Scatter Brained

THE LOCALLY FLAVORED
Examples:
 Cornhuskers, Volunteers, Sooners, Hoosiers, 
Buckeyes
Atypical Example:
 Th
  e Stanford Cardinal (singular—they’re 
not named for the birds but for the color)
Advantages:
 Wins the hearts of your fans
Disadvantages:
 Bragging that you can husk corn isn’t intimi-
dating.
Effectiveness:
 17 percent
Anecdotally:
 “Sooners” refers to people who entered Okla-
homa 
sooner
 than the Indian Appropriation Act of 1889 said 
they  could,  so—in  a  roundabout  kind  of  way—it’s  also  ex-
ploitative of Native Americans.
THE PUNNY
Examples:
 Frost (Texas) High School Polar Bears; Poca (W.
Va.) High School Dots;  Lincoln High School Abes; Gonzaga 
University Zags
Atypical Example:
 South Dakota School of Mines and 
 Technology Hardrockers (also atypical because—they need a 
mascot?)