Adieu Wahoo

[WrigleyField 22]

My High School used to have this guy as its mascot:

His name was, appropriately/inappropriately "Eaglebeak." They managed to change the mascot to an actual eagle in the 80s, but that was after they ditched a Tazmanian Devil because they almost got sued by Warner Brothers.

 

The Alumni association still shows up at athletic events to sell merchandise of the old mascot. They smirk the whole time.

 

This was a local town's mascot until the '80s:

 

They're still the dragons I think.

[treebird]

There was also a school near mine that was the Southern Rebels. Their fans would wave Confederate flags in the stands during games. This was in the mid-2000s. And in Illinois.

 

i went to high school next to them too! it was ridiculous.

[WrigleyField 22]

There was also a school near mine that was the Southern Rebels. Their fans would wave Confederate flags in the stands during games. This was in the mid-2000s. And in Illinois.

Wait. I thought I was pretty up to speed on weird and outrageous Illinois high school mascots. What school is this?!

[Aaron_Kennelly]

There was also a school near mine that was the Southern Rebels. Their fans would wave Confederate flags in the stands during games. This was in the mid-2000s. And in Illinois.

Wait. I thought I was pretty up to speed on weird and outrageous Illinois high school mascots. What school is this?!

 

They were a high school that's near the Mississippi River, south of the Quad Cities. It was a consolidation of a bunch of really small towns and located in Stronghurst.

 

If I have the story right, Biggsville and Stronghurst used to be big inter-county rivals. Biggsville consolidated with some other small towns and formed the Union Yankees. The rest of the towns in the southern part of the county ended up consolidating, too. And became... the Southern Rebels.

 

Union and Southern have since consolidated together.

[ConstableRabbit]

A school in CA, once known as "The Arabs," changed to a more respectfully named and depicted, "The Mighty Arab," with the blessing of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

 

Before

 

 

 

After

 

 

[Sammy Sofa]

[expletive], white dudes are a special clueless kind of bold:

 

[Agony and Ivy]

My High School used to have this guy as its mascot:

His name was, appropriately/inappropriately "Eaglebeak." They managed to change the mascot to an actual eagle in the 80s, but that was after they ditched a Tazmanian Devil because they almost got sued by Warner Brothers.

 

The Alumni association still shows up at athletic events to sell merchandise of the old mascot. They smirk the whole time.

 

This was a local town's mascot until the '80s:

 

 

Good god. I remember when there was a hot debate in Arizona about the high school in Yuma because their nickname is the Criminals, but somehow they managed to not make their logo racist which is actually surprising.

[WrigleyField 22]

[expletive], white dudes are a special clueless kind of bold:

 

That dudes face... he knows it ain't even his time... just a straight up dafuq face.

[Sammy Sofa]

[expletive], white dudes are a special clueless kind of bold:

 

That dudes face... he knows it ain't even his time... just a straight up dafuq face.

 

That whole thing...it's like insanity distilled into picture form.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

"I didn't even know it was fucked up. until I talked to one of them. they're just like us!"

[Splendid Splinter]

There was also a school near mine that was the Southern Rebels. Their fans would wave Confederate flags in the stands during games. This was in the mid-2000s. And in Illinois.

 

Lol. That's very similar where I live in Indiana. South Newton Rebels is about 10 miles away and they would have Confederate flags during games. At least I know they did when I was in high school ('00-'03).

 

 

This was their logo until about ~5 years ago when someone complained about it...

 

 

 

New logo

 

 

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

There was also a school near mine that was the Southern Rebels. Their fans would wave Confederate flags in the stands during games. This was in the mid-2000s. And in Illinois.

 

Lol. That's very similar where I live in Indiana. South Newton Rebels is about 10 miles away and they would have Confederate flags during games. At least I know they did when I was in high school ('00-'03).

 

 

This was their logo until about ~5 years ago when someone complained about it...

