What the hell is a Ragin’ Cajun? Glad you asked. Traditionally, Cajuns are Louisianans who descend from French-speaking Acadians. Acadia was a colonial territory in northeastern North America that included parts of Quebec and modern-day New England.

In the Great Expulsion of 1755, the British deported around 5,000 Acadians and many later settled in French Louisiana, where they became known as Cajuns. Today, the descendents of those people make up a significant portion of Louisiana’s population and have exerted a tremendous impact on the state’s culture. Ragin’ – from raging – is kind of like putting ‘fighting’ in front of a team name. Meanwhile, the apostrophe in Ragin’ is often drawn as a cayenne pepper, a vital ingredient in Cajun cuisine.

The design in the middle of the emblem is the fleur-de-lis, originally used as a symbol of the French monarchy often associated with areas settled by France. So just think of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, but French, with spicy cooking, and there you go: Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns! It rhymes.