In a move that is sure to confuse and possibly scare the hell out of many local children (and/or adults), The Northwest Arkansas Naturals have announced their official mascot along with a naming contest that is open to all children age 15 and younger.

Since the official team name was announced last year, a growing question among local minor league baseball fans has been, “The Naturals?! What the hell is a natural?” For months, we’ve been wondering which one of the 37 different images in the new logo would win out and become the official mascot.

In a surprising twist of events, the winner was neither a baseball, waterfall, mountain, swoosh, river, lake, fog OR a lightning bolt. Nope, the new mascot is a sasquatch, aka “Ozark Howler”.

For some, the new “howler” is a total no-brainer. “It’s the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Springdale, Arkansas,” says one local sports enthusiast. “Duh!” says another. Some weren’t nearly as excited, however.

Holding signs that read “F*CK BIGFOOT!” and “BIPEDAL BEARS BLOW!”, one local group staged a protest near the site of Arvest Ballpark. “It’s not that we have anything against that hairy bastard,” said one protestor. “He’s actually kind of cute. We just believe that if a lightning bolt were to fight a sasquatch, the lightning bolt would kick that guy’s ass.”