Delta State Fighting Okra: My New Favorite Sports Team

Fighting Okra vs. Statesman Mascots

Statesmen or Fighting Okra:
Which Would You Pick?

In Cleveland, Mississippi, just west of Highway 61, is Delta State University, home of the Fighting Okra. I know there are a number of eccentric sports mascots these days, but really, could anything be cooler than the Fighting Okra? In my personal pantheon of athletic whimsy, they’ve now replaced my former co-favorite college sports mascots, the Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels and the Richmond Spiders.

The Fighting Okra mascot

Fear the Okra!

Their official nickname is The Statesmen, which is woefully short on panache. So in 1985, a group of DSU students came up with the idea for the Fighting Okra as the school’s (unofficial) mascot. There’s even a Fighting Okra Records student-run record label at Delta State now, with three releases under its belt. This school has obviously got a great attitude.

Well, this is an audio blog, not an okra blog, so let’s have a taste of the Marching Okra Band from 2009: