The lean mean and possibly queer mascot of the Montreal not-Expos Canadiens

I'm going to steal a joke from some comedian I love. Guillame Latendresse now is a bit like an OK movie. It was good at the time but I don't want to ever see it again.

Especially if that movie was a bit of a bitch.

This is replacable with Janne Niinimaa who is a joke himself so it won't be too hard. And don't give me some lecture about not to be irrational. I'm a woman, we invented irrational hatred. We call it PMS.


I introduce to you "Youppi!" or "Yipee!/Hooray!". The exclamation mark is very important girls. It helps you know that it's real. Nonetheless he was born 1979, bringing the mascot love to the Montreal Expos of MLB. So people looked in the bin of Muppet rejects and they found Youppi! and made him all he was.

Three days before my actual birthdate, 23rd August 1989, Youppi! reached a legendary status during a game against the Expos and the Dodgers. It was an unending game and Youppi! decided to kick it up a notch by dancing around the Dodgers dugout. He became the first ever mascot to be thrown out of a baseball game. Me and Youppi share a very special bond of annoying people. He was so good that he was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame, being one of the only mascots next to Phillie Phanatic and the Famous Chicken.

However his great antics with the Expos was the only good part of the game. Financial issues and people not caring forced the team to relocate and become the Washington Nationals. Youppi! though, they told everyone was still an integral part to the team but of course they backstabbed the hell out Youppi! by bringing in the lardass they called Screech. Youppi! was officially a free agent, looking for a new deal.

Thankfully Bob Gainey came to the rescue, adopting Youppi with a flashy 6 figure deal and making him the first ever pro mascot to change sports. Fans were a little mixed on Youppi!. Some didn't feel they needed another useless fourth liner eating at the salary cap. Some joked that he was a perfect backup goalie. Some just thought mascots were damn tacky. However he debuted in a sort of way that really welcomed him, and they say he's a hit with the children. Not much else can be said except he's taken to his new team quite well.

However while looking up dirt on Youppi!, I came across this page:

There were many funny moments with Youppi, which I’ll cover eventually, such as losing a shoe, spilling food, getting a woman to cry, playing with a vibrator, breaking a table, etc, etc.

Playing with a vibrator? Youppi! must've led some wild life. Some more anecdotes here.

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Mascot Diaries

Ok, so the St. Louis Blues don't have a mascot. BUT -- I will entertain you all with a story of another mascot. If you read my profile, you'll know I'm originally from South Florida. I used to go to as many Panthers games as I could. My friends were autograph hounds (I wasn't, but rode with them - no choice) so they'd manage to get downstairs now and again. One particular time, I ran into this guy who was asking us why we were down there and what not. So we didn't get busted, I smooth talked him. Found out he worked for the Panthers. He was kinda cute, so it was a nice conversation.

My friends and I ended up going out downtown that night and oddly enough, ran into him. He was with another friend (they were both intoxicated) and his friend blurts out 'so do you know what [guy's name] does?' I'm like 'he told me he works for the Panthers.' So his friend says 'yeah, he's Stanley C. Panther!' I about fell over laughing. No offense, but really it's funny to meet the person in the costume.

Even funnier, we went on a few dates after that night. But things didn't work out so well. After that, I'd curse Stanley C. Panther every game I went to. I seriously considered going up to him during a game and punching him, but I didn't want to get banned from future games.

But some good laughs came out of it. My sister's boyfriend at the time made jokes about whether or not he uses a litter box, if he licks himself when he says he's gonna clean up, if he subscribes to Cat Fancy, etc.

The irony of it all was when I worked as an intern for the Panthers later. Yes, he still worked there. It was awkward. Good thing I never punched him.

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Oh, Harvey.

Having only attended two live Flames games at the Saddledome, all information I have for you is hearsay, but I do know that the Flames mascot is Harvey the Hound who is the first NHL mascot EVER. Chew on that bone, suckers.


Harvey comes in at 6'6" and 200lbs. His position is listed as "Centre of Attention" and has been around since 1983. The most disturbing fact is that he shoots right, and by shoot he means marks his territory. Eww. Working two jobs for milkbones, Harvey was also the mascot of the Calgary Stampeders which I find also strange because their logo is a horse...

Harvey's best moment was when he tore up a Canucks jersey in 1989 and most infamous moment was in 2003 when Craig MacTavish got mad at the hound for pestering the Oilers bench and ripped out his tongue. MacT must not be a dog lover.

Apparently the man who was Harvey at the beginning has been creating mascots for other organizations ever since. Interesting and strange...

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Heeeeeere's Stormy!

Yes, my team's mascot is a pig.

I get asked all the time: "AQ, why the Hel is your team's mascot a pig?"

