The Trouble with the Ivy League

Brown Bears, Columbia Lions, Cornell Big Red, Dartmouth Big Green, Harvard Crimson, Penn Quakers, Princeton Tigers, Yale Bulldogs

The Ivy League. A group of schools renowned for their academic prowess. Studies supersede athletics. So, for smart people, why are their mascots so overwhelmingly stupid.

Big Red, Big Green and Crimson. Did anyone exert any effort in these selections? They are colors. They are not intimidating characters behind which one can rally.

Some did opt for fierce animals. Lions, tigers, and bears. Oh my. However, these are long standing institutions established well before L. Frank Baum was born.

And just a word on Brown. I'll concede that they showed more creativity than our friends from Cleveland. But the bears? It's a little too Eric Carle. But again, they precede the revered toddler author by centuries.

Quakers? OK, they are historically accurate. But aren't they pacifists?

So I guess that if you are longing to support an Ivy, it would be best to side with Yale. Too bad they are in New Haven.