Lava Bears – Bend (OR) Senior High School

Did they consider naming themselves the Downs? The Overs? The Backwards?  

Bend is in central Oregon, on a bend on the Deschutes River. It’s got not quite 100,000 people, making it the state’s 7th largest city. It’s a big destination for tourism, especially of the outdoor kind (skiing, hiking, rafting, rock climbing, even golf). It’s in the high desert, with lots of ancient lava beds around.

Which brings us to that bear … First of all, it is an actual thing. And, yes, it did indeed live among those lava beds. In fact, that harsh environment resulted in something of a mini bear, just slightly bigger than a badger. Though once thought to be a separate species, it turned out to be just a miniature version of a black bear. It’s also known as a dwarf grizzly, North American sun bear & sand lapper. Unfortunately, it’s also now extinct. 

As a mascot for the high school, the bear goes back exactly 100 years, to 1924. In 2013, it was named the top HS mascot in Oregon in survey by The Oregonian. And, yes, they do have a live, on-the-field mascot, though he’s definitely larger than a badger.

The high school itself dates back to 1904, and currently has about 1,300 students. Wikipedia lists 8 “notable” alumni, none of which I’ve heard of. And that includes the wonderfully named Kiki Cutter, former Olympic skier (middle).

Lambkins – Ft Collins (CO) High School

Continuing our series of fearsome, intimidating, bloodthirsty mascots …

What exactly is a lambkin? According to Collins Dictionary, it’s a “1. a little lamb. 2. a person who is exceptionally sweet, young, and innocent, as a small child.” 

When I do a search on the term, I get images such as these:

  

Interestingly, it also happens to be the name of a certain (rather unattractive) cat breed.

All in all, probably not what you want to call your sports teams.

How did that come about though? Would it help to know that Ft Collins was once a center for wool and sheep?

I actually thought it must be a play on Colorado State’s mascot, the ram, as both schools are in Ft Collins. Unfortunately, the ram goes back to only 1946, while the lambkin dates all the way back to 1917. 

Ft Collins is about an hour north of Denver. These days, the city of 170,000 is known mostly for CSU, but also relies on manufacturing, tech & brewing. Like Denver, it’s at the foot of the Rockies.

The high school goes all the way back to the 1890s, with 1,800 students today. Wikipedia lists 7 “notable people,” though I haven’t heard of any of ‘em. I don’t know, maybe you’re intimately familiar with JD Hammer, John Paragon, and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger. I’m definitely not.

Surprisingly, JD Hammer is a baseball player, not a rapper.

The school has made an attempt to make their mascot a little more aggressive over the years.

 

I don’t know, guys.I’m not sure it’s working. (Psst, I think it’s the name.)

Ladies & Gentlemen – Crowley (LA) High School

“Ladies and gentlemen, here they are … y-o-u-r Ladies & Gentlemen!”

Crowley is a town of almost 12,000, located in the south-central part of the state, just west of Lafayette. It dates back to only 1886.

The town’s claim to fame is rice. In fact, they call themselves the “Rice Capital of the World,” and hold an International Rice Festival, as well. So there, Japan! Take that China!

Significant! Impressive! Superb!

Crowley seems to have more than their fair share of notable sons and daughters, including former governor Edwin Edwards and former US senator John Breaux. 

The guvner

The high school has 530-some students. Couldn’t find out much else about it. In fact, most of my hits were for a similarly named school in Texas. They opted to go with the much more boring “Eagles.”

So, why are the Louisiana school’s students so darn polite? My guess is that they are probably copying the Centenary College team, in Shreveport. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find an origin story for those Gentlemen either.

Interestingly, the high school nickname goes all the way back to 1926. They were previously called the Ironsides.

No actual sideline-pacing, cheer-starting mascot that I could find. I really do like “coat of arms” though,

Konkrete Kids – Northampton (PA) Area High School

Guess they make concrete there, huh?

Indeed, according to the school district’s website, Southampton once was the “center of the world’s cement industry.  The Atlas Portland Cement Company was the world’s largest cement producer and contributed to projects such as the Panama Canal, the Empire State Building, and the Holland Tunnel.”

Northampton is just up the Lehigh River from Bethlehem and Allentown. It currently has a population of 10,400.

The high school has 1,860 students. Wikipedia lists 8 “notable people,” though I’ve haven’t heard of any of them.

Sounds like they’re particularly known for their wrestling team. According to Wikipedia, 

“Northampton High School is widely known for having one of the best wrestling programs in the nation. Holding two national titles, seven PIAA state team championships and 21 individual state champions at various weight classes, Northampton is one of the leading schools in Pennsylvania state wrestling history.

The school's wrestling team was ranked #1 in the nation in 1992-93 and 1993–94, #3 in the nation in the 2008–2009 season, #32 in the nation in 2016–17, and #23 in the nation in 2018–2019.”

That nickname’s been around for over 100 years. There’s a crazy rumor out there that it’s short for the KKK (?!?!).

The current mascot has a distinctive Lego look.

Previous mascots, like those for last week’s entry, are a little on the odd side: