Mascot matchup
Each Friday night in the fall, local student athletes face off on the football field. But for a moment, let’s forget all that. Let’s take a different look at the battle — who would win in a fight, a Spartan or a warrior? The Times spoke with experts to determine the answer. And each Friday this season, we’ll pit two different mascots against each other.
Between the white lines of the football field, tonight's matchup between the West Hall Spartans and the visiting White County Warriors matches one team trying to remain unbeaten and another trying to rebound from a disappointing loss.
After a winless season in 2009, the Spartans are out to prove they have turned the program around. Meanwhile, the Warriors want a win to soothe the pain of last week's stinging loss to Gainesville.
But all that will be sorted out on the field. That's not the concern here.
In a similar vein to Spike's "Deadliest Warrior," we take a look at team mascots. In tonight's case, who would win in a literal fight: the Spartan army or Native American warriors?
Winter Elliott, English professor at Brenau University, speculates it would be a fiercely fought contest.
The Spartan culture is predicated around the possibility of war and military action. From a young age, she said, Spartans trained to be warriors and typically excelled at all sports.
"They are clever strategists and planned their plays well in advance," Elliott said. "The drawback is that their preparation could dull their spontaneity and inhibit a response to a blitz attack."
Meanwhile, most Native American warriors were not trained, said Brenau assistant professor Gnimbin Ouattara, whose dissertation included early Native American warfare. They learned at war, he said.
He added that the "intimidation factor" was one of the warriors' greatest weapons. Early Native Americans would paint their bodies and use drums, shouts and other war tactics to terrify their opponent.
"Those noises would instill fear in the enemy, Ouattara said. "The cries can make an enemy turn around and run."
Despite West Hall's record last year, the Spartan mascot is dedicated to winning, Elliott said.
Before Spartan men left for war, the women commanded they come back with their shields - or were carried back dead on top of the shields, she said.
So would the Spartans pin the warriors down or would the warriors send the Spartans home on their shields? It's a tough fight to call.
"They are nearly equal in physical force," Elliot said. "Only their application of that might set them apart."