DEFEATS

Avid readers, I apologize for my delay in publishing the final mascot rankings. Winter break has been more relaxing than I anticipated, and let’s just say all you college kids can appreciate the amount of sleep I got. In any event, the long-awaited revelation of the No. 1 mascot in the ACC is now here, and after much deliberation, the UNC Tar Heels narrowly defeated the Rambling Wreck of Georgia Tech for top billing.

First, here’s the analysis on No. 2 Georgia Tech. They are the only team with the nickname of Rambling Wreck, but they are also recognized as the Yellow Jackets, which is used by a total of 10 NCAA teams. Three more use the nickname Yellowjackets (one word), leading to a combined 13 teams which are yellow and jacketed. But, GT beats out the other ACC mascots with the Rambling Wreck name.

According to Georgia Tech’s historical traditions website, the origin of the term "Ramblin' Wreck" is the following: “The words and music for Tech's world-famous "Ramblin' Wreck" fight song were inspired by an old folk ballad, "The Sons of the Gamboliers." The name Ramblin' Wreck gained widespread acceptance in the 1920s when Tech graduates began building makeshift mechanical buggies to improve a poor transportation system in South America.”

As far as physical mascots are concerned, Buzz (the Yellow Jacket) and the tradition of the actual Rambling Wreck cars give Tech major points. The Yellow Jacket name came not from insects, however, as the athletics website describes: “Historians say the name, spelled as one word, was first used to describe supporters who attended Tech athletic events, dressed in yellow coats and jackets.” Buzz, the famous mascot known for public appearances and popularity at Tech games, came after the nickname gained popularity. He even participated in the Capital One Bowl for mascots.

The Rambling Wreck has always been an old, restored Ford car painted white and gold. According to Tech’s athletics website, “Tech officials decided in the late 1950s that the school needed an official car that would be known forever as the Rambling Wreck. Vice President and Dean of Students James Dull began a search for a pre-1940 vintage model, and finally found one-parked in front of his apartment building. The owner, Capt. Ted J. Johnson, a Delta Air Lines pilot, had just finished restoring the 1930 Ford Cabriolet Sport Coupe, which he intended to give to his son as a gift. Johnson decided to let Tech have the car for $1,000 in May, 1961. He later returned the purchase price of the Wreck to the Athletic Association in the form of a contribution to the Alexander-Tharpe Fund, fulfilling a desire to go on record as having given the Rambling Wreck to Georgia Tech. The Wreck was completely restored again in 1982.”

All in all, Georgia Tech has a great song, great origins, a great mascot, and great traditions. GT gets a total of 10/10 points: 5/5 for originality of the name, and 5/5 for the cool mascot. 

But, there is a tie in points between Nos. 1 and 2, as the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Tar Heels also get the full 10/10.

The ram mascot, Rameses, comes from a legendary football player at UNC. According to their athletics website, “The star of that 1922 team was a bruising fullback named Jack Merritt. Merritt was nicknamed "the battering ram" for the way he plunged into lines. It seemed natural to Huggins to link a mascot with Merritt's unusual sobriquet. “Charlie Woollen, the athletic business manager at that time, agreed with the idea and gave [the team] $25 to purchase a fitting mascot," said [former UNC cheerleader Vic] Huggins. Rameses the First was shipped in from Texas, arriving just in time to be introduced at a pep rally before the VMI game. Complete with a monogram blanket on his back, Rameses helped make the pep rally one of the school's greatest.”

To me, this mascot is cool because it keeps in tact the legend of the sports heroes of generations past, and also has developed into a recognizable creature. The UNC ram is as known as his Tobacco Road counterpart, the Duke Blue Devil. Moreover, the nickname is great because it also keeps alive some legends, albeit these date back to the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Of the possible explanations for the origin of the name, my personal favorite is this one, again provided by UNC’s athletics website:

Others say the nickname was acquired during the War Between the States. During one of that war's fiercest battles a column supporting North Carolina troops was driven from the field. After the battle, the North Carolinians who had successfully fought it out alone, happened to meet the regiment which had fled to safety and were greeted with the question, "Any more tar down in the Old North State, boys?"
"No, not a bit," shot back one of the North Carolina soldiers. "Old Jeff's bought it all up," he went on, referring to Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy.
"Is that so? What's he going to do with it?"
"He's going to put it on you'ns heels to make you stick better in the next fight."

All in all, it is hard to decide between UNC and Georgia Tech. Both got all ten points, being the only two of the twelve ACC teams to do so. I chose UNC as the winner because of the origins of the nickname, paying attention to the wars that decided the fate of our country. Or, you could make the case that UNC wins based on the relevance of the name to the school: The Rambling Wreck is cool, as is the name Yellow Jackets, but Tar Heels actually matters in North Carolina.

I chose UNC as the winner because of the origins of the nickname, paying attention to the wars that decided the fate of our country. Or, you could make the case that UNC wins based on the relevance of the name to the school: The Rambling Wreck is cool, as is the name Yellow Jackets, but Tar Heels actually matters in North Carolina.

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