Nimrods – Watersmeet (MI) High School

According to the school, a “nimrod” is a mighty hunter, from a reference in the Bible. According to Merriam-Webster, a “nimrod” is an “idiot, jerk.” Google AI clears it up for us: “The name Nimrod originally referred to a successful hunter, but over time it became an insult.” It doesn’t explain why though.

It has nothing to do with this

But why the hunter thing? It does sound like that’s a big thing thereabouts. The town is in the middle of the Ottawa National Forest, and about as rural as it gets.

Watersmeet’s in the UP, right on the border with Wisconsin. It’s got about 1,500 people, including the whole Lac Vieux Desert Indian Reservation (Ojibwe). The rez has its own casino and golf course.

The school has about 75 students, and is about 70% Native American. Sportswise, they’ve got basketball, 8-man football, soccer, softball, volleyball, and wrestling.

So, it actually appears that these guys are famous. They’ve been:

• The subject of a Sundance Channel documentary, Nimrod Nation
• In an ESPN commercial (“Without sports, who would cheer for the Nimrods?”)
• On the Jay Leno show

The mascot dates all the way back to the 1930s. Sounds like they’ve made more than a half million on merch.