Archive for November, 2008
Ever wonder how a Tarheel, Blue Devil and Demon Deacon came to be?
College on the Record Blog explains it all for these unusual named mascots….
Two questions I am often a
Sure an Aardvark can be menacing!
http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article895953.ece
Here’s a story about a middle school that said it was being forced to ditch the Long Horn mascot and have it replaced with an Aardvark.
Turns out it was a hoax but what will the least menacing mascot list look like if people keep making jokes like this and even retiring others!
Sports Illustrated’s Ian Thomsen talks with NBA’s Raptor
Here’s an excerpt from an injuries rundown article.
2. The unseen injuries. On Wednesday in Toronto, The Raptor mascot was trying to dunk when his feet slipped through the springs. The Toronto Globe and Mail reported that he limped off the court and didn’t return.
“An ankle sprain,” Raptors media relations director Jim LaBumbard informed me. “Listed as day-to-day.”
I asked The Raptor to detail his injuries over the years.
“It’s a long list,” he said during a rare telephone interview Thursday. “A fractured tailbone. Cuts, scrapes and bruises, twisted ankles. I have one vertebrae that got twisted so I was getting pinched nerves in my back and neck. A few times I’ve dislocated a finger and popped it back in. I tore a hamstring trying to dunk over three ball racks stacked on top of each other. I had a concussion doing a backflip off something and hit a stanchion, or something, and ended up falling on my face, so when I got up I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know where I am,’ and they ended up escorting me out. I was in the old Skydome doing a dunk and I landed on top of the ball, I rolled my ankle on top of it. That’s no fun. I came back the next game in a wheelchair with a sign that said, ‘Say No To Trampoline Dunks.’ “
The Raptor agreed to speak with me on condition that I not reveal his true identity. In that sense, it was like talking to Spider-Man. He has been The Raptor throughout the 14-year history of the franchise. Maybe you’ve seen him: He is bright red with an oversized head, sharp teeth and limited eyesight, mainly because he sees through his mouth.
“When I’m running around in that thing, it’s like a sauna,” he said of his outer skin. “You’re breathing the same air inside of your head. Each night I’ll sweat anywhere from six to nine pounds in water. I’ll take my shirt off during timeouts and literally wring out the sweat.”
I first met The Raptor a few years ago at the Air Canada Centre. He came walking into the press room in the first quarter. When he took off his head, I felt like Dorothy looking behind the curtain in The Wizard of Oz. I don’t know what I was expecting to see, but he wasn’t it. My innocence was gone, and I have never viewed mascots the same way again. Not even the San Diego Chicken.
“I’m 35,” he admitted. Before he was The Raptor, he was toiling in the Canadian football and basketball leagues. “This is my 20th season of doing mascoting,” he said. “Every parent wishes their kids will grow up to be a doctor or a lawyer. Mine got a puppet.”
The speckled red tail and monocular eyes belie a discipline to his craft. He missed but one game after suffering the broken tailbone.
“I was tobogganing down the stairs and lost the positioning on the toboggan.” After the collision, he said, “I got up on my own and my spine was completely tingling. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this hurts,’ and I got up and walked away. There was a slight little fracture in the tailbone. I didn’t dunk for the rest of the year, but I was back into doing some sort of running handstand maneuvers in a couple of weeks.”
I asked him what was the anticipated life expectancy of a Raptor.
“I get asked that all the time,” he said. “The answer is as long as I can, because I love doing it. It’s as fun a job as you can get in many different ways. You perform in games but also go out in the community and work with special-needs kids in different situations, such as going to hospitals for sick kids and bringing that element to them. I can tell you, there are times you’re glad you’re wearing a costume while you’re seeing these kids in their situations. Because the whole time you’re thinking, I’ve got problems?”
“Patriot Spirit in the 21st century.” New George Mason mascot revealed..
So the Mason Gazette yesterday wrote about the new mascot. He was unveiled at the first men’s home basketball game, November 17. The article talks about the panel process of finding a new mascot, has video of Gunston’s graduation to community ambassador (plus his new makeover), links to the ‘name the mascot’ contest and talks of the reasons leading to Gunston’s replacement (2006 NCAA appearance leading to the Final Four).
I can try to accept change, but I just don’t understand the facepaint on a man with a tri corner hat and a somewhat creepy expression!
The Athletics department wanted something distinctive, I guess they got it…
Capital One Bowl: 2008 Mascot Challenge
http://www.capitalonebowl.com/media/videos
Celebrating and featuring mascots must the a great idea because Capital One Bowl is featuring mascots and a tailgate challenge in commercials and on the web. I have to say the setups are funny, my favorite being Cosmo of Brigham Young throwing a stick for Tennessee’s Smokey to fetch as a diversion tactic for the tailgate challenge. Playing fetch must not be too much of a distraction because this week, he’s leading in the polls!
Besides the website, there is also a facebook presence with over 22,000 fans! You can vote, see videos of featured match ups, share your own videos, and watch the standings with a handy widget on the website. The winning mascot gets $10,000 for the school’s mascot program.
Other mascots on the page are Air Force’s The Bird, Thundar of North Dakota State, Maryland’s Testudo, LSU’s Mike, Mr. Wuf of NC State, Cy of Iowa State, South Carolina’s Cocky, Auburn’s Aubie, Buster of Boise State, and my hometown boy Joe Bruin of UCLA (still waiting like a lonely girl on Friday night. Would love to hear from them for an interview…)
Butler Bulldog Costumes Found!
So a possible prank turns into felony charges for four, non university affiliated men. The mascot costumes that have been missing since August were recovered and warrants for arrest were issued November 10. Authorities first asked for a return of the costumes after a break into the field house, but later took the missing “dogs” as a criminal case. The costumes were recovered but sadly mangled and damaged. A whole football season went without it’s beloved mascot!
Good news is the new suits are ready to roll for basketball season starting Wednesday with the game against Ball State. Extra good news is the new suits look the same but have “improved ventilation”