 

 

 

New logo

 

Did Jeff Sessions approve of the new logo on behalf of the South?

[Brian707]

This logo was going around a couple years ago

 

http://media.cleveland.com/opinion_impact/photo/spoof-t-shirts-are-a-surprising-hit-caucasians-shirt-designed-to-raise-a-point-2c02cd52cd275501.jpg

[OleMissCub]

I guess the Blackhawks organization is kind of in a weird spot because there isn't a tribe they can go to and get a blessing from. Obviously there was no Blackhawk tribe, they're just named after a Chief. Sports teams like the Seminoles or the Choctaws have gone and received approval from those tribes to use their names and both schools give tons of scholarships to members of those respective tribes. Do the Illini still exist?

[Derwood]

Do the Illini still exist?

 

The tribe or the sports program?

[OleMissCub]

Do the Illini still exist?

 

The tribe or the sports program?

 

Tribe

[stitchface]

Do the Illini still exist?

 

The tribe or the sports program?

 

Tribe

 

No, they were massacred by another tribe.

[jersey cubs fan]

Do the Illini still exist?

 

The tribe or the sports program?

 

Tribe

I did not even consider you were referring to the tribe, as I thought it was a great Illinois burn.

[Splendid Splinter]

 

The tribe or the sports program?

 

Tribe

 

No, they were massacred by another tribe.

 

The descendants of the Illini are now in the Peoria Tribe of Indians in Oklahoma.

[Irrelevant Dude]

Do the Illini still exist?

 

The tribe or the sports program?

You win.

[Sammy Sofa]

I don't even understand the infatuation with Native American sports team names to begin with. Gloating? Supposedly respecting a worthy enemy? It's so weird.

[ConstableRabbit]

I don't even understand the infatuation with Native American sports team names to begin with. Gloating? Supposedly respecting a worthy enemy? It's so weird.

There is definitely a romantic mysticism associated with American Indian culture, for better or for worse.

[WrigleyField 22]

I don't even understand the infatuation with Native American sports team names to begin with. Gloating? Supposedly respecting a worthy enemy? It's so weird.

There is definitely a romantic mysticism associated with American Indian culture, for better or for worse.

I mean, even in the entire context it's a little weird that we have mascots at all right, it's just a lot are furry creatures instead of racially simplistic/offensive charictures.

 

But outside of sports, yea there is a mysticism with Native Americans which is why the military has Black Hawk and Apache helicopters, tomahawk missiles, etc.

[OleMissCub]

I don't even understand the infatuation with Native American sports team names to begin with. Gloating? Supposedly respecting a worthy enemy? It's so weird.

 

Why would gloating be an option?

 

No doubt the first teams to be named Indians at the turn of the last century did so because they thought it was cool and tough or whatever. In their minds Indians were warriors who could pull of great athletic feats of skill and combat and they thought that went well with sports.

 

I would be interested to know when the last time a large scale sports team was named after something Native-American. Naming them after NA stuff may have just been a fad for a few decades.

 

Doing some research, the Mississippi College Choctaws were 1903, Utes 1910, Braves 1912, Indians 1915, Blackhawks 1926, Redskins 1933, Seminoles 1947

[Sammy Sofa]

I don't even understand the infatuation with Native American sports team names to begin with. Gloating? Supposedly respecting a worthy enemy? It's so weird.

 

Why would gloating be an option?

 

History. Native Americans have been depicted or seen as the menacing Other or enemy basically since we got here, so the idea that using them as mascots was somehow a compliment is just so....white. It's, like, "well, we basically annihilated these indigenous peoples, but naming our sports teams after them is a nice olive branch. We're cool, right?" It doesn't require someone actively sitting there thinking, "THIS'll show 'em" for it to be the kind of fucked up, rubbing people's face in it-thing that seems ingrained in white America when it comes to minorities. Bottom line, this is based out of the idea of Native Americans being seen as a terrifying, dangerous enemy. It's not a compliment or sign of respect.