The 21 most nightmare fueling mascots in college athletics
By Ian Pierno
8. University of Iowa
Something I’ve noticed in common among the scariest animal mascots is that they all have big, bushy, eyebrows. Animals shouldn’t have eyebrows. I don’t care if it’s a dog, tiger or in this case, a hawk.
Combine those “angry eyebrows” with the aggressive snarl and “Herky the Hawk” is one of the most terrifying mascots in all of college sports. Even professors at the University are starting to take a stand against the longtime mascot.
"“I believe incoming students should be met with welcoming, nurturing, calm, accepting and happy messages,” Resmiye Oral, a clinical professor of pediatrics at UI, wrote recently in an email to UI athletic department officials. “And our campus community is doing a great job in that regard when it comes to words. However, Herky’s angry, to say the least, faces conveying an invitation to aggressivity and even violence are not compatible with the verbal messages that we try to convey to and instill in our students and campus community.”"
This man Oral is really saying that he thinks Herky’s face could potentially incite violence. Well, at least Herky’s face is still a more attractive than Colin Cowherd’s digs at the football team throughout the entirety of the 2015 season.
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