Utah State's mascot Big Blue ripped the fake
You know how the rest of this goes.
Mascots Behaving Badly
One pull of the mustache turns into a fight between New Mexico State mascot Pistol Pete, pictured, and Utah State's Big Blue the bull mascot. After Big Blue ripped off Pistol Pete's fake mustache, the cowboy chased the bull down and tried to choke his rival during conference tournament play. Click through for other cases of mascot misconduct.
New Mexico State University Athletics, AP
Rice University mascot Sammy the Owl was ejected from one of the team's games in late January after getting physical with a referee.
Nelson Chenault, US PRESSWIRE
An actor who played the Diamondbacks' mascot, Baxter, was recently fired after he was pulled over on an Arizona highway and accused of having a blood-alcohol content of nearly twice the legal limit - with the costume in the back seat. Police say he also admitted smoking marijuana earlier in the day.
Nick Doan, WireImage
The Penn State senior who plays the Nittany Lion mascot was suspended after being hit with a DUI charge in November was forced to miss the Rose Bowl.
Elsa, Getty Images
One of the actors who dresses up as the Pittsburgh Steelers' team mascot, Steely McBeam, was arrested and accused of driving under the influence in April.
Michael Fabus, Getty Images
Last March, there was a spectacular brawl between Oral Roberts' Eli the Eagle and IUPUI's Jawz the Jaguar. Watch the Fight
YouTube.com
The Oregon Duck got into a fight with Houston's Cougar in 2007, and earned himself him a suspension and a spot in the YouTube Hall of Fame. Watch the Battle
Rick Bowmer, AP
In August 2007, the Mariners' Moose drew the ire of Boston fans when he hit former Red Sox outfielder Coco Crisp with his ATV during a game in Seattle.
Elaine Thompson, AP
The Dodgers-Giants rivalry is fierce, and that spreads even to San Francisco's mascot Lou Seal. He was caught on tape in 2007 challenging an unruly Dodgers fan to fisticuffs.
Eric Risberg, AP
Benny the Bull got in hot water for shooting a T-shirt gun at two Celtics during an April 2008 game.
Gary Dineen, NBAE / Getty Images
Pistol Pete tracked down Big Blue and attempted to choke out its rival, according to the AP report. And we will be treated with video of this on sports blooper shows for some time. (For the love of the Internets, somebody better have gotten video of this.)
You know who is to blame here? The Western Athletic Conference itself. You can't have two teams in one conference with the same nickname, Aggies (So consider yourself on notice twice, SEC). It was only a matter of time before they were going to fight. At some point, the mascots were going to go alpha-dog on each other. After years of sniffing around each other, it was time to throw down.
Big Blue was apparently set up by a Utah State fan who offered $100 for the mustache. And in this economy, that is a deal you can't pass up. But why is it not surprising that Utah State fans were involved here?
Utah State has one of the most loyal, traveling fan bases around. The Big West tournament in Anaheim has suffered since the team left to join the WAC. But there are times when the fans can be a little juvenile.
The Utah State fans once held up $1 bills when the Cal State Fullerton dance team performed during a timeout at the Big West tournament. Not only was the move low-class (only a $1 for those hotties), it was also ignorant. Everybody knows that it's the Cal State Fullerton track team that works in the adult entertainment industry. That night, however, resulted in Utah State fans and Cal State Fullerton fans getting into a scuffle and some Utah State fans being detained by police.
Utah State fans again gained exposure when their fans oiled up and mocked then New Mexico State coach Reggie "Hang Time" Theus.
Big Blue has worked quickly to gain a "fan club" in his short time in the WAC. So this isn't out of character for Utah State fans.
The most amusing part of Friday's incident is that it occurred during the closing moments of a hotly contested game -- one that Utah State needed to win in order to keep its dream alive for the dance. Instead of mascot pranks, how about paying attention to the game Utah State fans? I hope you don't think you are a lock for the tournament.
While Utah State might be a bubble team on the court, if there was a tournament for troublemaking fans, Utah State would be a No. 1 seed.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-16-2009 @ 5:33PM
Alex said...
It was a Nevada fan that gave Big Blue the money.
Reply