School mascots vary from practical to fantastic

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March 11, 2013

School mascots vary from practical to fantastic

Becky Taylor CNHI The Tifton Gazette Mon Mar 11, 2013, 08:55 PM EDT

TIFTON — At some point in history, schools decided it was not enough to call themselves by school name and wear chosen colors. They needed a representative of some sort -- a mascot to represent who they were or what they wanted to be. Not all schools valued the same things and the nicknames became a wide variety of animals, various objects, a few occupations and some ideals.

Some schools went for animals. Bulldogs, Tigers and Eagles are commonplace. Every now and then, they went for something that was unique.

History sometimes made an appearance in the nickname column. At least that was a Calhoun County specialty. Edison honored Thomas Edison by using one of his patents, calling themselves the Dynamos. To the west, Arlington, named after Robert E. Lee’s Virginia home, named their teams after Lee’s horse, Traveller. The high school in Georgia named for him, in Thomaston, simply went with Rebels.

Over in Montezuma, the local high school were the Aztecs. Lanier of Macon honored the writing of Sidney Lanier by becoming the Poets. Lanier County, also named for Lanier, did not specifically honor him by picking the totally unrelated Bulldogs.

Every now and then, the nicknames were something that was just bizarre. The Clarke County school, Winterville, called themselves the Sky Riders. Though a weird combination, at least it was made of real words. Irwinton High did not even go that route. They were the Ishs, a suffix normally used to mean “about.”

In part of the state, it was a battle of good and evil. The Sandersville Satans terrorized Region 2-C. They were balanced out a few miles to the north by Sparta, whose various nicknames included Saints. Years later, the area was boosted by Warren County. Though known as the relatively mild Blue Devils, their integration and combination with Warrenton High and Elementary led to a smash-up of nicknames. Screaming Eagles and Blue Devils now sounded a lot more sinister: Screaming Devils.

Occasionally, the name would fit the geography. If you scheduled Doerun, you played the Deer (the girls team were known as the Does). Irwinville had the Farmers. Cornelia, long known for its crop, was briefly known as the Appleknockers. Clarkston, once nicknamed “Goat Town,” now has one roaming their sidelines and go by Angoras.

Over in Rome, it was double whammy. Ancient Rome was composed of the Seven Hills of Rome and the city in Georgia has its own rugged geography, including the cemetery on Myrtle Hill. The original high school harnessed this with Hilltoppers. The current high school, which opened in 1992, pays its own tribute to the name. Lore says Romulus and Remus — the former being the name origin of the Italian city — were partially raised by wolves and Rome High these days are the Wolves. Even in between eras of a united Rome High, the area was in on the history. East Rome High went by Gladiators.

A few schools looked to the future. Savannah’s Sol C. Johnson goes by Atomsmashers. Two others went by Rockets, West Side of Rocky Face and T.C. Calhoun of Irwinton. Atlanta’s Southside combined technology with blinding speed with Lasers, but dropped the nickname in 2008 when it was renamed in honor of Maynard Jackson.

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