The Story Behind Every NFL Mascot

At 100 years old, the Arizona Cardinals are one of the National Football League’s oldest franchises, though they’ve only had an official mascot since 1998. Big Red is a red cardinal-like bird figure. The original color of the team was a faded maroon, which was eventually called cardinal red.

Freddie Falcon became the Atlanta Falcons mascot in the mid-1980s. The team took the Falcons name following a contest to name the team after Atlanta was awarded an NFL franchise in 1965. Falcon was suggested by a school teacher who liked the name because “… the falcon is proud and dignified with great courage and fight.”

Poe is a raven and became the Baltimore Ravens mascot after Ravens was chosen by fans in a poll conducted by the Baltimore Sun. The name is in honor of Edgar Allan Poe, master of the macabre, who wrote his famous poem, “The Raven,” while living in Baltimore.

Billy Buffalo debuted in 2000 at a Buffalo Bills home game in Orchard Park, New York. He is an 8-foot-tall blue American buffalo and wears uniform “number” BB. The Bills name is a reference to frontiersman and Wild West entertainer Buffalo Bill Cody.

After Charlotte, North Carolina, was awarded an NFL franchise in 1995, Mark Richardson, the son of team owner Jerry Richardson, chose the team’s name and team colors of black, blue, and silver. The Panther mascot came into being the same year. The Panther mascot, wearing jersey number 00, stirred a bit of controversy in 1996 when during a game between the Carolina Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers he fell on a live ball following a punt.

The Chicago Bears, one of the charter members of the NFL, adopted Staley Da Bear as their mascot in 2003. The mascot takes its name from the team’s original sponsor, the Staley Starch Company. The Bears owe their name to owner George Halas, who figured that football players were bigger than baseball players, and since Chicago was home to baseball’s Cubs, Bears would be the logical name for the town’s professional football team.

Who Dey, the Cincinnati Bengals mascot, is a playful character clad in black and orange stripes who good-naturedly harasses the team’s rival mascot. Who Dey does not speak and communicates via pantomime. “Who Dey?!” is also the name of a chant shouted by fans of the Bengals.

Brownie the Elf first appeared as a mascot for the Cleveland Browns in 2013, but his lineage goes farther back. He was the emblem of the Browns dating back to 1946, when the Browns were in the All-America Football Conference, before they joined the NFL. The Browns also have another mascot, Chomps, a reference to their fans who occupy the “dog pound” at home games. Chomps is a 6-foot-1-inch Labrador retriever who wears jersey number 00.

Rowdy, the official mascot of the Dallas Cowboys, was developed by NFL Properties in the early 1990s as a character called Big D as part of the league’s mascot program. The Cowboys made him their official mascot in 1996 and changed his name to Rowdy.

Thunder II is the second generation of Arabian horses to serve as mascot for the Denver Broncos. The original Thunder debuted on Sept. 12, 1993, in a game against the San Diego Chargers. After each Denver touchdown, Thunder would gallop across the field. Denver also has another mascot, called Miles, an orange-maned and orange-tailed character who prowls the sidelines.

Roary is a lion-costumed mascot described on the Detroit Lions website as a fun-loving lion who provides food for needy families and teaches kids the importance of character education and being active.

The Green Bay Packers, one of the oldest NFL franchises, do not have a mascot. They were named after two packing companies that eventually went out of business but the name remained.

According to the Houston Texans website, Toro was born on April 21, 2001, corresponding with the zodiac sign Taurus, or bull. Toro is clad in the Texans’ colors of red, white, and blue. Like many mascots, Toro has his own Facebook page and Twitter handle.

Blue, the blue colt who wears jersey number 00, was first introduced on Sept.17, 2006, at the Colts’ first home regular season game against the Houston Texans, which the Colts won, 43-24. The Colts were originally based in Baltimore and their name referenced the horse-breeding tradition in that area.

Jaxson de Ville has been the mascot of the Jacksonville Jaguars since their inception. The mascot wears sunglasses, a Jaguars jersey, long shorts, and black and teal sneakers and has been known to use a zip wire and bungee jump. His exuberance has gotten him into hot water and drew the ire of Indianapolis Colts President Bill Polian. He also caused controversy in 2014 during the Ebola crisis when he carried a sign that said “Towels Carry Ebola,” along with a Terrible Towel, an emblem of the Jags’ opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

K.C. Wolf was first introduced in 1989 and was named after the team’s “Wolfpack,” the fans who sit in the bleachers. K.C. Wolf is portrayed by motivational speaker Dan Meers, who makes about 150 speaking engagements each year, talking to young people about being a buddy and not a bully, the importance of character, and eating healthful foods.

