Last week, I went down to Girdwood, Alaska for the day; since I live in Eagle River, it was only an hour drive, rather than the seven hours it would have been from Fairbanks. Down in Girdwood is the Alyeska Ski Resort; outside the resort, there are a bunch of cute coffee shops and a few local restaurants.

Some teams have a mascot, look at ourselves, the Alaska Nanooks, travel south a bit and you’ll find the Seawolves of Anchorage, a bit further south the overbearing green and blue of the Seattle Seahawks will be scorched into your eyes. I am a proud member of the UAF Nordic ski team, while I am honored to call myself a mighty Nanook, I have a little different perspective of what a team mascot is, and I think my teammates will fall in line with this view as well.