MaxPreps Mascot Mondays: The Key Obezags

By Leland Gordon May 6, 2013, 10:39am

They think backwards at the Annapolis school, and have one of the nation's most unique mascot names.

Obezags.

Yes, that's right. We said Obezags.

It's not a made-up word in a made-up language. It's not something you will find in a dictionary.

Photo courtesy of the Key School
Here's what it is: the mascot name for Key (Annapolis). All spelled out, they are the Key Obezags.



It seems like a typo, or maybe some type of extensive acronym. Or an animal you have never seen in the wild.

It's actually the backwards spelling of the word gazebo. And a gazebo is a structure in a public area like a park that provides a roof.

Not exactly what most schools choose for their mascot name.

The Obezags take their name from a gazebo that sits on the campus of the private school, one that is featured prominently in pictures on the school's website. It has a red top and the pillars that hold it up are white. You can also find a depiction of the gazebo on the school's logos and other materials.

And the mascot costume worn by students is a perfect depiction of the gazebo.

This is one of the nation's top mascots when it comes to the absolute uniqueness and bizarre nature. It grabbed our attention many years ago, when MaxPreps video host Chris Stonebraker picked the Obezags as his favorite mascot in the nation. As he put it, "The Key Obezags are GENIUS, or as they would probably write it, SUINEG!"