Badger fans swear Bucky is iconic, but critics say a cartoon badger in a striped sweater doesn't exactly strike fear into opponents. Is Wisconsin's beloved mascot genuinely legendary, or have we just convinced ourselves he is?
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Add your commentMy grandpa used to take me to games at Camp Randall when I was maybe 6 or 7, back when parking was still reasonable and you could actually walk up and buy tickets. He'd lift me up on his shoulders so I could see Bucky working the sidelines. Grandpa passed in 2019. I still can't watch Wisconsin play without thinking about those Saturday mornings. Overrated? Not to me.
Born and raised on the east side of Madison, went to UW for undergrad and grad school, and I will die on this hill: Bucky Badger is the single greatest mascot in all of college sports. Not just the Big Ten. ALL of college sports. The energy he brings at Camp Randall during Jump Around? Unmatched. Completely unmatched. Anyone who says otherwise has never actually been there.
I challenge any Madison local who says Bucky is overrated to walk down State Street the week of a home game and tell me that energy feels overrated. Go ahead. Do it. Because what you'll find is that this city genuinely comes alive around that mascot and that team in a way that most college towns can only dream about. I've been to Ann Arbor, I've been to Happy Valley, I've been to Evanston. Nothing compares to what happens in this city on a game day. Nothing.
I moved here from Columbus two years ago for work and I genuinely expected to hate Bucky on principle. Ohio State loyalties and all that. But I saw him at the Kohl Center during a hockey game last February and I don't know what happened to me. The man was doing pushups and getting the whole crowd going and I was, against my will, charmed. I'm still a Buckeye but I respect it.
To the person who said Bucky only dates to 1973 — that's not quite right. The name Bucky Badger goes back to the late 1800s and a live badger named Regdab was brought to games in the early 1900s. The current graphic design was refined over the decades but the CHARACTER is much older. Please don't rewrite history to make your point.
Can we talk about how Bucky actually has a DARK history that most fans don't know about? The original Bucky design in the 1940s was genuinely offensive and had to be redesigned multiple times. The current Bucky we know didn't even exist until 1973. So this "iconic" mascot is barely 50 years old. Perspective, people.
Fun fact for the people dunking on Bucky: badgers are actually TERRIFYING animals in real life. They have been documented fighting off lions and hyenas. LIONS. So maybe do some research before you come at a mascot representing one of nature's most ferocious creatures. The sweater is just because Wisconsin gets cold. It's called dressing for the weather.
Hard disagree with this entire premise. Bucky doesn't need to "strike fear" into opponents. Fear is for programs that have nothing else going for them. Bucky represents tradition, community, and honestly just a good time. Not everything has to be a snarling predator.
my hot take is that bucky ranks like 4th or 5th in the big ten mascot tier list which is still really good and people need to calm down. he's not overrated he's just not number one. can we all agree on that and go get a beer at the terrace or something
lol the striped sweater argument is so dumb. michigan has a wolverine mascot and their actual live wolverine mascot died out like decades ago so now its just a guy in a costume too. at least bucky has personality
I want someone to explain to me what exactly is iconic about a mascot that lost to Ohio State 38-7 last season. The costume can be great, the crowd can be loud, but at some point the W's have to back it up. Just saying.
Overrated? Sure. But so is every mascot and everyone loves their own. That's literally the point of mascots. This is not a controversial take people.
okay but objectively speaking penn state's nittany lion is scarier and michigan state's sparty is more intimidating and purdue has that massive drum which is cooler than any mascot so where exactly does bucky rank. im just asking questions
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