While editing the book of essays called the Great Lakes Reader coming out Oct 1, I came across the fact that wolverines have not been seen for 200 years in Michigan, the Wolverine State. Not so fast, said one of the book’s contributors. Bill Cusumano of Nicola’s in Ann Arbor emailed me right away to say that one had been spotted recently. More on this in a moment, but this led me to wonder about the origins and meanings of other Big Ten university nicknames.
Consider the Nittany Lion, mascot of my freshman daughter’s new home, Penn State. All that’s left of the cougars that once roamed Mt. Nittany, visible from campus, is a statue on campus that brings good luck if rubbed. Legend has it that in 1907, a Penn State senior conjured up the mountain lion as antidote to the Princeton Bengal tiger. (This royal cat is one of the most common team nicknames around the country, but ain’t never been tigers in Jersey, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, or California.)
What about another Big Ten mascot, the Golden Gophers of Minnesota? No such animal. There are gophers, of course, but “golden” was added due to the uniform color. The Iowa Hawkeye? Good, strong team name, though Hawkeye is also a comic book hero, the tennis court electronic eye, and a character in MASH. A Wisconsin Badger sounds pretty fierce, but the Northwestern Wildcats seem a little tame by comparison.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Is the point of a university nickname to be a potent and symbolic mixture of fierce, fast, regal, strong, and intimidating qualities, or should it a defining characteristic of the state or university? In the case of the Wisconsin Badgers, both ends are accomplished, as Wisconsin was the Badger State before the university adopted the nickname, and badgers are pretty persistent. You want that quality in an athlete and in graduates of your school in general.
Staying in the region but leaving the animal world, Hoosiers is not an awe-inspiring moniker, but very true to the work ethic of the immigrants who founded Indiana. (Elsewhere, I also like founding names like Oklahoma Sooners, Denver Pioneers, and Penn Quakers, but that may be because my high school was the Southold First Settlers. 1640, you know, before those usurpers in The Hamptons.)
I admire the prickliness of the Buckeye of Ohio, and it also turns out the leaves can be poisonous. That would be an unfair advantage, but, as with Wisconsin, the state nickname came first, and being as strong as a big tree isn’t so bad. Surprisingly, considering the mighty maple, oak and redwood, only one other Div. 1 school sports a tree nickname: the Indiana State Sycamores. (“Sic ‘em, Sycamores?”)
Illinois is one of the last universities to retain a Native American name, but it is true to the state and not a derogatory tag, and Fightin’ Illini is pretty strong stuff. Few Division One Indian names remain – notably the Florida State Seminoles - mostly due to public pressure and a non-binding 2005 NCAA ruling, but I have to say I don’t mind if the point is to pay tribute, and the schools offer special scholarships.
Now Spartans, that’s a name! Up to any battle with Trojans or both Black and Scarlet Knights. No relation to Michigan State history, but a damn fine and heroic nickname, and better than the original one, the Michigan Staters. And last but not least Big Ten-wise, the misunderstood Boilermakers of Purdue, dragged down by the drink of the same name. No, this is a sturdy, true name, forged from the work of engineering students. They were the Blacksmiths for awhile; Boilermakers is better.
Leaving the Big Ten but staying near the Great Lakes, here’s the Div. 1 nickname tally: Up in the sky: RedHawks, Redbirds, Cardinals, Falcons, Eagles, and Golden Eagles. Big cats: 2 Cougars, 2 Panthers, and one each of Jaguars, Bearcats, and Bobcats. Pups: Salukis, Huskies, and Bulldogs. One fearsome Grizzlie, even if Golden. (What’s up with Golden? I only think it’s appropriate in California, or for a truly impressive hybrid, the Golden Griffin, which is a lion and eagle combo. Take that.) From history: Fightin’ Irish, Raiders, Musketeers, Vikings, Titans, Crusaders, Leathernecks, and two Indian holdouts: Chippewas and Braves. A little religious yin/yang: Blue Demons vs. Phoenix. Ohio alone is home to the Rockets, Racers, Flyers, Golden Flashes, and Zips! (Would hate to be the slowest person on those teams.) Unclassifiable: Flames, Purple Aces, Ramblers, and one not scary name: Penguins. Okay, I don’t mean to poke fun; honest. I like the crossword clue aspect of it all, plus the notion that big is not always better. However, here are some names I’d like to see instead, with variations provided if more than one school is interested: (Angry) Teens, (Visi) Goths, (Main or Wall) Streeters, (Killer or Loan) Sharks, (Red or Long) Snappers, (Scare or Black) Crows, or, simply, the Rabid Squirrels. If nothing else, think of the revenue from an all-new merchandising push. WTF’s anyone?
So what about the state of the Michigan wolverine, fur-trapped out of existence in the early 1800’s? I spoke to Arnie Karr, a wildlife biologist in Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources, who photographed a lone returning wolverine spotted in the Michigan wild in 2004. He told me that no more have turned up, sadly; it’s just the one female, still on the hunt for a male so she can make more.
Arnie made it a point to add that he’s a wolverine fan but not a Wolverine fan; he roots for the Spartans. But I have U of M friends and I do hope the two-legged Wolverines continue to show up on Saturdays in Ann Arbor. I don’t have any strong college team alliances; I tend to root for underdogs in general. I want the Beavers to outsmart the Bears and the Cardinals to escape unharmed by Hawks.
In closing, a Nittany Lion update: My daughter informs me there is another one around - stuffed and in the library. I’m glad she was in there to see it. Hey, your lions vs. a whole bunch of animals this fall, and Alabama next year, the only school nickname immortalized in a Steely Dan song. I had to work that in, you know. - Carl Lennertz
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