(Get some coffee and a snack, this could take a while)

Way back in 97 or so, when Uncle Pete was talking about moving the Hartford Whalers to the Carolinas (after being told to step off by Columbus and electing not to bother with Hampton Roads, VA), he had to come up with a name for the team. The marketing genii that inhabited his brain trust at the time had, according to lore, come up with several names for the team--one of which was the "Carolina Ice Hogs".

Wow, if that name doesn't scream "REDNECK", I don't know what does.

Cut forward to the move--the name decided on was "Hurricanes" (which pleased me, because I was named for one). Now they needed to find a mascot. At the time, the leading frontrunner for the naming rights to the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena was Murphy Farms (which is the leading pork producer in the state) because Wendell Murphy is an alumnus of NC State University and had already pledged up about $20Million or so for the naming rights.

I will forever owe a debt of gratitude to State for persuading Wendell Murphy to give his cash to the university directly instead of the Centennial Authority (who owns the building), thus sparing the Caniac Nation the humiliation of having its centre of power assume the appellation "The Hog Trough".

State repaid Wendell by naming the new training center for the NCSU Football team the Wendell H. Murphy Center (which you can see in this very impressive photo here--and it's equally nice-looking in person), and the Centennial Authority were free to pursue other naming rights options.

But there was still the issue of a mascot--which, it was decided, would be a pig in tribute to the biggest legal cash industry in the state:



That's the O.G. Stormy, which actually did look like a pig and was our mascot for the first five seasons in the Carolinas. Stormy's career didn't get off to the greatest of starts, as the first cat to wear the suit damn near kicked it before Greensboro Game One when he was overcome by Zamboni fumes. Ouch. But he recovered, and it was all good.

For the start of the 01-02 season, it was decided that there'd be a new look for Stormy--which led to this:


"Can't sleep, pig will eat me."

Crack much? Anyway.

Stormy's big thing is launching t-shirts into the crowd with the help of the Storm Squad, jumping through a ring of fire on a 4-wheel ATV, sliding head-first down banisters (and I swear I saw him run right into an RBC Center securebot once, which was quite funny), occasionally zip-lining down to the ice from the rafters, clobbering other mascots (especially Thunderbug, Slapshot, and any other SE Division mascot) and the occasional asshat, and toolin' around in his phat ride:


Unpimp THIS, V-dub!

He's so popular with a lot of the fans (especially the kids) that the 'Canes even made a Stormy retrospective for last season:



Man that pig gets around.

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Sabretooth!

Ladies, allow me to introduce you to Sabretooth, mascot of the Buffalo Sabres. Sabretooth was selected as the Sabres mascot because the name of the team is right there in his name even though sabretooth tigers have never, to my knowledge, carried sabres or any other kind of weaponry for that matter.

Sabretooth's height and weight are listed as very big and huggable, respectively. (I think I'm going to start listing my own weight as huggable.) According to his NHL.com profile, Sabretooth is the only left-handed mascot in the league. It also claims that the strength and power of his left-handed slapshot makes him the Al MacInnis of NHL mascots. I hate to trash the hometown mascot, but I can't recall ever seeing Sabretooth take a shot so I think there might be a little bit of media hype going on here.

Sabretooth is known for entering from the rafters before every game. He also enjoys dancing, hugging small children, shooting t-shirts into the crowd, and banging on the glass. He really likes banging on the glass. His affinity for such activities won him his own spot on the Buffalo news lately. Please watch and enjoy:



You can't see this in the video, but Sabretooth was standing on the wall of the players' tunnel, fell into the tunnel, and knocked himself out. Fortunately, there was a veternarian who specializes in prehistoric species on the premises. The poor guy in the suit was left bloodied. Marty Biron was fine and will wildly and enthusiastically tell you all about it should you ever run into him, I'm sure.

There's been some speculation that we've been slipped a new Sabretooth this season. His entries from the rafters aren't quite as enthusiastic (he looks slightly terrified) and there's the aforementioned mishap with the glass. A few different theories have been bandied around. Here are a few of them:

Foul play. According to his NHL profile, Sabretooth has rivalaries with S.J. Sharkie, Carlton the Bear and Stanley C. Panther. Is that bear really as innocent as he looks? Was Sabretooth a victim of mascot on mascot crime?

Free agency. Other teams, anxious to mimic Buffalo's success last season, lured Sabretooth away with promises of big bucks and more ice time.

Budget issues. The Sabres are spending a lot of money on player salaries this year. Someone besides J.P Dumont had to be cut... Was it Sabretooth?

Seriously, I hate mascots, and I try to avoid them, but Sabretooth is very enthusiastic, great with the kids at the games, and seems to be very popular. I guess if you're into that kind of thing, he's all right. I don't really get the whole tiger connection, but hey, whatever. I guess you can't have a big foam sword running around.

