Can you guess which are the most popular high school mascots?
Probably you can guess a few of them, but not all 20 on this list. Before we had on straight to the list, let’s say a little bit about the history of mascots, and their importance in the world of sports.
Did you know that there were times when actual live animals were brought to the field as mascots to support teams? Bringing live animals had multiple purposes – creating a show and attracting more audience, and, of course, bringing luck by frighting opponents with their roar or just by the appearance. Now, there are not so many sports teams that have real animals as mascots, but most of them have modern humans dressed as animal mascots. They are fun too, and also are an attraction, but we doubt they can make the opponent fear.
What is a mascot anyway? The word mascot comes from the French word “mascotte” which stands for a lucky charm. It is a purpose of a mascot to bring good luck and a victory for their team. It is like an amulet, talisman. These modern amulets in the form of big puppets were actually inspired by the Muppets. And the idea was successful. Today, it is unimaginable for any sports team not to have their lucky charm in the form of big puppet mascot. Not only that the mascots help raise sports spirit, but they are also used for merchandising and marketing, and often times as goodwill ambassadors.
Mascots should represent a healthy but very competitive sports spirit, which is why some of the most common mascots are predatory animals or warriors that symbolize survival instinct. Those that are least common often represent some regional trait, which makes them even more significant.
Before you start looking at the favorite mascots in the US that are listed below, check out our article on 15 highest paying jobs for high school students. It may come handy to you.
In order to compile this list of most popular high school mascots, we used suggestions from various sources, like High School Nick Names, and USA Today to name a few. Then, we decided to check one by one all 43 most common mascots found on these sources. We checked them using the search option on MascotDB to see how many high school have each nickname. Although nickname is not the same thing as a mascot, chances are those high schools that have a tiger or a pirate in their nicknames, are the ones that are also having a tiger or a pirate as their mascots. There is a possibility that some high schools have a nickname that is not related to their mascot, but there is a small number of them. Hence, we presumed that this is still the best way to determine which are the most common high school mascots in the US.
So, let’s check them out, finally!
20. Hornets
Number of mascots/nicknames: 330
We start our list with the hornets. They may seem not so dangerous, and one may wonder – how are they frightening for the opponents? But, no matter how small these insects are, they can sting you very hard. Maybe the motto of the teams that have them as mascots is – we don’t seem too bad, but we know how to play the game. Hornets are very popular mascots not only among high school sports teams, as you can see from the image below that shows a mascot of the professional basketball team Charlotte that plays in NBA.
19. Pirates
Number of mascots/nicknames: 354
We all know how pirates were scary once, and it is obvious how pirates mascots can help raise fighting spirit. It is a very powerful mascot, which is why many sports teams have it as their talisman. I am wondering if maybe Pirates of the Caribbean have made this mascot more popular?
18. Spartans
Number of mascots/nicknames: 355
Oh, well if “Pirates of the Caribbean” have made pirates more popular mascots, then the movie “300” must have made Spartans more popular, too. With or without the movie’s help, Spartans have always been very popular mascots, and it is pretty obvious why.
17. Rams
Number of mascots/nicknames: 373
If you love American football, then you have heard of the Los Angeles Rams. Their mascot, anthropomorphic ram, is adored both by fans and by the players. No wonder so many high school teams pick ram to be their mascot too.
16. Raiders
Number of mascots/nicknames: 377
More than 300 high school in the US have raiders as their mascots. The most popular one is not a high school mascot, but the mascot of the professional American football team, Oakland Raiders.
15. Cardinals
Number of mascots/nicknames: 407
Cardinal birds as mascots can be in red or in blue. When they are red, like the mascot of the Arizona Cardinals, professional American Football franchise, they seem pretty fierce. Red is a strong color that inspires passion, which is good for sports spirit. As for the blue cardinals, I presume they have its perks, which is why around 400 high schools have picked this little bird to be their lucky charm.
14. Vikings
Number of mascots/nicknames: 422
No arguing about how cool mascots can vikings be. They speak for themselves. Which is why they have easily earned its place among the 20 most popular high school mascots in the US. Many professional sports teams are proud to have strong viking as their mascots.
13. Falcons
Number of mascots/nicknames: 429
Falcons are birds of prey. Maybe this means that all teams that have falcons as their mascots see the victory and the trophy as their prey, and they would anything, fly across the field, to hunt it down. Very powerful and inspirational mascot, in my opinion.
12. Mustangs
Number of mascots/nicknames: 468
Having mustang horses as mascots can only symbolize one thing – power. Go mustangs!
11. Trojans
Number of mascots/nicknames: 484
Historic soldiers have once again served as an inspiration for the sports mascots. Maybe Trojans became popular because of the movie Troy, but maybe people really learn history in school and don’t need movies to be inspired by. Anyway, good choice for a mascot.
10. Knights
Number of mascots/nicknames: 489
This is a very classy mascot. I guess teams who have picked it, are motivated to fight with honor, always playing fairly, as this is what knights should represent.
9. Cougars
Number of mascots/nicknames: 548
Cougar or a mountain lion, as it is often referred, is a beautiful and strong cat. More than 500 high school teams have recognized that, and decided to have a cougar as their inspirational mascot.
8. Indians
Number of mascots/nicknames: 581
Although there has been a lot of controversy about using Indians or Redskins as sports mascots, they are still among the most popular ones. At least, when it comes to high school teams. Well, I understand how can someone think that this is wrong, but I guess that it wasn’t the intentional idea to offend someone; on a contrary the teams who have chosen Indians as their mascots probably think of them the best. Similarly like the teams who have picked the warriors, or knights for their mascots.
7. Lions
Number of mascots/nicknames: 634
Well, the lion is the king of all animals. It is only a surprise that lions didn’t place even higher on this list of most popular high school mascots.
6. Warriors
Number of mascots/nicknames: 805
Those teams that have warriors as their mascots/nicknames are stating that they will never stop fighting. After all, that is what a true warrior does – never gives up.
5. Wildcats
Number of mascots/nicknames: 912
All types of “wildcats” are often seen as mascots, but among the most common ones, are not only tigers and lions, but precisely wildcats, which are small cats that look pretty tough and fierce. I guess those sports high school teams really know hot to pick a mascot!
4. Panthers
Number of mascots/nicknames: 1017
Panthers are known because of their speed. So, any sports team that has panther as its mascot must be very fast! If not so, they didn’t choose the right mascot.
3. Bulldogs
Number of mascots/nicknames: 1033
Although bulldogs aren’t scary, fast or have usual fighting qualities like other mascots, they are still one of the favorites. Why? Well, first of all, I guess that is because they are cute, and many people love this dog breed. And a live bulldog is easy (and safe) to bring on the field and make fans happy. Also, bulldogs are known as a very stubborn dog breed, and being stubborn in the world of sport is not so bad. (Stubborn in the meaning determined to practice and win.)
2. Tigers
Number of mascots/nicknames: 1166
More than 1100 highs school in America have a tiger as their mascot, but also one American professional baseball team – Detroit Tigers. As the biggest wild cat in the world, tiger symbolizes – strength. Which is why it dominates the world of sport, being one of the most common mascots in the US.
1. Eagles
Number of mascots/nicknames: 1486
And, finally, the most popular high school mascot is an eagle. Could you guess it, or are you surprised?
Either way, eagles are definitely the favorite mascot among high school sports teams.
