Animal mascots shouldn't include scapegoats

Oct. 28—The Chicago Cubs are one of the most recognized and famous sports franchises of all time.

The organization was one of the original eight baseball teams in the National League. Born the Chicago White Stockings in 1876, most teams choose their nickname by the color of their socks. They later became the Colts in 1902 before switching to the Orphans.

One year later, the Chicago Daily News started calling the team the Cubs due to the substantial number of young players on their roster. The name stuck and was made official in 1907.

Chicago didn't adopt its current bear logo until 1941.

The Cubs made nine appearances in the World Series between 1906 and 1938, winning two consecutive championships in 1907 and 1908.

While the team has been associated with the beloved mascot for more than100 years, many longtime fans claim one animal became synonymous with failure in the Windy City.

William "Billy Goat" Sianis owned a tavern in town and thought it would be a clever idea to bring his pet goat, Murphy, to Game 4 of the 1945 World Series. He hoped it would bring his favorite team good luck and be a great way to advertise the local watering hole.

The Cubs led Detroit two games to one and were looking to gain a stranglehold on the series en route to winning their third world title.

The legend of what happened on that fall day in October has been retold by Chicago fans for seven decades.

Sianis arrived at Wrigley Field with Murphy in tow, but an usher stopped them at the front entrance. He was told that he couldn't bring animals into the ballpark.

Sianis pleaded his case to Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley. According to bystanders, Wrigley replied, "Let Billy in, but not the goat." The tavern owner was still perplexed. "Why not the goat?"

"Because the goat stinks," Wrigley said.

Sianis's next words would live in infamy. "The Cubs ain't gonna win no more," Sianis said. "The Cubs will never win a World Series so long as the goat is not allowed in Wrigley Field."

Innocent words at the time of a frustrated fan, but the Chicago faithful have used those statements as the cause of the team's postseason absence and turmoil.

The Cubs hadn't won a championship at that point in 38 years. They had, however, posted 51 winning seasons and 16 pennants since the organization's inception.

After Sianis's famous last words, Chicago dropped the World Series to the Tigers. Seventy-one years of misery followed. The Cubs would eventually be called the "Lovable Losers" and officially became cursed by many fans.

Chicago did not make a playoff appearance from 1946 to 1984. Twenty seasons after Sianis was denied entry to watch his beloved Cubs, he sent a telegram to Wrigley that said three spiteful words: "Who stinks now?"

The dark cloud continued to hover over Wrigley Field. The Cubs could only muster 15 winning campaigns after the 1945 World Series until 2003 and made just four postseason trips.

The Cubs tried several times to reverse their fortunes. In 1973, new tavern owner and Sianis's nephew, Sam Sianis tried to get his new goat, Socrates, into the stadium to watch his first baseball game.

According to the tavern's website, the goat arrived in a stretch limousine. It displayed a sign that read, "All is forgiven. Let me lead the Cubs to the pennant."

The goat faced the same result and could not enter. The Cubs consequently lost their first-place lead that year and their chance to play in October.

Eleven years later, Chicago advanced to its first National League Championship Series since the curse "started."

Sam Sianis and his goat accepted an invitation to finally walk on the grounds at Wrigley Field. The same year, the team won 96 games and grabbed an early 2-0 lead over San Diego in the NLCS.

The Cubs would not let the goat travel to the west coast. And somehow, the less-than-desired outcome had been set in motion.

Chicago was five outs away from advancing to the 2003 World Series when a fortuitous fly ball headed toward the first row of seats on the third base side.

Steve Bartman, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, attempted to catch the ball. It prevented Moises Alou from recording an out. For some reason, it infuriated the players and the sellout crowd.

A fielding error followed, and the Cubs eventually lost to Florida in seven games. Bartman had to be escorted out of Wrigley Field before Game 6 ended as fans were fully engrossed in the curse.

The team seemed destined to fail.

All superstitions faded away after Chicago finally won the World Series against Cleveland in 2016. Of course, everyone celebrated at the Billy Goat Tavern and Grill.

Animals and those that become mascots are more revered in the sports world than goats in Chicago. They are celebrated symbols that are commonly associated with a college team or professional franchise.

Viewers watching games on television or inperson on the JumboTron can see fans screaming the mascot name over the city or the university. The term most associated with a person's favorite team or alma mater is a thing, not a place.