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He owns more than one shirt.

Say hello to Carlton the Bear. He's 6'4," and 270 pounds, which is a bit on the low side for an average male polar bear. He does have a rather large midsection, probably due in part to enjoying giant pretzels, arena nachos and cotton candy.
He and I have this in common: we both like the Barenaked Ladies. However, only one of us can spell the band name correctly.
He lists the Toronto Raptor mascot is his best friend, although I looked around Raptor mascot sites and the feeling doesn't seem to be mutual.

I love mascots, so Carlton is no exception. I tend to think of them as animals at a petting zoo.
My major complaint is that he's sort of bland. I mean, a bear? That's as conventional as it gets. I would have personally preferred something like a human sized foam leaf with a cutout in the middle for the head (and holes for appendages), but I'm the type of person that laughs at things that aren't funny...so, I'd probably be the only one who'd enjoy that.

Oh yeah, he doesn't just represent the Leafs. How does the rest of Canada feel about this?

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Fin...he's tall, dark and spews

He's tall, dark and he spews something white when he gets excited.

Meet Fin - the Vancouver Canucks' killer whale mascot inspired by the breeching whale in the Canucks logo. He's 6'3", black with a bit of white and he puffs mist out of his blowhole when the Canucks score or he is interacting with fans. Apparently, his favourite food is B.C. Salmon, his favourite book is Moby Dick and his favourite movie is Free Willy.

I acutally like Fin - he's cute. But for some reason when I see mascots I have this uncontrollable childish urge to jump on their backs and take a few punches at their massive heads. Maybe it's because they look like the stuffed animals that my brother and I used to playfight with when we were kids. Or maybe it's because they look soft like those sumo suits so I know it wouldn't hurt? On the other hand, it is possibly because I get such a laugh out of mascot fights. Anyone else have this compulsion?

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He's Tall, He's Tan, He's Spartacat

Meet Spartacat, the "Ambassador of Fun". He's 7ft tall and weighs 156 kg. He can't talk, but he sure knows how to write. I know he looks kind of goofy with that big grin and the fact that he's missing a couple of teeth. But since he's a hockey mascot, it only makes sense that he'd be getting into the rough and tumble stuff as well.

One thing that makes Spartacat cooler than all of the other ones? He has a MySpace Page. And he likes the Foo Fighters, see how scene he is? Apparently he's 25 years old and he made his home debut in 1992 against the Montreal Canadiens.

It makes sense for the Senators to have a lion as a mascot since they have that whole Spartan theme going on. I still don't know what that has to do with Senators but I'm going with it. Sparty's very recognizable in the Ottawa area with all of the charity events and other special shindigs he shows up at. Normally I can't stand mascots but I adore this l'il guy because he appears to be just as snarky as me.

According to his site on NHL.com, his favourite bands are Cat Stevens and White Lion and The Stray Cats and his favourite movie is The Lion King.

His biggest rival of course is of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has his own fan club for kids and his own collection of videos on the Sens website. Apparently he's quite the ladies man, and if you were hoping to catch his attention, he likes people who read as he is an active member of the "Read to Suceed" campaign.

You guys know I love him, but apparently, some people like him ALOT.

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Are Eagles Democrats or Republicans?

Introduce us to your team's mascot. Do you love or hate it?

Back when the Caps came to town in 1974, everything about the new team was patriotic. The colors were red, white and blue, the parking lot at the arena was divided into monuments, and of course the mascot was a slightly goofy looking eagle named Winger. (Who knew that eagles came in red, white and blue??)
The kitschiness of the '70s soon wore off and when the Caps moved into new digs in the heart of DC, they unveiled a new look and a new mascot - and so on November 17, 1995, a giant egg hatched at center ice...

...and thus was born Slapshot the Eagle.

Slicker and with more attitude than his predecessor, Slapshot soon developed a penchant for soaring down out of the rafters and trying to eat the heads of opposing fans in the stands. Of late he has become renowned for his own brand of daredevil mayhem, starring in a series of 'Slapjack' clips that are featured during TV timeouts.

Like 'Jackass'...get it? So clever.

Slapshot is also the reigning DC champion of the all-bird mascot tournament, held last year between the Baltimore Orioles' Bird, Screech the Nationals eagle, and American University's Clawed. Not that it was ever really a fair fight - he's one bad dude, our Slapshot (plus have you seen Screech? Never met a donut he didn't like, I'm sure...)

I don't really consider myself a fan of Slapshot, but it's nothing personal - I just have a fear and distrust of people dressing up in big costumes...mascots, clowns, the characters at a theme park. All of them give me the creeps.

Plus I hate birds.

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