Boltman was the unofficial mascot of the Los Angeles Chargers (formerly the San Diego Chargers), until Ramona, California, resident Dan Jauregui, who created the character, announced his retirement last year. Jauregui put his costume and the full intellectual property rights to the Boltman persona on eBay in July 2018 but got no takers.

After several misfires trying to launch a mascot while they were still in St. Louis, including a fuzzy critter that looked like a rat, the Rams settled on a ram character who was named Rampage by fans. Rampage was introduced to the public by throwing out the first pitch at a St. Louis Cardinals game in July of 2010.

T.D., shorthand for The Dolphin, is also the name of the Miami Dolphins mascot. The 7-foot dolphin has been representing the Dolphins since 1997 when then-coach Jimmy Johnson “signed” the mascot as a free agent. An original dolphin mascot called Flipper, named after the beloved star of the 1960s television series of the same name, was trained to jump out of the water after each Miami touchdown.

The Minnesota Vikings are another team that made several prior attempts at launching a mascot and eventually settled on Viktor, a muscle-bound, blond-haired, horned-helmet wearing character, in 2007. The mascot was developed to appeal to the team’s younger fan base.

The New England Patriots, who joined the American Football League in 1960, adopted the Pat Patriot mascot, invoking the patriots who fought in the American Revolution. Those who don the mascot gear should perhaps ask for combat pay; at the last Pro Bowl, New York Jets safety Jamal Adams tackled an unsuspecting Pat Patriot for laughs and nearly injured him.

Gumbo, the mascot for the New Orleans Saints, is a St. Bernard puppy. The mascot is based on a real puppy given to the Saints by the Louisiana Restaurant Association in 1967, just before the Saints played their first NFL game. Another original mascot is Sir Saint, a helmet-wearing character with a protruding jaw, who returned to the Saints games in 2009 after a hiatus of several decades.

The New York Giants have been in the NFL since 1925, but have never had a mascot. The Giants got their name from the New York baseball team of the same name, which many football teams did at that time.

Like their New York football brethren the Giants, the Jets also do not have a mascot. They joined the American Football League as the Titans and switched to the Jets to sound more modern.

The Oakland Raiders joined the American Football League in 1960, but did not adopt a mascot until 2013. Raider Rusher is derived from an animated cartoon series entitled “NFL Rush Zone” that was co-produced by the NFL and Nickelodeon. The Raiders, who embraced an outlaw persona in the past, are using the Raider character to be more youth-friendly.

Swoop is the mascot for the Philadelphia Eagles, a white-headed bird who wears an Eagles jersey. Swoop debuted as the mascot for the Eagles in 1996, 63 years after the Eagles joined the NFL.

The Steelers joined the NFL the same year as the Eagles, and like their fellow Pennsylvania team, they did not adopt a mascot until many years later. The character Steely McBeam, a nod to the city’s steelmaking past, debuted in 2007. Steely McBeam was the winning entry of more than 70,000 that were submitted for the “name-the-mascot” contest.

Sourdough Sam is a caricature of a 49er, a prospector who went to California hoping to strike it rich in the 1849 California Gold Rush. The San Francisco 49ers adopted the mascot in 1994, nearly 50 years after they joined the All-America Football Conference.

The mascot Blitz is a large, blue bird that debuted on Sept. 13, 1998, at the Seahawks’ home opener at the Kingdome in Seattle. Blitz has been joined by feathered sidekicks Boom and Taima — the latter is a real hawk. The Seahawks name was the result of a fan contest that drew 20,365 entries who suggested 1,742 names.

Captain Fear is a caricature of a pirate, in acknowledgment of the buccaneers who marauded ships in Florida’s waters in the 17th century. The blue-eyed, black-haired privateer replaced a parrot mascot named Skully in 2000.

T-Rac is a caricature of a raccoon, the state animal of Tennessee. The mascot debuted in 1999, four years after the team relocated from Houston and changed its name to the Titans from the Oilers.

The Washington Redskins are one of four NFL teams that do not have a mascot. Until his death in 2016, an African-American man named Zema Williams (aka Chief Zee) was the unofficial mascot of the Redskins, dressing up in Native American costume, with a war bonnet and rubber tomahawk. The Redskins have been under pressure to change their name from those who find it offensive and demeaning to Native Americans.