This fall, America voted Willie the Wildcat to be the best and sexiest college mascot. But what does that mean to students here? And what do mascots generally mean to students across the country? Mary Randolph has the story.
NORTHWESTERN IS WORLD-RENOWNED FOR ITS STELLAR ACADEMICS, BEAUTIFUL CAMPUS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, OUR POSITION AS AMERICA’S BEST AND SEXIEST MASCOT. THIS COMES ACCORDING TO A 2022 SURVEY OF OVER 1200 AMERICANS BY QUALITY LOGO PRODUCTS BLOG.
BUT WHAT DOES A MASCOT REALLY BRING TO A SCHOOL? WHAT’S ITS PLACE ON OUR CAMPUSES AND IN OUR CULTURES?
[Nick Heisler] Everything seems more fun when there’s a mascot.
THAT WAS NICK HEISLER, FRESHMAN AT QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY IN CONNECTICUT, WHERE BOOMER THE BOBCAT CALLS HOME. HEISLER SAID THAT ALTHOUGH BOOMER MIGHT NOT BE AS POPULAR AS MASCOTS LIKE WILLIE AT BIGGER SCHOOLS, HE’S A GREAT PRESENCE TO HAVE ON CAMPUS.
[NH] I like the way he is. I like the way he, like, walks. He just seems so, like, fun. Like he wants you all to like take a picture with him or like, when he walks by he puts his hand up for a high five like he’s very approachable. I guess that’s the word. Not intimidating, approachable.
WHEN IT COMES TO WILLIE, WEINBERG FRESHMAN JACK ZOLLER SAID HE DESERVES THAT TOP SPOT OF AMERICA’S MASCOT.
[Jack Zoller] Willie the Wildcat is a great mascot. He’s really engaging with the fans. His outfit is fantastic. He’s a really good sense of style, to be honest.
BEFORE WILLIE, NORTHWESTERN HAD “FURPAW” AS ITS MASCOT, A BEAR CUB FROM THE LINCOLN PARK ZOO, AND BEFORE THAT, THE FIGHTING METHODISTS, AN HOMAGE TO THE SCHOOL’S FOUNDERS. WILLIE THE WILDCAT WAS BORN IN 1924 AFTER A CHICAGO TRIBUNE ARTICLE DESCRIBED THE NORTHWESTERN FOOTBALL TEAM AS “FIGHTING LIKE WILDCATS.” WILLIE OFFICIALLY BECAME THE MASCOT IN 1933, ACCORDING TO NORTHWESTERN MAGAZINE.
WEINBERG FRESHMAN CAROLINE BRODY SAID WILLIE ADDS TO NORTHWESTERN SPIRIT, WHEN OUR TEAMS SUCCEED AND WHEN THEY DON’T.
[Caroline Brody] He’s become kind of a campus celebrity. So definitely adds to that kind of sports culture, which I think is on the up and up here at Northwestern with our men’s basketball team doing so well this year. So that’s one definitely one pro to Willie.
THE QUALITY LOGO PRODUCT SURVEY VOTED THAT WILLIE HAS “THE MOST GAME,” EARNING HIM THE TOP SPOT FOR AMERICA’S SEXIEST MASCOT. HE WAS FOLLOWED BY THE UNITED STATES’ MILITARY ACADEMY’S ARMY MULE AND VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY’S MR. COMMODORE.
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY FRESHMAN ELI WAISBURD IS PASSIONATE ABOUT DEFENDING “MR. C’S” HONOR .
[EW] Instead of a feral cat, we’ve got this really well put together army man. He’s a gentleman, he’s got good manners. He wears a coat even to sporting events. So, he’s very, very professional. We’re in a very but in a very classy vintage way. And I think that’s really respectable, and someone and I think respect is very sexy. And also, he’s jacked.
Waisburd SAID THAT GENERALLY, MASCOTS ARE A GOOD WAY TO BUILD SCHOOL SPIRIT AND COMMUNITY.
[EW]: I think it’s a way to personify a school and animate it. And I think oftentimes, the mascots are made to embody the culture of the school. And so, it’s something that people can kind of turn to as a guide for how to involve themselves and immerse themselves in the school’s culture.
HOWEVER, CORNELL UNIVERSITY FRESHMAN SANYA GOENKA SAID CORNELL’S MASCOT, TOUCHDOWN THE BEAR, HAS NOT BEEN A LARGE PART OF HER COLLEGE EXPERIENCE.
[Sanya Goenka] I really don’t know much about Touchdownl he’s pretty irrelevant to my life. There is a small and when I say small Instagram account, that documents the guy who goes around in the bear costume and he takes pictures with people. Every now and then this was definitely more prominent though at the beginning of the year. I have not seen him for months online. And other than that, like I really don’t have much of his presence in my life.
GOENKA ALSO SAID THE CONCEPT OF MASCOTS HAVING SEX APPEAL DIDN’T MAKE MUCH SENSE TO HER BUT COULD HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON OTHER CAMPUSES.
[SG] I think that mascots having sex appeal probably are more unifying because people like the look of the mascot, but Touchdown does not fit that category. He is a big hairy bear.
MCCORMICK JUNIOR ELIAS RIVERA-VASQUEZ SAID WILLIE IS FULLY DESERVING OF HIS “SEXIEST MASCOT” TITLE.
[Elias Rivera-Vasquez] I think what kind of sells him as the sexiest mascot in America is one, his height and two, his physique. I think most other mascots across the nation are kind of bulkier, not to be, you know, bulk shaming other mascots or anything, but I think what does it for Willie the Wildcat is he’s a nice tall, slender individual.
WILLIE MAY NOT HAVE HELPED NORTHWESTERN’S FOOTBALL TEAM WIN THIS FALL, BUT IT SEEMS AS THOUGH HE HAS STILL CAPTURED OUR CAMPUS’S AND AMERICA’S HEARTS. FROM WILLIE, TO BOOMER THE BOBCAT, TO MR. COMMODORE AND TOUCHDOWN THE BEAR, MASCOTS FULFILL ALL SORTS OF ROLES IN THE CULTURES, SPIRITS, AND CHARACTERS OF UNIVERSITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRIES.
FOR WNUR NEWS, I’M MARY RANDOLPH.
