So, we’re nearing the midway point of the football season, and it’s been an interesting one so far. Local colleges are rolling along quite well; local high schools, not so much. Maybe that has something to do with the nicknames/mascots—we’ll get into that in a minute.
Let’s start with the high school situation. At this juncture, Pascagoula is 1-4, Moss Point 1-5, Resurrection 1-5, Gautier 2-3, and East Central 1-4. The teams’ combined record is, therefore, 6-21. That’s not good, right?
No, it’s not, and it’s unexpected. Pascagoula, particularly, was highly rated to start the season. Gautier is coming off an impressive playoff run, and RCS has been consistently good recently. Moss Point and East Central have struggled some the past few years, but certainly have won in the past.
Now, there’s no need to panic: region play is just getting started, and there’s time to improve. Let’s hope that our local lads do just that.
The college beat in Mississippi is comporting itself quite well. Ole Miss, in fact, is 5-0 and ranked #4 in the nation. Mississippi State, coming off a trying 2-10 record last year, is now 4-2, and clearly improved. USM is also on the upswing, 3-2 right now after winning only one game last year. Here’s to the Rebels, Bulldogs, and Golden Eagles continuing right on with how they’re performing.
Now: as I alluded to earlier, what’s in a name? Sports teams, from high school to college to the pros, have a wide range of nicknames they go by, some traditional, some colorful and clever, some bizarre. Let’s examine the landscape.
Again, let’s start with high schools. Locally, ours are pretty traditional (Panthers, Tigers, Eagles, Gators, Hornets), and I think all of them work well. There’s nice alliteration with Pascagoula Panthers and Gautier Gators, and all the names evoke tough competitors. Down the road, the Ocean Springs Greyhounds nomenclature is nicely different.
Interesting note: back in the 1930s, my father played football for Gulfport High, and was on a committee tasked with changing the school’s nickname. In the original Big 8 Conference (largest schools in Mississippi at the time), four of the eight schools were Tigers: Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Jackson Central, and McComb. Gulfport appropriately thought, hey, let’s do something different.
My dad’s committee came up with Commodores, which was immediately popular, and for good reason—unique, fitting for a coastal city, powerful sounding. Gulfport proceeded forward for the next five decades or so with that sterling moniker, until a school consolidation issue prompted a change to the current Admirals. Still nautical, but just not the same feel as the classic “Commodores”.
Elsewhere throughout the state, some of my favorites are the Laurel Golden Tornadoes, the Houston Hilltoppers, the Stone County Tomcats, the Kosciusko Whippets, and the St. Stanislaus Rock-a-Chaws. Those are some really cool sobriquets.
Here are a couple of out of state appellations worth mentioning. My friend Jim Halbrook, local retired dentist, graduated from Conway (Arkansas) High School, where the nickname is the Wampus Cats. Heck yeah. (To the uninitiated, a wampus cat is a legendary six legged creature that is swift and strong [and I would say scary]). Then, over in Port Lavaca, Texas, we have the Calhoun High Sandcrabs. Hey, it’s near the beach.
On to colleges. Here in Mississippi, we are fairly standard, with some twists. Ole Miss is the Rebels, but was once The Flood. Mississippi State is the Bulldogs, but was, until the 1950s, the Maroons ( kind of think they should have stuck with that). Southern Miss is the Golden Eagles, but, until 1972, was the Southerners. Mississippi Valley State may have the catchiest—the Delta Devils, unless you count Delta State’s unofficial name of the Fighting Okra. All in all, I believe our state schools have solid, recognizable nicknames.
Around the country, some of my favorite—or the most unique— nicknames are the Southern Cal Trojans, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the Penn State Nittany Lions (named after Mount Nittany, which overlooks the campus), the Purdue Boilermakers, the Minnesota Golden Gophers, the Virginia Cavaliers, the Florida State Seminoles, the Indiana Hoosiers, the Illinois Fighting Illini, the New Mexico Lobos, the Cornell Big Red, the Iowa State Cyclones, the Massachusetts Minutemen, and, yeah, the Oregon Ducks and the Oregon State Beavers (maybe they should combine and be the Platypuses).
We also have the University of California-Irvine Anteaters and the University of Maryland- Baltimore County Retrievers, and … well, you get the point. There are so many diverse college nicknames that we could be here all day. We won’t even go into professional sports right now. Wait, in baseball’s AA Southern League, we have the Biloxi Shuckers, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, the Rocket City Trash Pandas, the Columbus Clingstones, the Montgomery Biscuits—nah, better do that another day.
So, yeah, I do believe that school nicknames create a fun discussion. They make for healthy debates in taverns and trivia contests. More importantly, these names give high schools, colleges, and other institutions a significant part of their identities and a touchstone to cherish for alums and supporters. Let me know what some of your favorites are. For now, go Rebels, Bulldogs, Golden Eagles, Panthers, Tigers, and Wampus Cats.
Richard Lucas may be contacted at [email protected].
