School mascots are such an important part of the school, because they represent pride, diversity, and unity, and give the student body something to unite behind. This is also one of the reasons why a lot of sports teams also have mascots. Most mascots are on point, and they represent or symbolize something important about the school or college they are representing.
However, it’s clear that things are not always this straightforward. For instance, there are some mascots out there that are just plain wrong, awkward, or ridiculous. Mascots where you look at them and wonder what the heck they were thinking! For the most part, mascots are decent, and they tend to be a blessing rather than a curse. But, these are some of the examples of when things went a little bit ridiculous!
Charlie Choker – Grays Harbor College
To most people, the idea of a strong guy holding a length of rope menacingly conjures up all kinds of worries and fears. And the 8 ft wooden carving of him doesn’t do much to help matters either! But, this doesn’t seem to be a problem for Grays Harbor College, who have adopted Charlie Choker (really?) as their mascot. He’s been the school mascot since 1960, and he isn’t as nefarious as you might have thought. The rope is actually a way of transporting logs, and not wringing necks – they should put that on a billboard!
Speedy the Geoduck – Evergreen State College
We seriously don’t even know where to start with this one! A geoduck is the largest burrowing clam in the world (apparently), and famed for its long body that protrudes from its shell. Everything about this mascot outfit is just crazy – the appearance, the color scheme, lack of shoes, pretty much everything. This giant dancing clam might be amusing, but we highly doubt he’s going to strike much fear into the hearts of the opposition!
Sammy the Banana Slug – UC Santa Cruz
And the list just keeps getting weirder. Sammy the Banana Slug is the official mascot of UC Santa Cruz – this is not a prank! Known predominantly for his dance moves, Sammy can be seen throwing shapes on a regular basis. This is a ridiculous idea for a mascot, but perhaps that all worked in Sammy’s favor – in 1992 he was named as the top college mascot by Sports Illustrated. High praise indeed!
Keggy the Keg – Dartmouth
Keggy is unique on our list because he’s technically an unofficial mascot. The college board would not accept a giant keg as the mascot for the athletics department, and we can’t say we blame them! In spite of this, the students have embraced him, while shunning the official college mascot! So Keggy is widely regarded as the mascot of choice for Dartmouth. We guess it makes sense for students to choose a giant, dancing keg of their favorite beverage as their mascot – although it’s a little odd!
As you can see, these are some of the most peculiar mascots in the college world. There are loads of schools and sporting franchises out there that have mascots, and many of them are ridiculous. Though, we wager you’d be hard pressed to find some as ridiculous as the ones on this list.
