Vote now: Which high school has the best mascot in America? (Food Bracket)

We want to hear from you: Which is the best of the best and the wackiest of the wacky?

Over the past month we've been featuring some of the best nicknames in high school sports, with an end goal of determining the fans' favorite.

We've built 12 brackets of 15 teams each, and we'll roll out three brackets a week.

We recently released the Food Bracket, featuring 15 outstanding high school sports nicknames with a piquant theme. Descriptions of each are below the poll.

Best high school mascots in America: 15 most unique nicknames (Food Bracket)

Now, we want to hear from you: Which is the best nickname in the bracket?

Vote in the poll to pick your favorite, and the winner will advance to the Dandy Dozen Championship Bracket.

Food Bracket voting will conclude Tuesday, Oct. 4, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.

(Ridgefield Spudders photo by Andy Buhler)

Pretzels (Freeport, Illinois; New Berlin, Illinois)

These two Illinois schools — about 250 miles apart but both rich with German history — are the only ones in the country called the Pretzels. When they played a baseball game against each other in 2015, “Let the Salt Fly” T-shirts were on sale.

Colorado Rocky Mountain Oysters (Colorado)

Colorado Rocky Mountain School has a unique mix of sports — soccer, cross country, climbing, mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding — and the only nickname in the country rooted in fried bull testicles.

Canon-McMillan Big Macs (Pennsylvania)

No, the mascot isn’t a hamburger that’s way smaller in real life than the commercials depict, but a soldier of a Scottish regiment. They could have gone with Big Highlander, but we’re glad Big Mac was the choice.

Frankfort Hot Dogs (Indiana)

No explanation necessary, though it's worth noting that the mascot is a snarling dog, not a Nathan.

Rocky Ford Meloneers (Colorado)

From the city’s website: “From the start, melons were the staple of Rocky Ford. Today, Rocky Ford cantaloupes and watermelons have fans worldwide, thanks to the Arkansas Valley’s dramatic temperature swings from day to night (the greatest disparity in the country) that encourage the melons to sweeten. Lucille Ball was reportedly such a fan she had Rocky Ford melons delivered to her dressing room.”

Chinook Beeters (Montana)

Yes, the Beeters want to beat you, but their nickname is short for the Sugarbeeters. Chinook is one of the main producers of sugarbeets in the upper plains.

Moorhead Spuds (Minnesota)

Moorhead’s teams have been called the Spuds for over 100 years. The name started being used in the late 1910s or early 1920s, inspired by at least one Moorhead school’s site atop a former potato field. The school's mascot is a big smiling potato named Spuddy.

Ridgefield Spudders (Washington)

Not to be confused with the Spuds, the Spudders’ mascot also is a potato, and one of its feeder elementary schools, Union Ridge, is the home of the Tater Tots. Excellent taste and presentation.

Shelley Russets (Idaho)

Shelley’s mascot isn’t just any potato — it’s a russet-burbank potato that wears a crown, robe and scepter. Shelley offers a two-week break from school to allow students to assist in the season’s potato harvest.

Beetdiggers (Jordan, Utah; Brush, Colorado)

Jordan High for years offered a two-week break of its own for students to assist in harvesting sugar beets, the area's main crop. Brush has a similarly rich history of farming sugar beets, and both schools have used a mascot named Digger Dan.

North East High School Grape Pickers (Pennsylvania)

Vineyards abound in the area around this northeast Pennsylvania school near Lake Erie and the New York border. Grapes are a huge part of the local economy, and picking them is of tremendous importance.

Cairo Syrupmakers (Georgia)

Instead of going with the Egyptian theme provided by the city's name, the school chose to honor its local industry, at least at the time. The birthplace of Jackie Robinson, Cairo is nicknamed "The Syrup City."

Cheesemakers (Monroe, Wisconsin; Tillamook, Oregon)

Only 25 miles away from the aforementioned Freeport (Illinois) Pretzels, the Monroe Cheesemakers basketball teams take on the Pretzels every year in "The Snack Bowl." In the Pacific Northwest, Tillamook High School paid homage to the famous cheese company based out of the city.

Cobden Appleknockers (Illinois)

This seems like a missed opportunity for Cobden to use a corn pun, but the rural town is located in a region ripe with apple orchards.

Hoopeston Area Cornjerkers (Illinois)

It's corn! "The Sweetcorn Capital of the World" is Hoopeston, Illinois, and a cornjerker is (or was) a farmer who harvested corn. Technology has changed the process of harvesting corn, but the school should never change its nickname.

Vote now: Which high school has the best mascot in America? (Science Bracket)

Vote now: Which high school has the best mascot in America? (Geography Bracket)

Vote now: Which high school has the best mascot in America? (Historical Figures Bracket)


Published
Mike Swanson, SBLive Sports
MIKE SWANSON, SBLIVE SPORTS

Mike Swanson is the Trending News Editor for SBLive Sports. He's been in journalism since 2003, having worked as a reporter, city editor, copy editor and high school sports editor in California, Connecticut and Oregon.