At Sunday's Tacoma Rainiers baseball game (Mariners' Triple A affiliate), I couldn't help but notice how similar the team mascot looks to its parent team's mascot. Rhubarb claims to be a reindeer, but the hair color and antlers are obviously derivative of the Mariner Moose. It makes me wonder how many mascots have been sired by other mascots.
We can safely put the Georgia Bulldog, the Gonzaga Bulldog and Butler Bulldog in the same family. Maybe even the Georgetown Hoya. Likewise, we know the UCLA Bruin and the Cornell Big Red Bear share the same blood.
Then there's Xavier's Blue Blob and Western Kentucky's Hilltopper (shown above). Different colors, but same shape. I don't think it's a stretch to include Wally the Green Monster as a relative. Just because he's taken to wearing baseball clothes does not mean he isn't an amorphous blob like his cousins. And if we're talking about green muppets, why not speculate on the origins of Southpaw (White Sox) and the Philly Phanatic? Given the Phanatic's feathery appearance and age, we can assume that he's, in fact, related to Big Bird and he fathered the belated Duncan (New Jersey Nets).
By far, the mascot with the most curious genealogy is Youppi!
So much research to be done in this area...Not to mention the fact that Acme Mascots may be genetically engineering these muppets for maximum entertainment.
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