mr met would whoop the phanatic any day of the week..didnt they fight one time? just curious