There’s a guy in America whose name is Griffin Leeds

Anyone who goes to Leeds Uni is aware that every sports team is named “Gryphon”, and if you’ve ever been really bored you may have picked up a newspaper left lying around in the union with the same name.

Across the pond, however, Griffin Leeds is something entirely different – a real person who just so happens to work in our US office.

We had a chat with Griffin to see what it’s like to share a name with the Leeds sports teams.

Hey Griffin – how come you’re called Griffin?

“My name comes from a surname several generations back on my mom’s side. I’m basically a blend of English, Scottish and Irish heritage.

“The Griffins were from the more Irish side I believe, which probably suits me. For better or worse, I am definitely very much a Griffin.”

Are you aware your name is quite a big deal in Leeds?

“Yeah, isn’t the gryphon like a school mascot? I know your quidditch team is called The Leeds Griffins.”

Yeah, all of the sports teams are named it. How did you know about the quidditch team?

“I was a founding member of the team at my uni, which is how I found out about this coincidence a few years back.”

What sports do you play?

“I went to Indiana University and it’s a really big school for sports, especially basketball. Although I was more involved with our student paper and the comedy scene, which is really rich at IU.”

Have you ever been to Leeds?

“I used to live outside London for a few years when I was younger. We definitely visited Leeds Castle, which I promise I know isn’t in the same place – but I feel like we also visited Leeds too.”

Would you ever visit Leeds again in the future?

“I don’t know if I would book a flight for the exclusive purpose of visiting Leeds, but if I were ever back in the motherland it would definitely seem worthwhile -especially now that I have colleagues at The Tab to show me around.”

When you first heard that our sport teams were called gryphon did you know the uni official student newspaper is too?

“Nah.”

Would you like to be our official mascot?

“It’s the least that could be done, seeing as I am basically un-Google-able. The fact that I managed to be the video top result for my comedy work is low key one of my prouder Internet achievements.

“Plus being an official mascot sounds like a pretty easy, cushy gig. Given the uncanniness of the coincidence, I’d like to think my claim would be worth the minimum of consideration.”