“Go cards” is chanted in the student section during sports games, “go cards” is written at the end of every email from Principal Peyton Chapman and “go cards” ends every announcement broadcasted to the school.
We are the Lincoln Cardinals, but why is this small red bird our mascot?
I asked Lincoln students for their ideas on why we are called the Lincoln Cardinals, and some students had witty responses.
“Because we’re pecking awesome,” said senior Elle Newton.
“Because we fly higher than any other school,” said junior Fraser Barnes.
Some students focused on the color rather than the bird itself.
“Because we want to be fancy, and cardinal red is a fancy color,” said senior Zen Duran.
“I feel like the school color was red before they had the cardinal, and they had to find an animal to fit the color,” said senior Gus Herman.
While all these could be believable, Chapman shares her own ideas.
“My memory and best guess regarding the origin story for Lincoln’s Cardinal mascot is that Cardinals are seen regularly in Springfield, Illinois where President Lincoln lived prior to becoming president,” said Chapman.
Lead Lincoln alumni historian Chet Orloff confirmed Chapman’s idea.
“The theory about the cardinals migrating through Illinois is the story that I recall,” said Orloff.
To read other theories about where our mascot comes from, check out The Cardinal Times “Origin of the Lincoln mascot” article.
