‘Frightening’

If you studied your Colonial history, you’ve read about a Plymouth Rock outside Boston.

Not far south of South Bend, home of the Notre Dame ‘Fighting Irish,’ there’s a Plymouth Indiana.   I scoffed when I drove by the high school football stadium that labels itself ‘Home of the Plymouth Rockies.’  Didn’t sound like a ferocious name.

My Abilene high school chose a belligerent mascot, the Eagle. Of course, we weren’t original. And I have no business funning the Rockies given this old sportswriter knows other timid Texas high school mascot names. some well.

I once investigated publishing and writing sports at Port Lavaca on the Texas Gulf Coast. Our children might have attended Calhoun High School and become ‘Sandcrabs.’  Envision the sports headlines I would have written…  “Sandcrabs Bite” or “Sandcrabs Crawl to Victory.”

Chris Barbee, another retired headline writer, reminds me that Palacios ‘Fighting Sharks’ would “attack” if they played his ‘Fighting Ricebirds.’   FYI, ricebirds that swarm El Campo rice fields no bigger than a sparrow.

Chris adds Hutto High ‘Hippos’ as one of his favorites.  Chris, Hippos too fierce.   Their winning headline might read “Hippos Stomp Ricebirds.”

My daughter likes name at Winters High, the ‘Blizzards.’   Besides being out-of-season, Winters High could be “snowed” or “iced out.”  A ferocious team might turn them into ‘Flakes.’

How about two high schools that chicken out? The Cuero ‘Gobblers’ and the Baytown ‘Ganders.’

The Grandview ‘Zebras’ share their nickname with what we sportswriter cynics, and losing fans, often call the referees and umpires.  Will that name help on game day?

Closer to home, I spent my grammer school days in Hamlin, not far from Abilene.   Never played a piccolo or lured rats from the village.   However had I stayed in Hamlin, I could claim I was once a Hamlin High ‘Pied Piper.’