I could deal with a tree, acorn, purple pounders (Central H.S. in Chatt), even the poca dots(WV h.s.) before a gamecock.
Not thinking it through is an understatement. Any mascot that would require it's fans to say "I love the gamecocks" without the "game" in a public setting, is bad and I don't care who you are.
I am probably a little biased because I live in the territory and see how dumb it is on a daily basis. Last week, I saw a dude driving a truck with "cock life" across the back glass.....not thinking it through???