Top 20 Most Ridiculous Sports Mascot Moments Ever

Live mascots can be unpredictable, especially when they have wings. Taima is a beautiful augur hawk who represents the Seattle Seahawks and has been trained by a master falconer from a young age. At Seattle home games, Taima flies out of the tunnel, hyping up the crowd and enjoying a bit of time in the spotlight. During a 2014 game, however, she took a moment to rest during her pregame ritual, and landed on a fan. The chosen fan reacted as calmly as can be expected, and Taima made for some great photo ops. After the game, the bird tweeted an apology. But in 2021, Taima landed on another fan, so we wonder if someone might have ghost-written the tweet for her.

Sure, those mascot costumes have some padding, but they’re no substitute for helmets, football pads and years of experience. During an Ohio State spring practice game in 2013, the Buckeyes mascot Brutus went a bit nutty and decided to play quarterback. The team, however, pulled no punches with the beloved nut. As Brutus attempted to run down the field, a linebacker tackled him to the ground, causing him to let go of the ball. Thankfully, Brutus was okay, but maybe he should stick to staying on the sidelines from now on.

During this 1999 game between Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin, the Badgers mascot Bucky stole the Spartans’ flag and ran with it. Naturally, the Spartans did not take kindly to this. AMichigan State cheerleader confronted Bucky and tackled him to the ground. The scrap lasted only seconds before it was broken up, but the cheerleader still managed to get in a final shove before leaving the scene. Maybe the football team should have recruited the cheerleader that day considering the Spartans lost to the Badgers 40 to 10.

Bears can be scary even when they’re inflatable. In 2014, the Houston Rockets had an amazing roster, but even they weren’t immune to jumpscares. As the team left their morning practice, the inflatable Clutch the Bear awaited them. The players reacted in very different ways, with some simply stepping away from the bear while others lightly punched it. The most intense reaction, however, was Dwight Howard’s. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year threw his phone in the air and kicked Clutch before he realized it was a joke. Thankfully, both Clutch and Howard got out of the incident unscathed.

Sure, “Peanut Butter Jelly Time” pretty much belongs to dancing bananas, but other folks can get in on the fun, too. During this Tampa Bay Rays game, this banana mascot challenged a security guard to a dance-off. The security guard, however, had an arsenal full of incredible moves. This gentleman is pretty famous at Tampa Bay Rays games for his amazing dance skills, but apparently the banana did not get the memo and was stunned by his response. The banana might have lost the dance-off, but at least he got back his maracas before he decided to split.

NBA All-Star Weekend is always a fun time, especially when the mascots get together. During the 2009 All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, the Milwaukee Bucks mascot Bango decided to stand behind the backboard before climbing over onto the hoop. Right as he climbed over, Rufus of the Charlotte Bobcats hit a no-look behind-the back shot off of Bango. As the buck applauded his rival feline, he slipped and fell through the hoop himself. Bango tore his ACL during the fall and made appearances in a wheelchair and with a knee brace during the remainder of the season.

#14: Cal Bear vs. Stanford Tree

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During a 1995 basketball game between rivals the University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University, Oski the Cal Bear allegedly taunted the Stanford student section. In retaliation, the Stanford Tree attacked the Cal Bear and even ripped off the fuzzy mascot’s head. The scuffle devolved into a full-on brawl on the court before the two mascots were finally separated. While no charges were filed, the incident did happen live on ESPN, which allowed the entire country to see the fight in real time.

#13: Mr. C Punches Vanderbilt Student

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As if the mere image of Mr. Commodore in basketball shorts isn’t terrifying enough, you apparently have to worry about bodily harm on top of it. During a 2011 basketball game against Tennessee, the Vanderbilt mascot went crowd surfing in the student section. Once Mr. C was done surfing, he grabbed a young student by the shoulders and punched him in the nose. The student’s nose immediately started gushing blood, which he tried to stem with newspaper before leaving the section. Perhaps the most impressive thing is that the student apparently did not get his shirt dirty.

In nature, a matchup between a duck and a cougar would have a pretty obvious outcome, but that isn’t so in the wild world of sports. During this 2007 game between the Oregon Ducks and the Houston Cougars, mascots Puddles and Shasta got into it on the sidelines before the Houston cheerleaders helped break it up. Puddles refused to let it go after Shasta did push-ups on the field, a signature practice the former performs anytime Oregon scores points, and the duck started beating up on the cougar even more viciously. The student portraying Shasta was also a walk-on wide receiver for Houston and refused to exchange blows with the duck mascot. Puddles was suspended for a game due to the fight.

#11: Extra Spicy Wild Wing

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This is one hot Wild Wing. At the Anaheim Ducks’ 1995 home opener, their mascot Wild Wing apparently got a bit chilly. Instead of putting on a coat or scarf over his uniform, the duck took a much more direct approach. Encouraged by the team’s Power Players, Wild Wing tried to jump over a pit of fire. Unfortunately, ice is quite slippery, and Wild Wing fell into the pit. Thankfully, he was rescued by the Power Players and the fire was put out.

