It makes sense that we would want the wild creatures of the world to represent us. We revere their strength, speed, beauty, and cunning as positive attributes that exceed our own abilities. But it appears as if we respect these animals only in theory, and only on the surface level. We use their likenesses as a vehicle to intimidate other teams, sell products, or build a better uniform. Our reverence does not seem to extend past the interest in what they can give us visually.

We find it funny that people pretend to love these creatures, but do little to protect them in reality. Oftentimes, the animal a high school team is named for may no longer be found in the region, due to human encroachment. The territory of the very species that comes to represent the youth of that area, such as wolves, bears or buffalo, has been paved over. Over and over again, we have taken only what we need from our native species, and discarded the rest. In the case of using animals' likenesses, after we've appropriated these, we seem to care little for the actual creatures themselves.