It's hard to find documented reasons why teams choose animal mascots.

They can have ties to a specific location. The Memphis Grizzlies, a pro basketball team, used to be in Vancouver, British Columbia, where bears are more prevalent. When the organization moved to Tennessee, it had already fallen for the nickname.

The University of Texas is known as the Longhorns because of the abundance of steer in the state. Badgers are widespread in Wisconsin, so naturally the biggest school in the land of cheese bears that animal name.

Animals can also promote a sense of strength and power. Teams usually turn to Tigers, Lions and Bears. Oh my! How about Gators, Panthers, Sharks and even Wildcats. Several are referred to as the most ferocious of insects like the Yellowjackets and Hornets, even the lowly gnat gets representation in Savannah when the Sand Gnats take the diamond.

A third reason could arguably be explained that they are unique. Kentucky's Wildcat origin story can be traced back to Oct. 10, 1909.

The school was called Kentucky State College then, and after a 6-2 gridiron victory over Illinois, Commandant Phillip W. Corbusier, head of the military department, told a group of students at a chapel service that the team "had fought like wildcats."

The name gained popularity on campus and with the media. The school quickly adopted the term as its mascot.

One of the more distinctive animal nicknames on the bluegrass high school level is the Somerset Briar Jumpers.

The name dates to a game against a team from Louisville in 1916. The subject was penned by Mike Fields on the KHSAA website in a feature about a decorated coach and broadcaster at the school.

Bob Tucker said the nickname was adopted in the same happenstance fashion with a quote. After Somerset defeated the Louisville Blues, 51-6, at home, the players were described as rabbits jumping through a briar patch.

Colleges have used actual animals as mascots for years. Yale had the first one. An English bulldog, later known as Handsome Dan, started roaming the sideline in 1892. Senior Andrew B. Graves saw him sitting outside on a storefront and bought him from a blacksmith for $5.

People have a connection to animals. Yale just introduced Handsome Dan XIX last year. Georgia has had 10 direct descendants of its original bulldog, Uga, watching games from his doghouse.

Texas loves its 1,600-pound longhorn steer, Bevo. Colorado and Oklahoma follow a buffalo and matching white ponies, respectively, onto the field every Saturday.

Many sports directly involve animals. Kentucky is the birthplace of horse racing. Several of the historic races started in the Raceland area. The Kentucky Derby is one of the most watched sporting events of the year.

Polo requires horses to move players up and down a field while hitting a ball with a large mallet. Hunting and fishing are popular activities for many enthusiasts.

Rodeos have events such as bull riding and steer wrestling. Bull fighting is a popular event in other countries. Greyhound racing at one time garnered large crowds. Dogsled racing can be found in colder climates.

Most of these sports don't get much attention, but they do have their share of critics, including the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

PETA stresses their concerns of the company's website. "There is nothing remotely 'sporting' about sports that involve unwilling animal participants. For the animals who are forced to participate in them, these activities are no game. They are about survival," said the organization.

PETA claims that "individuals at rodeos try to look tough by provoking relatively tame animals, who, unlike the human participants, don't choose to participate in these dangerous events, into acting 'wild.'"

"Hunting and fishing are unnecessary. They are violent forms of 'entertainment' that tear animal families apart and leave countless animals dead, orphaned, and/or badly injured."

"Animals that are used in racing — including horses, greyhounds, and dogs used in dog-sled racing — are often drugged to mask sickness and injury and are forced to race. Between races, they are typically confined for most of the day to cramped stalls or crates with barely enough room to turn around."

Legendary trainer Bob Baffert drew the ire of PETA after his 2021 Derby winner, Medina Spirit, was found to have a banned substance in its system. The organization continues to battle Churchill Downs over changing the track to a synthetic surface.

"The safety of horses is of paramount importance to us," Churchill Downs spokesperson Tonya Abeln said in the Courier Journal last year. "The CDI is committed to maintaining the safest tracks possible at all of our racing properties relative to the seasons and conditions."

"Track performance and safety are evaluated on an ongoing basis and when we identify a need for change," she added, "we are certainly willing to do that as evidenced in our investment of $10 million to install a new turf course at Churchill Downs Racetrack to widen the running surface and increase its durability."

Animals and animal mascots continue to have stake in the game.