While we may disagree on many things, I think we all can come to agreement on this one thing: we need a break from the constant focus on COVID-19. This week I thought I’d take a whimsical look at what, in my opinion, makes for good, and in some cases not so good high school nicknames. While many of us are on edge, keep in mind, my comments are strictly in fun. Don’t get butthurt if I deride your favorite school’s mascot. Let’s all agree to lighten up.
So now that the parameters have been set, what makes for a good school nickname. A good mascot should invoke feelings of pride, strength, and toughness to name a few. I’m particularly partial to my alma mater, Bangor High School Rams. Rams are tough, stately, fierce. Bangor shares the Rams name with four other Maine high schools, ironically all of which compete in Class A or AA on basketball. Tigers are another fine mascot, which I believe to be the most used nickname in the state. The majority of schools with the tiger mascot use the colors orange and black…after all those are the colors of most tigers. Some schools, such as Dexter and Fort Fairfield use red and white. Sumner’s blue and white for some reason has always puzzled me. Bulldogs, another very popular mascot, fits the bill of a strong, tough animal.
Majestic birds are also solid choices, although I prefer strong land animals. Eagles compete with Tigers and Bulldogs as the most commonly used nickname in Maine. When Husson changed their name from Braves to Eagles earlier this century, I was hoping the Bangor campus community would come up with something a bit more original. Hawks and Falcons are popular bird mascots as well.
Strong horses also make for a good choice of mascot. At Hampden we have the Broncos, with the big bronze statue in front as you enter the school. Foxcroft has the ever fierce Pony, and Mt. View and Messabesic High Schools lay claim to the Mustang.
So now to my least favorite choices for mascot nicknames. Insects are horrible choices for mascots…I’m looking at you Leavitt and Ashland (the Hornets). Maybe I’m negatively biased because I was stung in the ankle by a hornet at baseball last summer but who wants to be associated with an insect anyway? Definately not I. I don’t know many who like insects so why choose one as a mascot?
Mascots which speak to the demonic side are horrible, as well. Devils, either of the blue or red variety, I’m not a fan of. The Brewer Witches I will give a bit of a pass to because it does play off their city’s name…”Witches Brew”. Not a big fan of the nickname, maybe that’s the old Bangor Ram in me, but I’ll let it slide.
Easily the most pretentious nickname, and it’s not even close, has to be the Falmouth Yachtsmen. Falmouth, which has one the state’s highest median income levels, is basically saying “We’re rich and we want everyone to know it.”
Keep in mind, when the majority of schools were established, female athletics were unheard of. That began to change in the 1960’s and then surged further with the advent of Title IX in the 70’s. What transpired later was the feminiation of school mascots. Many schools began adding “Lady” in front of the mascot name for their female athlietic teams. Two downeast Maine schools, Jonesport-Beals and Shead of Eastport, took this a step further. The Jonesport-Beals girls squads are the “Royalettes” and Shead the “Tigerettes”. Royalettes, okay, but Tigerettes? I’ve never heard a female Tiger referred to as a Tigerette before, just a Tiger.
The best school nicknames are directly associated with a communities heritage. Unfortunately, in Maine this is quite rare. Those which play off a town’s name are solid. The Penobscot Valley Howlers, located in Howland are an example, as are the Mattanawcook Lynx, located in Lincoln. When Old Town in the mid 2000’s changed from the Indians to the Coyotes, the OT in the middle of Coyote just fit. In and of itself, a coyote is not a great mascot. After all they are pretty ugly, mangly animals. In this case, though, it seems to work. What else would you call Buckfield’s teams other than the Bucks or Bucksport, using their purple and gold colors, the Golden Bucks?
Many outside the Bangor area think John Bapst is a Catholic high school based on the use of “Crusaders” It does pay homage to its Catholic past as the school became a non-sectarian, private high school in the early 1980’s. Van Buren, a public school, maybe the only public school in the country using the nickname “Crusaders” Van Buren, centered in the Saint John Valley, has a deeply rooted Roman Catholic heritage.
Edward Little’s mascot, the Red Eddie pays tribute to the man the school was named after. The “ghost” mascot honors the ghost of Red Eddie.
Morse High School’s Shipbuilders is apropos, paying tribute to Bath’s shipbuilding heritage at Bath Iron Works. Camden Hills’ Windjammers is appropriate due to the presence of sailing vessels in the Camden and Rockport harbors. Greenville, Rangeley, and Lake Region High Schools are all in communities centered around large lakes, hence the name “Lakers”. Many in the communities forming Oceanside and Deer Isle-Stonington High Schools earn their livlihoods from the ocean, giving credence to “Mariners”. The former Brownville Junction High School “Railroaders” paid tribute to the activity of the railroad in the community.
My favorite high school nickname is the Houlton Shiretowners. Aroostook County is the largest county by area east of the Mississippi River and Houlton is the county seat or capitol of Aroostook County. County seats were often referred to as “Shire towns”
I hope you enjoyed this fun take on high school nicknames. What will be even better is talking about them once these teams are back on the field.
