Sports teams love to have a costumed character on the sidelines, entertaining the crowd and cheering on the team. Stanford University does not have an official sports mascot. Their team name is Cardinal, referring to the color and not the bird. But the school's band has a mascot, the Stanford Tree, shown above. The character is so ridiculous that the entire school claims him/her, although not officially. You can't have a list of "worst mascots" without the Stanford Tree. But it's only one of many mascots that may draw attention for all the wrong reasons. The New Orleans Pelicans basketball team has two mascots, and both made the list. One is, not surprisingly, a pelican, and here is the other.
Just ran into the Pelicans King Cake Baby at @RousesMarkets! Nice to see @lindseypelicans as well. #PelicansKCB pic.twitter.com/4vlnifZN41
— Hank Allen (@HankAllenWX) January 27, 2016
See a list of 12 fear-inducing or just plain ridiculous sports mascots at Cracked.
(Top image credit: Daniel Hartwig)