About This Quiz
Whether it’s a live animal or a human dressed in a sometimes creepy-looking costume, the majority of National Football League (NFL) teams have a mascot present on the sideline during games. Seen as a good luck charm of sorts, the mascot tradition really kicked into gear around the early 20th century, although most mascots back then were actually dressed-up children or real animals. Pro baseball was the first sport that really caught onto this practice though, with professional football joining in on the fun decades later.
Today, it’s more common than not for a football team to proudly display its mascot and use it to keep the crowd engaged in games. Often, mascots are selected and named by fan contests, memorably done when Baltimore fans chose the raven as an homage to renowned poet Edgar Allan Poe, who died and is buried in the city (Poe famously penned the poem, “The Raven”). In fact, of the 33,000 votes cast in the naming contest, a whopping 21,000 picked the raven!
It’s not all touchdowns and field goals for the NFL mascot industry, however. Some teams have come under serious fire for the continued use of mascots of Native American origins, with some taking offense to the use of “Redskins,” often considered a racial slur.
Still, for the most part mascots are considered lighthearted fun, and as much a part of a football game as hot dogs and beer. How much do you know about the NFL’s prized mascots? Take the quiz to see if you’re the star QB of mascot trivia!
There are five killjoy teams that apparently don't want their fans to have fun during the interminable TV timeouts.
Neither the Giants nor the Packers have a mascot. The New York Jets and Los Angeles Rams don't have mascots, either.
Big Red is a big red cardinal who works for Arizona. He started his gig in 1998.
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The Raider Rusher is a giant creepy head, but it was created for a kid's show called "NFL Rush Zone."
McBeam was confirmed as the team's mascot in 2007. His name was selected from 70,000 fan-submitted ideas.
Swoop works for the Philadelphia Eagles, and his bio says that he mostly eats smaller birds like "Cardinals, Falcons and Ravens."
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Billy is 8 feet tall, and he was rolled out as the team's full-time mascot in 2000.
Pat is a solider from the American Revolution. There are currently two different men who alternate playing the role on game day.
Swagger is a bullmastiff that was born in 2013 and weighs a hefty 120 pounds (54 kilograms). His size and energy means he'd probably be better than some Browns players.
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There are two live ravens, named Rise and Conquer, that appear during home games.
To generate fan interest, the Dolphins had a contest to name their new mascot. Of the 13,000 entries, the winning idea was … T.D.
T.D. made his debut in 1997 against the Chicago Bears. His presence at his first playoff game was good luck, as the team beat the Bills in 1999.
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Who Dey is a tiger, so naturally he loves "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses.
The BB on the front of his uniform stands for Billy Buffalo, of course.
At more than 35 years old, Freddie is one of the NFL's older mascots. There are other Falcons teams in the country, and their mascots are named Freddie, too, making this a bit confusing.
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Thunder II is an Arabian gelding. His registered name is Winter Solstyce.
In 2018, Boltman, an obsessive fan who has been dressing up for games since the '90s, announced his retirement. After the Chargers moved from San Diego in 2017, Boltman said his heart wasn't in it any more.
Warpaint is the third horse used as a Chiefs mascot. He's a pinto horse.
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The first incarnation of Warpaint retired in 1989. For 20 years, the position was vacant, until Warpaint made a triumphant return in 2009.
He was born in 960 in the fjords of Iceland, the perfect time and place for a Minnesota Vikings mascot to emerge. No word on how he got his U.S. citizenship.
He's Staley Da Bear, and he gets his first name from A.E. Staley, who started the Bears franchise in 1919.
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K.C. Wolf received the honor in 2006.
Rowdy's been around since 1996, and his favorite food is, predictably, steak.
The dog's name was Gumbo, and he was a Saint Bernard, so chosen because of St. Bernard Parish just to the east of the city.
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Poe is the only one of the three remaining. He is sometimes joined by two live ravens on loan from the local zoo.
Blue is a horselike character with a red mane. He likes to don a Colts jersey featuring — what else? — a horseshoe.
Blue is a relative newcomer to the mascot game, as he debuted in 2006. The team won the Super Bowl that year.
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"War Horse" isn't mentioned, but he does love "Seabiscuit" and "The Blues Brothers" along with "Indiana Jones."
About 1,000 St. Louis Rams fans submitted their ideas, and the winner was Rampage. Five years later, the team "rampaged" the hearts of local fans by leaving for Los Angeles.
Pat was supposedly an American history major, making him an all-around all-American mascot who has a permanently cheesy smile affixed to his face.
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