Lord Football and the Brotherhood of Griffins

Today is the last Sunday without NFL football until some time in February. Y'all know that my affinity for Big Football has waned substantially over the past decade, but the league's status in the cultural firmament seems all the more solid. And even as I won't watch many games this year, it's impossible to ignore the NFL. 

Case in point, William & Mary graduates Mike Tomlin and Sean McDermott face off next week in the
early window as the Steelers travel to Buffalo. We're certain to see quirky features about how a small school off the beaten football path produced two NFL head men. Cradle of coaches, and all that, and have you heard the one where Lou Holtz said "too many Marys and not enough Williams"? A hoot, that Lou.

But our assignments editor in Norfolk forwarded me a column from The Buffalo News that takes a very different angle on the coaching clash. Seems that there are two colleges in America that boast that most noble of mascots, the griffin. The other one is Canisius, right there in Buffalo, and the Golden Griffin took time out of its busy schedule to thank W&M for giving Sean McDermott to the town.

I do appreciate Griff's shoutout, and can only hope that Canisius has a statue remotely as anatomically correct as the one that graces W&M's campus.

Evolution of a Mascot [Subtitle: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD GET THE THING SOME PANTS]

I found this infographic in the latest issue of the William and Mary Alumni Magazine. Thought folks might be interested to see the mascot progression from bad ass ballboy to pantsless eunuch mythical creature...

Thoughts:
- I would have no problem with a return to the Oliver Twist-esque ballboy, though I could do without the drab Cleveland Browns color scheme.
- We seriously had a dog mascot named "Dammit"? Like, this was a thing?
- Wampo was Gumby's horse buddy, no?
- Cal the alligator/bottle opener makes almost as little sense for W&M as a pantsless griffin, so good to know the school has backed asinine mascot choices for over a century.
- Wampo II: Electric Horsealoo
- We know make it to the Dan Snyder-sponsored portion of our program. I would think the headdress might slow down a running back, but what do I know. Also, the school should demand royalties from cult classic The Warriors as they obviously stole the name and baseball bat concept from our mascot. Come out to play, indeed.
- Oh, hey, Wami. [No one share this infographic with Mike Wise, please.]
- Amazingly, Col. Ebirt is not the worst mascot in this picture.
- And of course, the coup de grâce, our current mascot, a legendary Greek creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle; and an eagle's talons as its front feet. AND NO PANTS. Makes total sense.

#1bid4wmtribe roadie

The tiny dictator is picking me up around 2 for our trek to Baltimore and the CAA Tournament. Tribe game tips at 8:30. Remember, kids, your hashtag of the day (next three days, god and griffin willing), is #1bid4wmtribe

Bonus footage of what the car ride will likely resemble:

[h/t]