Survey ranks Nittany Lion among the worst mascots in college football

College football is ready to kick off and Penn State fans are returning to Beaver Stadium this fall after having the doors closed on them a season ago. When they return to games in Happy Valley, not only will they get a chance to see the football team in action in person once again, but they’ll get to soak in the gameday atmosphere with the Blue Band doing their pregame routine complete with a signature drum major flip, chants of “We Are” being answered with a raucous “Penn State,” and, of course seeing the mascot help lead the crowd.

The Nittany Lion mascot is as much a part of the Penn State gameday experience as anything else, and not having the mascot parading around the stadium in his iconic scarf and ruffling his ears for the camera is impossible to imagine. As beloved as the Nittany Lion is, one survey ranks the Nittany Lion among the worst in college sports.

A survey conducted by Quality Logo Products asked 1,266 people to score a variety of mascots. After tallying up the votes, Penn State’s Nittany Lion ranked toward the bottom among the worst in the survey. Northwestern’s Willie the Wildcat came in at No. 1 on the ranking. Willie the Wildcat was also ranked the sexiest mascot in the survey.

So right away, we know not to give this survey much credit.

Nov 26, 2016; University Park, PA, USA; The Penn State Nittany Lions mascot shakes hands with fans prior to the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Beaver Stadium. Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports

Lumping the Nittany Lion in the “worst” category with Oklahoma State’s Pistol Pete, UNLV’s Hey Reb, and Purdue’s Purdue Pete is an absolute atrocity, to put it kindly. The Nittany Lion is the sixth-worst mascot according to this survey, which can be filed away in the nearest trash receptacle at your earliest convenience.

We all know the Nittany Lion is a much better mascot than this garbage survey suggests. From the one-handed pushups after each score, meeting the drum major during the pregame drill, and getting each side of the stadium ready for the pregame festivities and more, there is simply no replacing the Nittany Lion.

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