With the NCAA Basketball Tournament, otherwise known as March Madness quickly approaching, it is time to be “schooled” on the origin of some of the more obscure nicknames/mascots of this year’s March Madness teams. After all, won’t your friends be impressed when you put down your beer and launch into an explanation of why a mockingbird named Scrappy is dressed as a railroad conductor? Well maybe not, but um, here are a few team nickname/mascot origins for you to digest:

UNIVERSITY OF TENESSEE AT CHATTANOOGA “MOCS” (UTC):

The nickname for the athletic teams of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is the “Mocs.” According to the official website this nickname was started in the 1920’s for Mocassin Bend, the name for a large bend in the Tennessee River. At this time the mascot was the feared snake, the water moccasin. Somewhere along the way the name Moc’s remained, but the mascot changed to a Cherokee Indian chief; and in the 60’s and 70’s the mascot changed and became the “feared” shoe known as the moccasin (I kid you not--- this is actually on their website). Thereafter, they brought the Indian chief back for a short cameo appearance but because of political correctness adopted a new mascot--- Scrappy in 1996. Scrappy is the name of a former football coach and the mascot uniform is a mockingbird dressed as a railroad conductor.

So, in summary, UTC’s mascot was once reptile and Indian chief, and is now named for a football coach dressed as a mockingbird, which is dressed as a railroad conductor (Chattanooga Choo-Choo.) Does the mascot wear moccasins?

This team’s mascot is officially nominated for the most schizophrenic in NCAA sports.

While the exact origin of the nickname is subject to speculation the official UNC website gives it a Civil War origin. At a Civil War battle a South Carolinian regiment stayed and fought until victory, while other Rebel regiments retreated. After the battle was won there was an interchange among the victorious South Carolinians and their retreating compatriots. The exchange was to the effect of either that the South Carolinian regiment had stuck in the battle as if they and “tar on their heels” or to the effect that the retreating regiment should have had some “tar on their heels” so they would have stuck in the fight and not ran away.

I only hope the Tar Heel’s defense doesn’t have tar on their Air Jordan’s while their adversaries whiz down the court.

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND “TERPS” (UM)

Terp’s is short for Terrapins, which are medium size, very shy turtles, that lives in brackish water. During the winter months they hibernate underwater in the mud. Incidentally, turtles can hold their breath for months underwater when hibernating.

The terrapin became the official team mascot in 1994. The team’s catch phrase, allegedly coined during a previous NCAA tournament, is “Fear the Turtle.” However, no matter how many times Terp’s fans waive signs with that phrase, a reptile which is shy, slow, stays under the mud and can be flipped on its back can simply not be “scary’ to an opponent.

In summary, the only really time to “Fear the Turtle” is when you are competing against the Terp’s swim team.

A CLOSING SUGGESTION TO UTC

Given what President Bush experienced in Iraq (when that reporter through his shoes at him,) maybe UTC should return to using the moccasin shoe as their mascot. Then their team’s motto could be “Fear the Shoe.”

Sparky Holden 2009

Sources

The only sources used are the official websites of the Universities mention and http://pelotes.jea.com/AnimalFact/Reptile/terrapin.htm