Why is Arizona’s Mascot a Cardinal?
The natural world is a massive influence on the names of American sports teams, and not just within the NFL. Teams can embody the spirit of their animal namesakes as they strive for success over their competitors. Oddly, there are no canines, which is a subject that may be worth delving into at a later date, but there are plenty of cats. The league also has its fair share of birds, but one of these creatures is not like the others — at least not on first impressions.
The Philidelphia Eagles makes the most sense out of these avian names. Where else but the birthplace of the United States for the Bald Eagle, the national bird? The Seahawks and Falcons also work well as skilled and agile hunters — the osprey-like seahawk in the Pacific Northwest and the fierce falcon preying on the weaker teams down in the NFC South. The Ravens are the smartest of them all. And then there’s the Arizona Cardinals. The Northern Cardinal is a popular songbird across the United States, but it’s a bit weak and cute compared to an eagle, right? Well, maybe not. The more you get to know these little birds, the more appropriate it becomes.
It’s important to note here that the name Arizona Cardinals didn’t come directly from the bird. The team has gone through a series of name changes over the years. For a short period, between 1900–1901, they had the awful name of the Racine Normals because of the stadium they used up in Chicago. No team wants to be ‘’normal’’. Thankfully, someone pointed out that the maroon of their uniform was Cardinal red, and they then became the Racine Street Cardinals. In 1922, this switched to the Chicago Cardinals, until the team relocated to St Louis in in 1960. In 1988, they migrated further south to Phoenix and eventually became the Arizona Cardinals in 1993.
In 1998, the team got a mascot in the form of Big Red, an incredibly feisty-looking Northern Cardinal with a 7ft wingspan. He can be seen riling up the crowds and celebrating touchdowns with the team at home games. You might think that the design of Big Red is the marketing team in Phoenix doing a brilliant job in a bad situation. However, it turns out that the real Northen Cardinal is worthy of a place as a football team mascot.
These little birds are highly territorial and defensive — something all good teams need to keep opponents out of the end zone. This behavior tends to reach its peak in the breeding season. The brightly colored males don’t want any rivals getting into their territory and stealing their females. They will fight any intruder that comes too close and make them regret their decision. To be fair, it’s not just the males that do this, you can find the duller-colored females kicking off too. Birds that arrive on garden feeders close to a nesting sight could find themselves dive-bombed and forced to feed elsewhere.
One of the most interesting quirks at this time of year is seeing Cardinals attacking car mirrors. They aren’t attacking the car. They are attacking the bird they can see in the mirror. The problem with this lack of self-awareness is that the phantom bird isn’t going to back down and fly away. Eventually, the male will give up, but it could take hours. This doesn’t just happen in car mirrors either. Put the bird in front of any suitably shiny surface, and they may start going on the attack.
While they may be one of the gutsiest birds in the NFL, they are still at the bottom of the pecking order by a long shot. In the wild, they see their nests parasitized by cowbirds and are predated by a range of animals and birds. This includes those fierce falcons.
Big Red the Northern Cardinal is still one of the weirder mascots in the NFL, although arguably more fitting to an aggressive terrestrial game than T.D. of the Miami Dolphins. Still, we should give the Cardinal more credit as a bird that can hold its own against the competition. Now, Big Red just needs to be able to push the team to do the same.
The series so far
Part 1: Miami Dolphins https://medium.com/@d.e.bradley/miamis-dolphins-from-misguided-mascots-to-axed-aquariums-ea3f05c750e9
Part 2: Arizona Cardinals https://medium.com/@d.e.bradley/why-is-arizonas-mascot-a-cardinal-dc62bb70e16b
Part 3: Cincinniti Bengals https://medium.com/@d.e.bradley/cincinnati-bengals-and-white-tigers-07d299cf371c
Part 4: Seattle Seahawks https://medium.com/@d.e.bradley/why-seattles-seahawk-isn-t-even-a-seahawk-2a79872179ab
Part 5: Best Horse Mascots https://medium.com/@d.e.bradley/the-best-horse-mascots-in-the-nfl-d2c30b787aad
Part 6: https://medium.com/@d.e.bradley/could-the-detroit-lions-get-a-live-lion-d668ba09b648
