FanNation - The Republic of Sport

I will be the first up. I have had some questions on my blog about various team mascots, nicknames, etc, and their origins or reasoning behind them.

Here are some that I have found:

Commodores - The namesake of the Vanderbilt University was a Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 ??? January 4, 1877), also known by the sobriquets The Commodore or Commodore Vanderbilt, was an American entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads and was the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family.

Sooners - The term Sooners was used to describe settlers who entered the Unassigned Lands, located in the current state of Oklahoma, before President Grover Cleveland officially proclaimed them open to settlement with the Indian Appropriations Act of 1889 on March 2, 1889. The name derived from the "sooner clause" of the Indian Appropriation Act, which stated that no one should be allowed to enter and occupy the land prior to the opening time and that such people would be denied rights to illegally claimed land.

Tar Heel (or Tarheel) - is a nickname applied to the state and inhabitants of North Carolina. It is also the nickname of the University of North Carolina athletic teams and students.

The exact etymology of the nickname is unknown, but most experts believe its roots come from the fact that tar, pitch and turpentine created from the vast pine forests were one of North Carolina's most important exports early in the state's history. Because the exact history of the term is unknown, many legends have developed to explain it. Some people believe it to be a nickname given during the U.S. Civil War, due to the state's importance on the Confederate side. "The North Carolina's troops stuck to their ranks like they had tar on their heels," you will hear some Southerners say.

Nittany Lions - The mascot was the creation of Penn State senior H. D. "Joe" Mason in 1907. While on a 1904 trip to Princeton University, Mason had been embarrassed that Penn State did not have a mascot. Mason did not let that deter him: he fabricated the Nittany Lion on the spot and proclaimed that it would easily defeat the Princeton Bengal tiger. Upon returning to campus, though, he set about making his invention a reality. Mountain lions had roamed on nearby Mount Nittany until the 1880s. The origin of the name "Mount Nittany" is obscure, the most commonly accepted explanation being that it is derived of Native American words (loosely pronounced as "neet-a-nee") meaning either "single mountain" or a protective barrier against the elements.

Those are only the ones I can find ready answers for. The rest I will leave up to other posters.

Ok, I'll start...with a question:

"How many loses will the SEC champ have?"

Good idea. Over on your blog, a spin-off discussion on the origin of nicknames/mascots has started. This might be a more appropriate venue for that educational topic.

Someone (ahem, xxx84xxx, cough cough) please tell me who first thought that an inedible nut would make a fierce and imposing mascot for THE Ohio State University. Seriously, I've always wondered.

dang. great minds

umm...losses

QUOTE(#2):

Originally posted 03:53 PM ET  10.10 by silars

Ok, I'll start...with a question:"How many loses will the SEC champ have?"

1

QUOTE(#2):

Originally posted 03:53 PM ET  10.10 by silars

Ok, I'll start...with a question:"How many loses will the SEC champ have?"

can I answer that after Nov 8th?

QUOTE(#2):

Originally posted 03:53 PM ET  10.10 by silars

Ok, I'll start...with a question:"How many loses will the SEC champ have?"

can I answer that after Nov 8th?

OOPS, sorry about the double. Operator Error

QUOTE(#7):

Originally posted 04:03 PM ET  10.10 by BruceS1G

can I answer that after Nov 8th?

No. Man up!

I guessing a 1 loss vs. 2 loss in the SEC champ game...and the 2 loss team wins.

Plus, think of the all the drama it will cause in the BCS? :)

QUOTE(#2):

Originally posted 03:53 PM ET  10.10 by silars

Ok, I'll start...with a question:"How many loses will the SEC champ have?"

1. LSU Loses to Florida (Oct 11), but beats Alabama on (Nov 8). Wins the west via tie-break then beast Florida in the SEC championship.

I'll go for broke, I think at the most the SEC champ will have one loss. And I'll add one in there. Will the SEC champion be from the East or the West?

E in Austin Another mascot related question to throw out. How many schools have 2 mascots or say a mascot and a nickname (for want of another word)?

The two that immediately come to mind:

The Auburn Tigers are the War Eagles
Alabama is the crimson tide and their mascot an elephant.

QUOTE(#12):

Originally posted 04:51 PM ET  10.10 by E in Austin, Texas

Will the SEC champion be from the East or the West?

East. I think either Georgia or Florida gets the machine going late (with 2 losses) and picks off a 1 loss West (LSU/Alabama).

Still another mascot question...Marshall Thundering Heard....Heard of what???

QUOTE(#15):

Originally posted 06:07 PM ET  10.10 by BR549

Still another mascot question...Marshall Thundering Heard....Heard of what???

Probably some sort of beef cattle.

QUOTE(#15):

Originally posted 06:07 PM ET  10.10 by BR549

Still another mascot question...Marshall Thundering Heard....Heard of what???

I believe that it is a thundering heard of horses.

QUOTE(#17):

Originally posted 06:33 PM ET  10.10 by BruceS1G

I believe that it is a thundering heard of horses.

Undefeated teams win big, win ugly, win close, win often and win lucky! Welcome to the random roundtable! They eat horses, don't they? Or is it, they shoot horses don't they? In the Army I was stationed in Germany and I swear they fed us horse meat. It was NASTY and they tried to pass it off as beef. Kind of like Ohio State in the last two nc games.

Michigan State Spartans could be the sleeper team from the Big Ten. They travel to Northwestern to face the undefeated Mildcats tomorrow.

The Banana Slugs of UC Santa Cruz...there's a nickname.
that would rock if their ultimate frisbee team morphed into a football team and kicked butt