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Mascots)
A mascotot – originally a term
for any person, animal, or object
thought to bring
luck – now includes anything used to
represent a group with a common public
identity, such as a
school,
professional sports team, society,
military unit, or
corporation. Mascots are also used
as fictional spokespeople for consumer
products, such as the
rabbit used in
advertising and
marketing for the
General Mills
Trix brand of
breakfast cerealal<.
Mascots are prominent among
university and other school sports
teams, especially in the
United States, where teams are often
identified by their mascot. In many
instances, the mascot corresponds with
the team name. Teams often employ a
performer to accompany them to games,
wearing the mascot costume. Team
merchandise typically bears the team
logo and mascot. In some instances, the
school itself may have a mascot, such as
Rowdy the Roadrunner, the mascot of
the
University of Texas at
San Antonio.
Etymology
The word mascot has been traced back
to a dialectic use in in
Provence and
Gascony<, where it was used to
describe anything which brought luck to
a household. The suggestion that the
word is derived from masqu
(meaning masked or concealed),
the Provincial French for a child born
with a
caul, in allusion to the lucky
destiny of such children, is improbable.
The word was first popularized in
1880, when French composer
Edmond Audran wrote a popular comic
operetta titled
La Mascotte. However, it had been in
use in France long before this, as
French
slang among gamblers, derived from
the
Occitan word masco, meaning
witch (perhaps from Portuguese
mascotto, meaning witchcraft),
and also mascoto, meaning
spellell<.
Audran's operetta was so popular that
it was translated into English as The
Mascot, introducing into the English
language a word for any animal, person,
or object that brings good luck. The
word with this definition was then
incorporated into many other languages,
although often in the French form
mascotte.
Choices
and indentities
Often the choice of mascot reflects a
desired quality; a common example of
this is the fighting spirit, in which a
competitive nature is
personified by warriors or
predatory animals. Mascots may also
symbolize a local or regional trait,
such as the
Dallas Cowboys, which refers to the
Texan
ranching tradition, or the
Nebraska Cornhuskers, whose mascot
is
Herbie Husker (a man wearing ng
overalls and a
cowboy hat with
corn husks coming out one pocket).
In instances where the traditional
mascot is specifically
male, all-female
athletic teams may adopt a variation of
the mascot, such as the
University of Wyoming Cowboys, whose
female teams are called the Cowgirls.
Mascots are not exclusively
anthropomorphized animals or
personifications of human character
traits. For example,
Stanford University's sports teams
are named after the color
cardinal, and its mascot is
The Tree.
In the
United States, controversy surrounds
some mascot choices, especially those of
human likenesses. Mascots based on
Native American tribes are
particularly contentious, as many argue
that they constitute offensive
exploitations of an oppressed culture.
However, such debates are not unique to
Native American mascots:
Alfred University, a school of
approximately 2,000 students in Western
New York has the
Saxon as its mascot, represented as
a charging
knight in
armor, and intended to symbolize
strength and
courage. Others protest that the
Saxon represents male
chauvinism.
Famous mascots outside the U.S.
include the
Australian<
McHammerhead, the Cronulla Sharks
Rugby League mascot;
Razorback Jack, the West Sydney
Razorbacks Basketball mascot; and Syd,
the Sydney AFL Club Mascot.
Some teams have unofficial mascots
that may be fans identified with the
team. The he
New York Yankees<, for example, have
a hardcore fan known as
Freddy Sez who is considered a
mainstay at Yankee Stadium and
unofficial mascot of the team.
Military
mascotss
-
Mascots are also popular in
military units. For example, the
United States Marine Corps uses the
bald eagle as a formal
emblem; the
bulldog is also popularly associated
with the U.S. Marines.
Many regiments of the
British Army have a live animal
mascot which may appear on
parades, including a
ram for the 95th
Derbyshire Regiment, an
Irish Wolfhound for the
Irish Guards, a
Shetland pony for the
Argyll and
Sutherland
Highlanders, and a
goat for the
Royal Regiment of Wales. Other
British military mascots include a pair
of
drummer horses, an
antelope, and a
ferret.
