While the
Pets.com puppet mascot was enormously popular, spawning its own merchandise, its
popularity didn't boost sales.
A mascot – originally a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck –
now includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school,
professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand
name. Mascots are also used as fictional spokespeople for consumer products, such as the rabbit used in advertising and marketing for the General Mills Trix
brand of breakfast cereal.
Sports teams widely have mascots, especially at university and school level in the
United States, where teams are often identified by their mascot. Team mascots will
typically make a regular appearance at games and related events, while logos and merchandise can often bear the mascot's image.
In many instances the mascot corresponds with the team name. Sometimes the mascot is for the school itself rather than just a
single team, such as Rowdy the Roadrunner, the mascot of the University of Texas at San Antonio. Mascots
are not always animals; characters may be fantasy creatures (Deamon Deacon), people, or
inanimate objects (Mr. Met or Vince and
Larry, the Crash Test Dummies).
The term mascot can also refer to a costumed character based on the character
design, used in public appearances. The terms are generally interchangeable. One might consider the actor in Mickey Mouse
character costume to be a mascot for the Walt Disney Company, but supporting characters such as Goofy or Donald Duck, are
commonly referred to as costumed characters or actors in character costumes.
Etymology
The word mascot has been traced back to a dialectic use in Provence and Gascony, where it was used to describe anything which brought luck to a household. The suggestion that the word
is derived from masqu (meaning masked or concealed), the Provincial French for a child born with a
caul, in allusion to the lucky destiny of such children, is improbable.
The word was first popularized in 1880, when French composer Edmond Audran wrote a popular comic operetta titled La Mascotte. However, it had been in use in France long before this, as French slang among gamblers, derived from the Occitan word masco, meaning
witch (perhaps from Portuguese mascotto, meaning witchcraft), and also
mascoto, meaning spell.
Audran's operetta was so popular that it was translated into English as The Mascot, introducing into the English
language a word for any animal, person, or object that brings good luck. The word with this definition was then incorporated into
many other languages, although often in the French form mascotte.
Choices and indentities
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A tired costumed character mascot taking a break. It is traditional to avoid showing the unmasked faces of performers.
"Clutch the Bear," the costumed character mascot for the
NBA's
Houston Rockets, with fans.
Often the choice of mascot reflects a desired quality; a common example of this is the fighting spirit, in which a competitive
nature is personified by warriors or predatory
animals. Mascots may also symbolize a local or regional trait, such as the Dallas
Cowboys, which refers to the Texan ranching tradition, or
the Nebraska Cornhuskers, whose mascot is Herbie
Husker (a man wearing overalls and a cowboy hat with
corn husks coming out one pocket). In instances where the traditional mascot is specifically
male, all-female athletic teams may adopt a variation of the
mascot, such as the University of Wyoming Cowboys, whose female teams are called
the Cowgirls.
Mascots are not exclusively anthropomorphized animals or personifications of human
character traits. For example, Stanford University's sports teams are named after
the color cardinal, and its mascot is The
Tree.
In the United States, controversy surrounds some mascot choices, especially those of human likenesses.
Mascots based on Native American tribes are particularly
contentious, as many argue that
they constitute offensive exploitations of an oppressed culture. However, such debates are not unique to Native American mascots:
Alfred University, a school of approximately 2,000 students in Western
New York has the Saxon as its mascot, represented as a charging
knight in armor, and intended to symbolize strength and courage. Others protest that the Saxon represents male
chauvinism.
Famous mascots outside the U.S. include the Australian McHammerhead, the Cronulla Sharks Rugby League mascot; Razorback Jack, the
West Sydney Razorbacks Basketball mascot; and Syd, the Sydney AFL Club Mascot.
Some teams have unofficial mascots that may be fans identified with the team. The New York
Yankees, for example, have a hardcore fan known as Freddy Sez who is considered a
mainstay at Yankee Stadium and unofficial mascot of the team. Former Toronto Blue Jays
mascot BJ Birdy was a costume created by a random fan; after he jumped onto Exhibition Place field, receiving positive reactions from fans, the team hired him to perform regularly
for more than a decade.
Military mascots
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Mascots are also popular in military units. For example, the United States Marine Corps uses the bald eagle as a
formal emblem; the bulldog is also popularly associated with the
U.S. Marines.
Many regiments of the British Army have a live animal mascot which may appear on
parades, including a ram for the 95th Derbyshire Regiment, an Irish Wolfhound for the Irish Guards, a Shetland pony for the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, and a goat for the Royal Regiment of Wales. Other British military mascots include a pair of drummer horses, an antelope, and a ferret.
The Norwegian Royal Guard adopted an Emperor
Penguin named Niles Olav as its mascot on the occasion of a visit to Edinburgh by its regimental band. The (very large)
penguin remains resident at Edinburgh Zoo and has been formally promoted by one rank on
the occasion of each subsequent visit to Britain by the band or other detachments of the Guard. Regimental Sergeant Major Olav
was awarded the Norwegian Army's Long Service and Good Conduct medal at a ceremony in 2005.
See also
External links
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