Lions and Tigers and... Kraken...? Oh my!
We're officially a few weeks into my favorite season- no, not fall, or even "spooky" season- it's football season! Ever since I was a kid I've loved watching sports. I think part of it is my competitive nature, but mostly I've always enjoyed the bonding experience of it all. Some of my best memories from growing up are spending a lazy weekend watching football (or baseball) and eating chips and salsa with my dad.
My dad as "fantasy football" for Halloween several years ago
As an adult, I've been a proud member of local clubs supporting some of my favorite teams, and I've played fantasy football and baseball with some regularity. Truth be told, however, I've not spent nearly as much time watching sports as I did when I was younger, and a lot of that I think has to do with the interests I've decided to pursue the past couple decades.
I want to preface this by saying I know this is reductive, but since my mid-twenties, I've taken the time to focus on creative pursuits like writing and filmmaking, and I've embraced my love for nerd culture, Disney, and the paranormal, and I have found that a lot of times those worlds (sports and *gestures wildly* those other things) don't overlap. Again, I know this isn't a hard and fast rule. In fact, my fantasy football league for the past three years has been a group of fellow screenwriting folks from across the country! BUT the middle part of the Venn diagram isn't quite as large as I'd like.
One of my fellow spooky writer people posted on Twitter about sports teams named after cryptids the other day, and I got SO excited. Partly because I was like "YES! My worlds collide!" Partly because I recalled Em from And That's Why We Drink podcast talking about the same topic and I thought I could drop some knowledge in the thread. Well, I had mostly forgotten all of the teams Em mentioned, so I wasn't a world of insight as much as I'd hoped, but it did lead me to want to dive into this a bit further.
So what teams ARE there, named after cryptids then? The obvious one, and I do mean ONE, is the New Jersey Devils. A lot of people assume it's the New Jersey (pause) Devils, as in the Christian imagery of The Devil. This is probably partly because their mascot plays into that image. But it's actually an homage to the Jersey Devil.
We've talked abut the Jersey Devil on one of our Spooky Sis Picks (Sept. 2) so I won't go into the details here but what you need to know is that Jersey is so proud of their creepy cryptid they named one of their best sports teams after it!
N.J. Devil, the Jersey Devils' mascot (from Pucks and Pitchforks)
With so many other famous American cryptids out there, I was sure there'd be others! Y'all... I was disappointed. My (minor) research led me to several PROPOSED team names but very few other teams named after even just mythical characters, such as giants or titans, let alone cryptids. Here's what I did uncover however-
Some Cryptid-Named Teams:
Seattle Kraken - a new team as of 2021 for the NHL (National Hockey League) in Seattle WA
Round Rock Chupacabras- a minor league baseball team in Round Rock TX (they're also called the Round Rock Express and use the Chupacabras name occasionally through the season)
Springfield Thunderbirds - an AHL (American Hockey League) team in Springfield MA
Vermont Lake Monsters - a collegiate summer baseball team in Burlington VT
Minnesota Squatch - a USPHL (US Premiere Hockey League) team in Elk River MN
Rhinelander High School Hodags - from Rhinelander WI
Conway High School Wampus Cats - from Conway AR
Now-Defunct Teams/Mascots:
Seattle BigFoot - USISL soccer team (until 1998)
Lowell Lock Monsters - an AHL team in Lowell MA until 2006
Colorado Avalanche mascot "Howler" the Yeti - until 2001
Not *Technically* Cryptid Teams:
Aside from the Giants and Titans mentioned above, a couple of others:
Dayton Dragons - minor league baseball team from Dayton OH
San Francisco Unicorns - major league cricket team from San Francisco CA
Las Vegas 51s - minor league baseball team from Las Vegas NV (2001-2018)
and of course the Virginia Tech Hokies - Ok so "hokies" are turkeys (depending who you ask) but I had to throw this in there to poke at my brother and sister-in-law who are VT alums. :)
The VT Hokie (Sports Illustrated)
As much as I enjoyed finding so many fun new team names and mascots out there (what's up Amarillo Sod Poodles!) I was so disappointed that it took some real effort to find teams named for cryptids! They're prime material for mascots, right? Whether you want a funny one, a scary one, or a legendary one- there's a cryptid for you!
Before I wrap up, I want to tell you the top 5 cryptids I think would make great names for teams and mascots.
5. Wendigo
4. Dogman
3. Snallygaster
2. Skunk Ape
1. Loveland Frog
Alright so I want to hear from you. What are some cryptids you'd choose for a team name? What are your favorites from the list? Are there any I left off the list? And lastly, who wants to watch some football with me? ;)
(Bonus pic of my dad with some mascots, because I miss him terribly and this picture makes me smile. Go hug a mascot and have a chili dog in his honor.)
