The purpose of a school mascot is to helps create an image that contributes to school spirit. We see them everywhere, from football games, to school merchandise, to posters. They are usually depicted as funny looking cartoon characters, but sometimes are portrayed as strong and powerful animals or people.

Mascots developed over the years from images and live animals to human representations of the characters themselves. A living mascot can add humor and enthusiasm to events.

A mascot can be represented by almost anything, from animals to inanimate objects. For instance, the latest Olympic mascots are the Phryges, which are hats. In schools as in professional and amateur sports, mascots are important for contributing to the spirit and identity of the games. Take the Bears, Lions, Tornadoes, or even Dots, for example. They are there to unify and connect the audience to the games and the teams they represent.

Our own school mascot is the Royals, and there are two main variations of the appearance. Some symbols feature a capital A in purple with a crown on top. Others use a purple and gold lion with a crown. There are around 100 other schools with the same mascot, but most design their own to look unique to their school, their audience. High schools all over the country, including in New York, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and more feature a Royal as their mascot, but it is also the mascot of some colleges and professional sports teams as well.

With the popularity of the team name, it shouldn’t be surprising that Armijo is not the only school using the Royals name in California. There are at least seven others who refer to their school as the Royals, the closest being in San Jose. While they use an alternate image of a shield divided into four parts, we both use the image of a lion to enforce pride and power.

While Royals are popular in the world of mascots, they are not nearly as popular as Bulldogs, Eagles or Spartans. So hold your head high and make sure you wear your crown proudly as an Armijo Royal.