Few elements of American sports culture unite fans quite like a good mascot can, with several furry team emblems standing tall in a crowded field in the Grand Canyon State, thanks to the state’s plethora of pro and college sports teams, not to mention Arizona sports betting.
Statewide, it seems like the major colleges (Arizona and Arizona State) stand tall, mascot wise, with the U of A’s Wilbur and Wilma Wildcat being the most searched for mascots in Arizona, followed by Go the Gorilla of the Phoenix Suns and D. Baxter the Bobcat of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
When people are watching games, sometimes they are curious what the mascot of the team is. With National Mascot Day coming up on June 17, we wondered what mascots Arizonans are looking up.
Utilizing Google Trends, BetArizona.com looked at the search volume of the term “Mascot” over the last 12 months (June 2023 to June 2024) to find the most searched mascots in Arizona.
Most Searched Mascots In Arizona
Mascot | Team | Search Interest (vs. Other Topics in Past 12 Months) |
Wilbur & Wilma Wildcat | Arizona Wildcats | 12 |
Sparky the Sun Devil | Arizona State Sun Devils | 11 |
Go the Gorilla | Phoenix Suns | 8 |
D. Baxter the Bobcat | Arizona Diamondbacks | 6 |
Thunder the Antelope | Grand Canyon Antelopes | 3 |
Which AZ Mascot Are Fans Searching For The Most?
Based on search interest scores alone, it appears that the state’s first university stands tall when it comes to mascot innovation, as the University of Arizona’s beloved bobcats, Wilbur and Wilma Wildcat are Arizona’s favorite mascots.
The lovebirds from Tucson had a search interest score of 12, beating out Sparky from ASU (11 search interest score) as Arizona’s favorite mascot, illustrating once and for all that the U of A tops ASU in terms of statewide rooting interest.
Throw in the Phoenix Suns’ beloved mascot Go the Gorilla, who had a search interest score of eight, and the Arizona Diamondbacks’ D. Baxter the Bobcat (six search interest score) and you have the top end of the Arizona mascot leaderboard for the year.
Finally, Thunder the Antelope of Grand Canyon University rounded out the state-based mascot list for the year, with the Phoenix university’s emblem notching a search interest score of three in 2024.
Regardless of which sports team you pull for in Arizona, whether it be a college like Arizona, ASU or GCU, or a pro team like the Suns or D-backs, it seems like the Grand Canyon State has its fair share of interest in the people that are tasked with donning a suit and rallying the crowd on gamedays through the year.
When we're not breaking down mascot rankings, we're bringing you all the news around Arizona betting apps here at BetArizona.
USA Today photo by Kirby Lee.
