5 Friday Finds!!!!! 4 Final: Best & Worst!!

Welcome to the Final 4. Not only where all #1 seeds in the Men’s tournament made it, but the ladies are going to be fun to watch as well. Which led me to rank my top 4 Division 1 and worst 4 Division 1 nicknames. Not Mascots. Mascots have long been the center of attention and debate. Therefore, I went scouring the coolest, unique nicknames at the top level. And of course, the most fallible 4 as well. The bottom 4 for sure will have a bias, I mean what is a Volunteer anyway? Volunteer to wear that awful gaudy orange I suppose.

What is in a nickname? More than it seems, sometimes. Sure, plenty of colleges and universities play it down the middle. There are, after all, 76 U.S. college teams known as the Eagles. Tigers was the right call for another 46 schools and Bulldogs fit for 40. Solid, sturdy and safe is one route to take. But today we are focusing on those who chose to live on the fringes when they named their teams. Birds of a different feather who have drawn attention to their school by taking a chance and picking a name that makes a sports fan look twice and ponder the meaning.  I stuck with Division 1 only because, to face it, I would be doing this for an entire year if I did all 3 divisions. I mean Arkansas Tech is called the Wonder Boys!! How cool is that? Here comes the Wonder Boys about to dunk on ya!!!!!!! Without further ado here are the Final 4 best team nicknames….

1.      North Carolina Tar Heels (There is no other color better then that Carolina Baby Blue…. And um you do realize the forever Goat played here…Someone named Michael Jordan. You know the jumpman logo. The freshman who hit a game winner vs. G’town)

2.       Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (Do I need to say more? A %^&* Lumberjack is badass folks…Too bad they are the color purple, because they should wear some flannel looking jerseys to celebrate this nickname! I will never forget the cinderella run in 2016 led by Thomas Walkup who looked like the dang Mascot!!)

3.       Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (Not only is a Teal field dope but so was winning the College World Series in 2016!! Looking forward to Coach Gray’s second season in Conway at the helm of MBB next year!!)

4.      University of Louisiana at Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (I love this nickname. What is meaner than a down-home southern boy who is all hopped up on hurricanes looking for a good bowl of gumbo? Not much, and I am speaking from experience. It sounds like they are about to whoop your ass!! If you can understand that southern dialect!!)

First 4 out

Campbell Fighting Camels out of Buis Creek, NC!

Stony Brook SeaWolves out of NY!

Massachusetts Minutemen!

Purdue Boilermakers hailing from Indiana!!

Honorable Mention:

Western Carolina Catamounts out of Cullowhee. NC! A Mangy cat can eat you.

University of Alaska at Fairbanks Nanooks out of Alaksa!!

Stetson Hatters (The university is named after the guy who first created the Stetson hat! How dope is that?? Um, dope!!)

Furman Paladins or should we say home to FU in Greenville, SC! Afterall it is a Chivalrous Knight.. But why once again the color purple? Teams should not use purple in their colors.

Alas the most despicable, whimsical, foolish nicknames you will find competing at the top level of college athletics:

1.      Evansville Purple Aces (Even if you were going to call yourselves the Aces, why not Golden, Black, I do not know but not Purple. Plus, my undergraduate was at Missouri State and the basketball jerseys with sleeves are the worst uniform I have ever seen. Go Bears!! Phuck the Purple Aces. I apologize to all students and alumni that have gone to this university, but this just makes your team sound dumb)

2.      Presbyterian Blue Hose (Look what comes to your imagination when you say Blue Hose? Is someone putting a fire out with a Blue Hose? If so, that would be better vs. panty hose, correct? We get the history whether it is silly to be called the White Sox or Red Sox…. But Blue Hose is even worse. Nothing against the very nice people of Clinton, SC who not long ago were competing at the NAIA level. The campus has a great “home” feeling to it.)

3.      Tennessee Volunteers (No one finds your nickname or colors likable. No one in the SEC likes Rocky Top. You have one good thing to claim, Peyton Manning’s wonderful humor. He did not even deliver a Ship to Knoxville. Go Dawgs!!

4.      Saint Louis Billikens (Sorry to do this to a hometown team. But you picked a nickname after a charm doll and then made a mascot that looks like half man half penguin who lives in the mountains. I dunno after second thought it’s kind of cool? Nah St. Louis Showboats would be even better and silly too. You get stuck at #4)

Worst 4, First 4 out

TCU Horned Frogs (maybe if they were not purple and had the worst basketball floor known to man)

Saint Mary's Gaels (Literally, it is a language dialect, not intimidating by any means. But hey they can play some basketball!)

St. Bonaventure Bonnies (Sure it rolls off the tongue. But after that, well that it is)

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) Mocs (It is meant to either be footwear or a snake and they left it up for chance. Either way the “Mocs” nickname falls short of anything cool or interesting. It sounds lazy and boring)

Honorable Mentions

 Duke Blue Devils (No such things as a devil that is Blue. Plus, are not all basketball arenas indoor? So, why is it called Cameron Indoor Stadium? Not so smart after all)

Virginia Tech Hokies (Just in case you didn't know it is a feathered bird or something. At first it sounds interesting like some native wanderer hiking on a VA trail. Then it sits more in the mind, it has nothing to do with anything native so it is yet another dumb nickname)

Southern Illinois Salukis (Once again another MVC team bringing in a lame name. It is the form of a dog. Go Bears once again!)

Texas A&M Aggies (Nothing sounds intimidating about an Aggie. Regardless of any cool history an alum of this TX school would like to convince you about it. It is ok to continue to be the little brother of UT and their famed horns signature gesture)

Now that we settled that score we can move onto more solid findings in the 5 Friday Finds we were taught in the final 4 round.....

1. I’m learning I’m that dad at the playground with such an impressive dad voice that when I yell “PUT IT DOWN” all the moms automatically drop their books!!

2. A twin freaked that his t-shirt had a crease in it and wanted it ironed so what I’m saying is pick your partners carefully because sometimes you give birth to them!!

3. It’s cool twins can never find their glasses to see but sure can find the tiniest bit of onion in their food!!

4. If the twins knew there was a light in the attic, they would leave that one on too!!

5. The twins are once again fighting over which side of a Twix is better, the left side or the right side, because twins can argue about anything!!