Top 10 Stupid college team names

As promised, here is my list of the Top 10 stupid college team names. REMEMBER: this has nothing to do with the mascots - I’ll deal with stupid mascots a bit later on.

#1 - North Texas Mean Green - usually, smart colleges will chose a mascot that is a NOUN…you know, a person place or thing. But not North Texas - they chose an adjective for their mascot. I would hate to be a student in their English department. Consolation #1a award goes to Cornell Big Red. Nouns, people…its all about the nouns.

#2 - Virginia Tech Hokies - utterly ridiculous. I’m not sure which is worse - the name “Hokies” or Va Tech’s original team name - the Fighting Gobblers. I think it is a toss-up.

#3 - Toledo Rockets - often times (see #9), a school’s mascot is reflective of a state’s history or culture. The Toledo Rockets? I had no idea there were so many launch pads in Ohio.

#4 - TCU Horned Frogs - what is the only thing worse than a frog as a team mascot? A horned frog.

#5 - Rice Owls, Temple Owls, Florida Atlantic Owls - you want a silent, nocturnal bird as your mascot? Alrighty then…

#6 - Minnesota Golden Gophers - the only cool gopher in the history of mankind is the gopher in Caddyshack. Other than that, they are lame. Definitely not mascot-worthy.

#7 - Oregon Ducks - Why didn’t Oregon choose something manly from the Northwest culture for their mascot, like the Lumberjacks? You have the Ducks and the Beavers…must be an Oregon thing.

#8 - Marshall Thundering Herd - I like the “Thundering” part of the name, but “Herd”? It is a Thundering Herd of what, exactly? Can you be more specific?

#9 - Tennessee Volunteers - yes, I know Tennessee is the Volunteer State. Yes, I know that Volunteers play an important part in their state history (the nickname “The Volunteer State” originated during the War of 1812 when thousands of Tennesseans enlisted in response to Governor Blount’s call for volunteers). I’m not diminishing that in any way. I just think it isn’t a good nickname for a sports team. I’ve never liked it.

#10 - Idaho Vandals - to my knowledge, there is absolutely nothing positive, uplifting or inspiration that comes from the word “vandal”. Am I wrong?