National Champion Macots

After last night's national championship game I started thinking about all the implications of the names flying around.  First of all you look at the teams involved: Auburn Tigers and the Oregon Ducks.  While I want to pay homage to the football gods for at least giving us a game where we have something that we all know (animals as opposed to a flower, a buckeye or wagon a sooner).  It's pretty easy to say "I'm cheering for the Ducks" or "I have the Tigers by 3".  All of this plays into a brand that the schools unknowingly assumed a hundred years back when they decided on a mascot. 

I mentioned in a previous post that mascots were part of the branding of a team and that it didn't really matter what you chose because sports are a completely different breed.  I even used The Oregon Ducks as an example of this.  The good thing the Ducks have going for them is that they are the only real team with any significance with that name.  The Tigers on the other hand have numerous other schools and professional teams with the same name.  LSU Tigers, Detroit Tigers, Missouri Tigers... you get the picture.  Auburn has adopted something else called the War Eagle which is the mascot in waiting.  They don't have a team that the the name but it is basically a war cry or moniker to differentiate them... now that is branding and a better brand than just a tiger. 


I guess that’s why it’s easier to just say Auburn or Oregon then there is no fall out with the mascots… oh well, sports and mascots.  Gotta love the brands.