Sick's Pack: New Mexico high school's best (and not so great) team mascots
Feb. 18—Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!
In a few short weeks, these and many other fearsome creatures will descend on Albuquerque for New Mexico's annual prep state basketball tournament. Based on statistical probability, these particular critters/team mascots will be among the most plentiful. But at least a few teams with more unusual names will almost certainly take their shots at state titles, too.
New Mexico is still a bit lacking in this respect, but our state does have some contenders in the interesting-team-names derby. If you're thinking this sounds like an ideal topic for a late-season-hoops Sick's Pack, I concur. New Mexico's Top Six Prep Nicknames is a topic near and dear to my heart.
Before we hit the prep ranks, let's give a little college credit where it's due. As a proud UNM alum, I've always found the Lobos mascot interesting and unusual. New Mexico State, on the other hand, is one of 10 colleges saddled with the Aggies nickname. With apologies to NMSU grads such as my colleagues Lucas Peerman and Geoff Grammer (and my lovely daughter), what a snooze!
At least NMSU gave Pistol Pete his six-shooter back after replacing it with a lariat a few years back. Maybe now UNM can give Lobo Louie and Lobo Lucy their paws back instead of the recently adopted tennis shoes and golf gloves. As my significant other often points out, the Teen Wolf look is a bit bizarre.
Now let's get back to the state's prep nicknames. Before naming the six best, let's recognize a few other category winners.
Interesting but strange
Santa Fe Demons: The city's name translates to "Holy Faith," which makes Demons an odd choice. I recall former SFHS football coach Steve Baca once suggesting after a tough loss, "Maybe the Demons are just cursed from on high." That may be taking it a bit far, but who knows?
Gender confusion: Some of the state's more interesting nicknames include gender distinctions that are hard to wrap your head around. St. Michael's Lady Horsemen? What's wrong with Horsewomen? Carlsbad Cavemen and Cavegirls? Aren't there any women in those caves? Pojoaque Valley Elkettes? I give up.
Dime a dozen
Care to guess what the state's most common prep nickname might be? Well, we have lots of Bears and Hawks (six apiece), five flocks of Eagles, four packs of Panthers and not a single partridge in a pear tree. On the plus side, we'll never touch larger states like Texas when it comes to overused mascots. The Lone Star State reportedly has 81 sets of Bulldogs. Talk about a lot of dogfights!
New Mexico's apparent favorite is Tigers, with seven entries (not counting the Gallup Bengals). I haven't seen many tigers roaming the wilds of our state, but I suppose we can give Mr. Grammer's Alamogordo Tigers a pass. After all, saber tooth tigers are said to have roamed White Sands about 10,000 years ago.
Making headlines
Having written my share of sports headlines, I've come to love creative team names. Some of the best are in other states, so here's a quick sixer of my personal favorites:
Progresso Mighty Red Ants (Texas)Ridgefield Spudders (Washington)Poca Dots (West Virginia)Watersmeet Nimrods (Michigan)Polo Marcos (Illinois)Yuma Criminals (Arizona)
I was lucky enough to write a few Criminals headlines while living in Arizona. Word is, classes were held in Yuma's former territorial prison once upon a time. Hope this one never changes.
Missed opportunities
New Mexico continues to grow and build new schools, which means more opportunities for interesting nicknames. A few have risen to the occasion in recent years (Cleveland Storm, Miyamura Patriots, Legacy Academy Silverbacks), while some have kicked creativity to the curb. Missed opportunities include:
Volcano Vista and Centennial: Apparently four other NM schools with Hawks mascots just weren't enough.
Valencia and Atrisco Heritage: Two more sets of Jaguars added in 2006 and '08. Don't feel bad, Capital. They say imitation is a form of flattery.
Best of the best
Without further ado, let's celebrate some of the state's most creative prep nicknames. Before getting on to my list, Journal prep guru James Yodice is offering a post-holiday five pack of his own. As one might expect, he picked some winners:
Carlsbad CavemenRehoboth Christian LynxLegacy Academy SilverbacksMesilla Valley Christian SonBlazersTierra Encantada Charter School Alacranes (Spanish for scorpions)
Got to admit, all of these were contenders for my top six, but I limited myself to teams I've actually covered. With that said ...
New Mexico's top six prep nicknames
No. 6: Goddard Rockets: The school is named after Robert H. Goddard, the "father of modern day rocketry." Many of the classrooms were built below ground level so the facility could serve as a bomb shelter.
No. 5: Manzano Monarchs: Putting a different spin on Lions, Tigers and Bears works for me. Always thought that purple lion was kind of cool. (Note: ex-Monarch and colleague Rick Wright did not influence this decision).
No. 4: Santa Fe Prep Blue Griffins: Afraid I can't offer any sage wisdom on this one, but who cares? Blue Griffins is different and awesome.
No. 3: Tucumcari Rattlers: Let's face it, there are a lot more rattlesnakes in New Mexico than there are Tigers. They're scary, intimidating and great mascot material. Good call, Tucumcari.
No. 2: Carlsbad Cavemen: Have to agree with Mr. Yodice on this one. Carlsbad Caverns are truly amazing and this mascot couldn't be more appropriate.
No. 1: Fort Sumner Foxes/Vixens: This one is unusual, sounds great for both genders and works really well for sly headlines. As it happens, I've covered Fort Sumner teams in quite a few state championship games over the years. Is the cool mascot a factor? I'm not ruling it out.
