In the Tournament of NCAA Mascots, Johnny Thunderbird of St. John's Reigns Supreme

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7126151/2026/03/18/mascot-fight-bracket-march-…

By Andy Behrens
Everyone has a preferred method to fill out a March Madness bracket. Some will outsource the decision-making to a child, a pet or a series of coin flips. Others will pick every possible upset because they root for chaos. Many more will rely on data and analytics and the opinions of ball-knowers.

And then there’s the mascot method. For each tournament matchup, these bracket pickers determine which team’s mascot would prevail in an actual, real-world encounter. No, you aren’t likely to win your pool this way, but … well, c’mon, if you’re not a college hoops know-it-all, you might as well enjoy the process.

The pool of mascots in this year’s tourney includes sharks, a variety of dogs, Quakers, multiple birds, weather events, various historic military figures, wolves, predatory cats, rams, owls and more. Our mission here is to provide you with a comprehensive and conclusive mascot bracket for the 2026 men’s tournament field — even for the First Four games that have already concluded. And, in keeping with the seriousness of this task, we have consulted with accredited professionals.

Because here at The Athletic we believe deeply in the tenets of first-hand reporting and journalistic rigor, to parse this important task, we connected with academics, a meteorologist, an expert in historical combat and a zoo curator. The staff of Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo was remarkably generous with their time; with over 40 animal mascots in the field of 68, we certainly needed their help.

With their assistance (and a dash of our own research), we now feel qualified to present the definitive battle-of-mascots bracket for this year’s field.

East Region

First round

Red Storm vs. Panthers (Northern Iowa)

With all due respect to panthers — and there are several of them involved in this tournament — the Red Storm is as formidable a mascot as can be found in college athletics. It’s also more than a little problematic.

The Red Storm is not strictly a weather phenomenon, but rather a supernatural bird of incredible size and power, appropriated from tribal religions. It generates lightning. The flapping of its wings produces thunder. Its feathers are said to be as large as canoes. A terrifying bird that is also a weather machine.

Asked for background on the Thunderbird, Dr. Hayley Negrin of the University of Illinois at Chicago provided context:

“While the state routinely denies its treaty obligations to tribal nations, Americans attack Indigenous cultures by taking things out of them that they deem interesting without consent, then using them for their own purposes. Take mascotting. In the case of St. John’s, they moved from ‘redmen’ as their team’s mascot in 1994 and tried to be more appropriate with a red Thunderbird mascot.

“The Thunderbird is a serious figure in a lot of different tribal religions. He can do real damage. He is not someone you call on lightly. Does St. John’s know what they’re doing with this? If they’re not careful, they might find themselves getting struck down on the court by their own ‘mascot.’”

It should, of course, go without saying that no quantity of panthers would be capable of inconveniencing a Thunderbird. St. John’s is on to the second round.

Second round

Red Storm vs. Lancers (California Baptist)

We will remind you that St. John’s University chose the Thunderbird as its mascot, a figure from Native American legend capable of producing its own storm systems. The Thunderbird has been depicted carrying whales in its talons. Sorry, but it’s going to take more than a suit of armor and a lance to bounce St. John’s from this tournament.

Sweet 16

Blue Devils (Duke) vs. Red Storm

And this is where the road ends for the iconic Blue Devils, despite their 20th-century military tech and indisputable heroism. The Thunderbird is too fearsome, too colossal, too magical. These are spirit-beings who control storms and exist beyond comprehension. St. John’s rolls.

Elite Eight

Red Storm vs. Paladins (Furman)

Well, the dream season for the Paladins is finally at an end. Exhausted and nearly broken by their battle with the best of Sparta, these medieval knights are simply no match for a terrifying spirit-bird that wields lightning and rules the upper world. Metallic armor is perhaps not the best choice of attire when facing a creature that generates unlimited electricity. The Red Storm remains untested and unbothered as it glides to the Final Four.

Final Four

Red Storm vs. Trojans (Troy)

For those of you who simply skipped ahead to the national semifinal and don’t have the background on St. John’s mascot, please note that it is something more than a mere storm. The university has borrowed the Thunderbird from various tribal traditions, and it happens to be the only supernatural being in the mascot field.

We are dealing with a titanic bird possessing the power to generate lightning and thunder — a mythological figure capable of both generosity and malevolence. It is a being of unknowable power.

The Thunderbird is certainly not losing a matchup against any historical human character that’s been portrayed onscreen by Orlando Bloom. It’s another easy win for St. John’s.

National championship
Red Storm vs. Hurricanes (Miami)

Each of these mascots dominated its side of the bracket, tossing aside all challengers. It can certainly be argued that both are too immense and frightening (and sacred in the case of the Thunderbird) to function as an adjunct member of a university’s cheer squad. But here we are.

While hurricanes are among the most powerful and destructive forces on Earth, certain birds greet them opportunistically, flying into the storms. (Birds are truly the most metal of animals.) If seabirds are known for this behavior, then we are going to assume that a supersized weather-controlling mythological spirit-bird can do the same.

Even a catastrophic weather event was a trifle to the Thunderbird. Without another supernatural creature in the bracket, it should have always been the betting favorite.