It’s here – March Madness!!!

This is my favorite time of the year. High school and college basketball players across the nation are chasing that coveted title of “Champion.”

In the spirit of celebrating, I asked my friend and gifted writer to share with you this week. During the Wisconsin Education Convention in Milwaukee this past January, I learned of Joelle Doye’s interesting knowledge of school mascots. A school’s story is often tied closely to that proud symbol of the district. Well, sometimes those proud symbols can fall prey to the punch line of jokes.

Joelle also happens to be cheering big time this week, as her Mineral Point Pointers are making history with their first ever appearance to the girl’s state tournament finals this week in Wisconsin. Joelle is the Communications Director for the school district and you can check out some amazing photographs on their Facebook page. Big thanks for taking the time to share this article, Joelle!

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Written by Joelle Doye, Communications Director

• Mineral Point Unified School District
• joelle.doye@mp.k12.wi.us
• @Rockshot_Joelle

Since my birthday falls during the heat of the WIAA winter state tournament season, perhaps I was destined to be bitten by the March Madness mascot love bug.
I was born and bred a Dodgeville Dodger.

The school honored Southwest Wisconsin’s rich mining history with a logo featuring a miner named Dodger Dan. That was replaced around 1990 with just a script logo saying Dodgers. This gave our rivals plenty of ammo to chant, “What’s a Dodger?” at every opportunity.Cuba City Cubans

I grew up in a community with a very successful basketball program and watched our boys venture to the state tournament in Madison twice while I was in elementary school.

One of our school’s biggest rivals for these basketball games were the Cuba City Cubans. Considering Cuba City is known as the City of Presidents, the mascot is a bit ironic.

The Dodger/Cuban combination sparked my interest as a youngster and I became enthralled with school colors, uniforms, and mascots.

Growing up in the stone-age, aka pre-internet days, I recall endlessly looking over the programs my family would pick up at WIAA state tournament events, flipping through the pages, drawing jerseys and mascots for all the teams listed. (Hey, when you’re an only child, you have to get creative with ways to entertain yourself.)

When I was in high school, my Athletic Director, also a mascot guru, would quiz me every time we crossed paths in the hallway. Sometimes he’d even toss in out-of-state ones for extra difficulty, like the Freeport Pretzels (Illinois) or the Watersmeet Nimrods (Upper Michigan). 

What began as my love for mascots quickly turned to my love for high school sports in general as I took the path of a sports reporter and photographer for a decade.

Last March, the Wisconsin Sports Network conducted a Mascot Bracket Challenge that pitted some of these unique mascots against each other with prize money for the winning school on the line.

I was most proud that my school of employment, the Mineral Point Pointers, made it to the Elite Eight but knew our doom was imminent when we came up against the Rhinelander Hodags.

Perhaps the most famous of all of Wisconsin’s mascots, the Hodag, is a mythical lizard-like creature that lives in the Northwoods. In 1893, newspapers reported the discovery of a Hodag in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. It had “the head of a frog, the grinning face of a giant elephant, thick short legs set off by huge claws, the back of a dinosaur, and a long tail with spears at the end.” The Hodags did go on to claim the WSN Mascot crown, defeating the Hortonville Polar Bears in the final.

What might be slightly surprising is we have two sets of Midgets in Wisconsin only an hour apart–Butternut and Hurley, both with orange and black colors. For Butternut, the Midget nickname came from Charles “Midget” Fischer, who hailed from Butternut and was the middle- and light-heavyweight wrestling champion of the world in the 1920s. 

 Given our shorelines on Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, it’s also fitting we have our share of nautical-themed mascots such as the Trollers (Bayfield), Oredockers (Ashland), Ships (Manitowoc Lincoln), and Clippers (Sturgeon Bay), to name a few. Our timber and logging industries have also sparked a wide variety of mascots ranging from Lumberjacks to Logrollers to Papermakers.

 Founding settlers also played a big role as to what mascot the local high school chose. No doubt the Oostburg Flying Dutchmen, Westby Norsemen, and New Glarus Glarner Knights pay tribute to their town’s cultural history.

Speaking of history, the Eau Claire Memorial Old Abes have one of the best. The Old Abes are named after “Old Abe”, a female bald eagle, that was the mascot of the 8th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War, who grew to national prominence.

Also interesting is the evolution of mascots. Not only have many moved away from Native American influence over the years, but logos are constantly evolving as well, even if the name stays the same. An alumnus of Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah told me, when he was in school, the Resorters were a tourist-looking man in a Hawaiian shirt. Now, the school uses an elk for its logo.

Confusion can also ensue when there is a mascot that is clearly one gender or another, such as the Pius Popes of Milwaukee. Their female teams then become the Lady Popes. I’ve never heard of Lady Popes before, but I’m open minded.

Some of my favorites fall into the randomly awesome category–Kaukauna Galloping Ghosts, Kohler Blue Bombers, Fall Creek Crickets, Tomahawk Hatchets, Horicon Marshmen, Washburn Castle Guards, Mellen Granite Diggers, Independence Indees, and the list goes on.

I don’t believe there is necessarily a direct correlation between the uniqueness of a mascot and the amount of pride it evokes in its fans. Someone can be just as proud to be a Cardinal as they are to be a Cheesemaker.

March is my most favorite time of the year with the excitement of the winter sports season climaxing at the state tournaments. Cheer loud and proud for your favorite team. And if you don’t have a favorite team, pick your favorite mascot and cheer for them.

PS–Donations are always welcome for my Wisconsin’s unique mascot shirt collection. And if you know of a crazy mascot, mention it below.