Springfield (The Simpsons) be a specific real town, although the producers acknowledge basing the town on numerous locations including "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening's hometown of Portland, Oregon, and Mike Scully's hometown, Springfield, Massachusetts. Groening named Springfield after Springfield, Oregon, and also took inspiration from Springfield being the fictitious setting of the series "Father Knows Best". He said, "I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, 'This will be cool; everyone will think it's their Springfield.' And they do." Groening liked "Second
Springfield (The Simpsons) and has a fierce rivalry with Springfield A&M University. In the episode "Faith Off", the nickname of the Springfield University football team is revealed to be the Nittany Tide—a reference to the Penn State Nittany Lions and Alabama Crimson Tide. Springfield Agricultural and Mechanical (A&M) University is a rival institution of Springfield University, possibly a reference to the fierce rivalry between Texas A&M and the University of Texas. Carl Carlson is an A&M alumnus. Springfield A&M's mascot is a pig named Sir Oinks-A-Lot, who was kidnapped by Homer and his three student tutors as a prank in "Homer Goes to