Opponent Mascot Showdown: Dog Edition

It’s (under)dog week on SB Nation! This means lots of content about BC underdog stories here on BC Interruption, but also some sports-adjacent dog content because why not? (I wrote this before the Jarmond news broke, so you’re getting it even though there is bigger more important stuff to be covering re: BC right now!)

Today, we’re ranking the dog mascots from BC’s opponents in Hockey East and the ACC. Dogs with be rated on 5 categories: Cuteness, Intimidation Factor, Name, Originality and Resemblance to a Dog.

Let’s get started!

NC State Wolfpack - Mr. & Mrs. Wuf

Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Cuteness: 3/10. Not very cute! Will haunt my nightmares! Lots of teeth and eyes with dead stares! Also why does he have wolf legs and she has her normal human legs?? Don’t try to make your terrifying wolf-lady mascot sexy!!!

Intimidation Factor: 6/10. Mr. & Mrs. Wuf are scary in a “I think you might snap and murder me in a dark alley” way and not so much in a “you are intimidating strong sports mascots way”.

Name: 3/10. Mr. Wuf and Mrs. Wuf are not creative names! All points awarded are just for the weird spelling choice!

Originality: 5/10. Wolves are not particularly original, but points for having a lady-wolf as well.

Resemblance to a Dog: 5/10. I mean I guess I would know these were dogs if you showed the costumes to me without context? But they are just so nightmare-ish!!! They remind me of what a Disney Big Bad Wolf costume would have looked like in the 1960s?

Bonus points: NC State is awarded 1 bonus point for also having a live dog (the only type of live animal mascot I believe in). NC State is also awarded 1 bonus point for the fact that Mr. & Mrs. Wuf had a wedding. NC State loses a bonus point for the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Wuf were both called Mr. and Mrs. Wuf before the wedding... let’s hope “Wuf” is the wolf version of “Smith” and they’re just from different Wuf families...

TOTAL: 23/50 Points

UConn - Jonathan

Photo by M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Cuteness: 5/10. He just... looks kind of dated? But you could still make a cute stuffed animal in his likeness, so there’s that.

Intimidation Factor: 3/10. Not very intimidating! The deep black eyeliner is a little haunting though.

Name: 7/10. Jonathan is not necessarily the most thrilling name, but I appreciate a dog with a human’s name. Also points for the fact that his name has an actual relevant reasoning behind it (Jonathan Trumbull was the last colonial and first state Governor of Connecticut).

Originality: 0/10. There are two separate husky mascots in Hockey East alone! No originality points!

Resemblance to a Dog: 9/10. He is pretty clearly a dog! And also I think pretty clearly a husky!

Bonus points: UConn is awarded 1 bonus point for also having a live dog (the only type of live animal mascot I believe in)

TOTAL: 25/50 Points

Northeastern - Paws

Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Cuteness: 9/10. I think Paws is very cute. Minus one point for his tongue, but otherwise he looks soft and has perfect proportions to have a stuffed animal modeled after him.

Intimidation Factor: 9/10. Paws is cute, but he is also intimidating! He’s got sharp pointy teeth and a big head that is accentuated by tiny ears. He isn’t scary, but he looks like a competitor.

Name: 1/10. Paws is a very uncreative name!

Originality: 0/10. There are two separate husky mascots in Hockey East alone! No originality points!

Resemblance to a Dog: 9/10. There is no doubt that Paws is a a dog. I don’t know that I would necessarily guess he was a husky though...

TOTAL: 28/50 Points

Boston University - Rhett

Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

Cuteness: 7/10. Rhett looks to smirk-y to be really cute, but he so clearly looks like a dog that I can’t mark him too low.

Intimidation Factor: 7/10. Boston terriers are tiny, non-intimidating dogs! But Rhett has a snarky, angry look on his face that makes him seem like he would be a real bully.

Name: 0/10. I’m sorry, but “Our school color is scarlet and Rhett Butler loved Scarlett O’Hara so our mascot will be named Rhett” is a BONKERS way to name a mascot. Too convoluted! How do you have a mascot that is so related to Boston and then a mascot name that has nothing to do with the city at all??

Originality: 6/10. Obviously choosing a Boston terrier to be the mascot of a Boston school isn’t necessarily original, but it is a smart choice because it relates to the city and isn’t a mascot other schools will have!

Resemblance to a Dog: 10/10. Rhett is very clearly a dog and very clearly a Boston terrier! I don’t think you could mistake him for anything else!

TOTAL: 30/50 Points

Final Standings

1. Rhett (30/50)
2. Paws (28/50)
3. Jonathan (25/50)
4. Mr. & Mrs. Wuf (23/50)

(Wow I am very distressed that Rhett won but I can’t argue with my rating system since I created it!)