Gym Cracks By Jim June 23, 2002 TOP 10 NICKNAMES Nebraska is home of the Whippets, the Jeffs, and the stinging Bees, but what's the most popular high school nickname? By Jim (Babe) Berryman MissingNebraska.com Western Nebraska Next year in the state of Nebraska there will be one less Bulldog and one less Mustang. Why? The Bulldog is the mascot of the Greeley teams and the Mustangs have ridden in and out of Wolbach for decades. The two schools will co-op in interscholastic activities for the 2002-03 season. The nickname for this merger--the Titans. There were 323 Nebraska high schools participating in interscholastic activities during the 2001-02 school year. This author perused the Nebraska School Activities Association 2001-02 Directory of Schools. He now knows the most popular nickname used by Nebraska high schools. Do you? The answer? Later! Some questions surfaced as a result of perusing this booklet. Why are there 17 Tigers and only three Lions? My friend Webster, defines both (Tigers and Lions) as a "Large flesh eating animal." Why were Tigers selected predominantly over the Lions as a nickname? Other species of the cat family are well represented. Consider the cat family in addition to the Tigers and Lions--14 Wildcats, 10 Panthers, five Cougars, and four Bobcats. Lincoln High School is called the Links, but the member of the cat family is the Lynx. Maybe, the Links is just a play on words. Nearly one-sixth (16.4%) of schools have selected a member of the cat family as their nickname. David Letterman has his top ten--this is the top ten nicknames of schools in the state of Nebraska as compiled by Gym Cracks. The tenth most popular nickname--INDIANS (Broken Bow, Keya Paha County, Minatare, Ogallala, Pawnee City, Tecumseh, Weeping Water, and Winnebago). What are some of the more unusual nicknames? The first one that comes to mind are the ferocious Bunnies of Omaha Benson. Wahoo Bishop Neumann have their Cavaliers. A dictionary definition of a Cavalier--"A gentleman trained in arms and horsemanship." Ord natives are proud of their Chanticleers. Sounds better than the Roosters, as one would find in Milligan. Malcolm is close to Branch Oak and Pawnee Lakes. A lot of water in these lakes, but surely not enough to float a Clipper(s). Of course we all know Columbus (Discovers) America, or did he? No proper name exists in the dictionary for dusters. Webster replies, "One who removes dust." A second and third definition are as follows: "A light-weight overgarment to protect clothing from dust--a dress-length housecoat." Can anyone from Holdrege give me a clue? Apparently they are "uppity" in York. A definition of a Duke--"A sovereign ruler or a nobleman of the highest hereditary rank." PANTHERS rank ninth on the most popular nicknames. There are ten schools which follow the tracks of the PANTHERS. (Bancroft-Rosalie, Fillmore Central, Hershey, Leigh, Lodgepole, Norfolk, Palmyra, Prague, Sandhills, and Waterloo). Since Diller-Odell consolidated their new nickname is the Griffons. Talk about weird! "A mythical animal typically having the head, forepart, and wings of an eagle and the body, hind legs, and tail of a lion." Still wondering about the most popular nickname? In eighth place with 11 schools represented are the wild MUSTANGS. (McCool Junction, Daykin Meridan, Millard North, Raymond Central, Republican Valley, Southeast Nebraska, Silver Lake, Stanton, SEM, Sutton, and Wolbach). Hey, how about those Haymakers out in Cozad? Doesn't Cozad proclaim itself as the alfalfa capital of the states? Grand Island has its Islanders. Appropriate in a way, since Grand Island is situated on an island. I'm really confused about the Jeffs. The word jeff does not appear in Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. Any Fairbury Jeffs out there? In sixth place: WARRIORS. There are 13 WARRIORS in the state. (Ansley, Arapahoe, Crofton, Fullerton, Leyton, Lincoln Lutheran, Neligh-Oakdale, Omaha Westside, Red Cloud, Santee, Schuyler, Sioux County, and Wahoo). Close behind is KNIGHTS with 12 (Fremont Archbishop Bergan, Elmwood-Murdock, Eustis-Farnam, Homer, Lincoln Southeast, Nebraska Lourdes Central Catholic, Mount Michael Benedictine, Waco Nebraska Lutheran, Norfolk Catholic, Oakland-Craig, Spalding High, and Spalding Academy. The Orangemen and Lady Orange out of Beatrice are the only orange. Not surprising in the Cornhusker state Red is a more popular color. There are the Red Devils (Clarkson), Red Raiders (Loup City and Sidney), and Red Hornets (Heartland Lutheran). The WILDCATS earn the fifth most popular nickname. (Axtell, Banner County, Butte, Cedar Bluffs, Clay Center, Hartington, Loup County, Maxwell, Millard West, North Loup/Scotia, St. Paul, Superior, Wallace and Winside). The only Orioles are found in Orchard. Do you suppose the home team shouts the Beavers are coming, the Beavers are coming when St. Edward makes an appearance? How about the stinging Bees from Bloomfield? A bird ranks as the fourth most popular nickname in this state. There are 15 CARDINALS (Alma, Arnold, Boone Central, Chadron, Clearwater, Crete, Doniphan-Trumbull, Harvard, Hayes Center, Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer, Nemaha Valley, Omaha Duchense, Randolph, South Sioux City and O'Neill St. Marys). Hey, maybe it is 13 birds and two clergy. I hope the cheerleaders at Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer use Cardinals instead of the 26 alphabet letters that comprise the name of their school. Then there are the Scouts of David City and the Skyhawks of Omaha Skutt. Historically, the Minutemen represent, who else, but Lexington. A little history there! Minden has their Whippets and neighboring Hildreth has been known for decades as the Greyhounds. What is the third most popular nickname? It's a tie! The BULLDOGS and TIGERS share this position. BULLDOGS (Ainsworth, Alliance, Auburn, Bridgeport, Coleridge, Creighton, Friend, Greeley, Gering, Humphrey, Lindsay Holy Family, North Platte, Omaha Burke, Osceola, Pleasanton, Sargent, and Shelton). TIGERS (Bayard, Cedar Rapids, Dundy County, East Butler, Ewing Falls City, Fremont, Hastings, Lewiston, Maywood, Mitchell, North Bend Central, Osmond, Palmer, Paxton, Rock County and Tekamah-Herman). Gothenburg should be called the Swedes. Fighting Irish or the Chiefs wouldn't seem appropriate for this school. How did the Sailors get to Sutherland? What else could West Point be but the Cadets? I'm disappointed! There are Junior Jays from Creighton Prep, but there are no Junior CORNHUSKERS. In this state! I know by now everyone, or most everyone realizes the most popular nickname in the state. It's another bird! It's those soaring EAGLES. Schools which have EAGLES as their nickname are (Allen, Arlington, Benedict, Brady, Lincoln College View Academy, Elgin, Exeter, Garden County, Johnson-Brock, Norfolk Luthern Northeast, Lynch, Milford Central City Nebraska Christian, Omaha Central, Omaha Central Academy, O'Neill, Overton, Oxford, Southern Valley, Wilcox, and Wood River). GYM CRACKS TOP TEN 1. Eagles (20) 2. Bulldogs (17) 2. Tigers (17) 4. Cardinals (15) 5. Wildcats (14) 6. Warriors (13) 7. Knights (12) 8. Mustangs (11) 9. Panthers (10) 10. Indians (9) Look for a new Gym Cracks by Jim every week on MissingNebraska.com Previous Gym Cracks: 06-06-02: Better In The 50s Gym Cracks 05-30-02: Dangerfield of Nebraska Gym Cracks 05-16-02: Baseball Sneak Aways Gym Cracks Feedback