Seemingly completely unaware that he’s on the jumbotron, this Celtics fan grows more and more agitated as his partner attempts to get his attention, and even appears to yell at her at one point. That’s when Chicago Bulls mascot Benny the Bull appears. He shoves the Celtics fan, pours a drink over his head, and carries the girl away, to the delight of everyone. If you thought this one was too good to be true, you’re right: it was confirmed as FAKE by the Bulls’ PR team. Still a good one though!

Although not affiliated with any specific team, Mackerel Jordan is quickly making the case that he should be. In this particular clip, the mascot begins entertaining the crowd between innings before approaching a grounds worker who’s raking the infield dirt. The pair engages in a game of fetch before the worker pulls the classic hidden ball trick. But this doesn’t sit so well with the fish, who immediately swallows the unsuspecting worker before eventually spitting him back out, albeit with slightly less clothing.

Mascots playing football against children is one of the stranger traditions in pro sports, but right or wrong, it’s absolutely hilarious. Who doesn’t love seeing someone wearing a giant gopher costume stiff-arming a 10-year-old kid on his way to a touchdown? In this particular instance, Crunch the Timberwolf gets a little antsy and jumps the snap count, bursting through the line before the ball has even been snapped to hammer the defenseless quarterback. By the way, Crunch was voted Mascot of the Year for 2011-12. Obviously.

For whatever reason, NBA mascots tend to push the boundaries when it comes to their job, taking risks that baseball or football mascots likely never would. Case in point: that time the Toronto Raptors’ mascot decided it’d be a good idea to rollerblade down the stairs of the Air Canada Center. Impressively, he nearly made it the entire way, before slipping and falling on his rear end. Undeterred, he picks himself back up and continues onto the court before fully face-planting. Yeesh, even inside an inflatable costume, that’s gotta hurt.

Melaine Walker is an incredible athlete and Olympic hurdles champion. She was perhaps at her best during the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, where she won the gold medal with a time of 52.42 seconds, the second fastest time in history. It was her post-victory celebration, however, that most people remember. Immediately after winning, she jumped on the back of Berlino the Bear, the mascot for the Championships, intending to do a victory lap. Unfortunately, Berlino failed to keep his head up and crashed into a cart of hurdles, causing him to drop Walker.

If you go to a San Jose Sharks game, you can expect to see S.J. Sharkie entertaining the fans with a number of unique stunts and acts. He’s perhaps best known for his grand entrances, typically coming down from the rafters much to the delight of fans. Things didn’t go so smoothly on this particular evening back in 1999, however, as Sharkie got stuck hanging over the ice. The game was actually delayed while they tried to get him down, which they finally did by hoisting him back up to the catwalk.

#4: Tommy Lasorda Confronts the Phillie Phanatic

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As manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tommy Lasorda won 1,599 games and two World Series titles. And he does not have time for mascots. For example, during one game against the Montreal Expos, Lasorda saw to it that Montreal’s mascot – Youppi! – was ejected from the game. But his most famous mascot moment came in 1988: the Phillie Phanatic was taunting Lasorda with a “Lasorda dummy.” The Dodgers’ manager remained calm at first, but eventually snapped and chased down the mascot, throwing him to the ground and taking the dummy for himself. He even got a nice hit in on the Phanatic with the dummy before marching off.

Although Craig MacTavish failed to lead the Edmonton Oilers to the playoffs in his final three seasons behind the bench, he did manage to take them to the Stanley Cup Finals back in 2006. Even so, he may be best remembered for his actions during a game against the Calgary Flames back in 2003. The Flames mascot, Harvey the Hound, began taunting the Oilers’ bench. An annoyed MacTavish immediately called the mascot over, grabbed his tongue, and ripped it out before tossing it into the stands. Calgary won that game, by the way…

#2: Crazy Condor

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There’s a reason most teams don’t use live mascots, and this is it. The Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League decided it’d be a good idea to bring out a real condor before the game, to perch at center ice. The bird had other ideas, however. It escaped its handler, thanks in part to a timely spill on the ice. The bird eventually made its way over to the benches, hilariously terrifying the fully padded players, before deciding to leave the rink entirely.

What’s better than one mascot making a fool of itself? One mascot making a fool of itself AND injuring other mascots in the process! That’s exactly what happened when Burnie, the mascot for the Miami Heat, attempted to front flip over a handful of mascots lying on their backs at center court. Unfortunately for those on the ground, Burnie’s attempt came up well short, and he landed directly on the final three of the group. The mascot suits may’ve been smiling, but the guys underneath were clearly in a lot of pain. Oh yeah, they’re clearly guys under there.