[Blackieangel]

There are a couple of different stories floating around. One is that sometime in the 1920s that after a loss to Benson on its rabbit hole-filled football field an opposing coach groused< "We didn't come to play Benso, we came to play the Bunnies". The second story is that a local sportswriter thought the basketball team looked like rabbits hopping as they move around the gym floor. These sound kind of weak - but who knows! After all the Cornhuskers name was brought about by a radio sports caster in the 1930s, when on the air he simply changed the name because he thought the existing name was stupid - that's right hares and rabbits, they were know as the Nebraska Bug Eaters!

Blackieangel

[Tabby55555]

Ok well to answer the question of how the Benson Bunnies got there name is that when the founding principle came to visit all of the construction of the high school she saw many bunnies outside hopping around on the construction so she decide to name the mascot out of respect for the bunnies old home

[smithy77]

Anyone who thinks "Bunnies" is a wimpy mascot hasn't seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

[billiefan2000]

benson high isnt wimpy.

they do have a attitude, but their football team sucks.

I as a Omaha North high graduate/alum rep. and proud of it and proud of Omaha North when it comes to sports.


but I personally wish Omaha Benson High was a little better at football.



i would love to hear the day, when their is a story that says:

Omaha Benson High defeats Millard South (or Millard West)in a football game


cause MS and MW have a rivalry/hatred towards Omaha Benson and Omaha North (mainly cause both schools are east of 72nd street)

plus Benson wiping that smirk off MS and MW reps faces after realizing they just lost to Omaha Benson

would be priceless

[vpandora]

Originally Posted by smithy77

Anyone who thinks "Bunnies" is a wimpy mascot hasn't seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

That's the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered mascot you ever set eyes on!

[choracek]

Pretty sure a sports writer in the 1920's came up with the name as a description to the quickness of the football team, running around like a bunch of bunnies.

I played on the 1975 and 1976 teams, which were argubaly the best two teams inthe schools history. The 1975 team went undefeated until the metro championship game, losing to a Burke team that we beat the first game of the season. This team also won a game against Northwest by a score of 84 -27, which is still the state record for most points scored by both teams. Up to the loss at Burke many sportswriters called that the best team in the history of NE HS up to that time. I think that group of seniors only lost three games during their time from midget football through HS. Ended up being rated 2nd that year in class A.

The 1976 team had much less talent, but developed a great work ethic by competing with the seniors from the previous year. Lost one game during the regular season to Bellevue by 1 point, missing the first year of state play-offs by .01 of a calculated point. I believe we ended up ranked 3rd that year.

Great program during those years coached by Roger Sorenson and Mike Kennedy, who was a starting linebacker for the Huskers in the early 60's

[Steve Balogh]

I am a graduate of Omaha Benson (1974). At the time I attended, there was a story about the nickname posted in one of the trophy cases right next to a replica Benson alum, Nile Kinnick's Heisman (Iowa, 1939). The story was that in the 1920s, Benson's football field was in poor shape, full of rodent dens. After a game against a conference foe the opposing coach was quoted, complaining about the condition of the field, in the Omaha Bee -- the newspaper at the time -- saying, "We didn't lose to Benson, we lost to the bunnies." It stuck. I now live in Illinois where there is another high school, Fischer, that has the same nickname.

[Vizio]

I just remember their sports teams were about as ferocious as little bunnies.

[Garthur]

I was at Benson in 69, then graduated from Millard in 71.

Hard to believe the number of Bunnies on this forum.

[Rose68005]

The Benson " Bunnies " name was adopted in 1927 for the school's athletic team. A World Herald sportswriter suggested the name after watching the basketball team practice drills in the gym. The school colors green and white were chosen in 1915.