While growing up, I heard two phrases for years on end, one was much more positive than the other. Being a Kalamazoo native, the words “Fire Up Chips” we’re hardly muttered by a few but the words “F*** the Chips” would echo through the neighborhoods. As most people know the Broncos of Western Michigan University and the Central Michigan Chippewas are bitter rivals.
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I have always assumed that Central Michigan students and athletes were always known as Chippewas, one of the many ways the institution pays homage to the native people of the land. I was shocked to find out that they had gone by two different mascot names before they settled on being the Chippewas for the long term.
TikTok started off a short length video social media platform for entertainment which has evolved to be a place where you can be entertained, educated, and even ridiculed. Essentially, TikTok has become just like any other social media platform except it seems to have a larger reach.
Did You Know Central Michigan’s Mascot Was Something Other Than A Chippewa?
TikTok has brought a level of unreal knowledge to our lives, including cool facts like the mascot history of Central Michigan University. TikTok user hookedonhelmets using their platform to inform people about the history of football helmets from around the country. He recently made a video diving into the history of the Chips helmet and decided to add a fun fact as well.
He opens the video asking a question that I’m sure most people don’t know the answer to. He then moves on to say that the Central Michigan Chippewas were known as both the Dragons and Bearcats before settling as the Chips. Tracing things back all the way to the 1920s, they were known as the Dragons until 1928. That’s when they made the change went by the Bearcats for 14 years…