Monday, August 20, 2007

Mascot Money

Considering a career cheering for your team? According to a story in today's edition of CareerBuilder.com, the average professional mascot rakes in $30,000 a year.


Friday, March 23, 2007

No BasketBRAWL?

According to a story in today's NYT, the NCAA is erring on the side of caution to avoid any MASCOT wrestling-matches during its March Madness tournament series.

Perhaps they are going too far. Last weekend, the mascot for the Texas Longhorns was reprimanded for patting a ref on the back and "standing up too often."

After a mascot death match on a court in 2003, when Utah's red-tailed hawk beheaded the Oregon Duck.

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Mascot Violence: What to do?

In today's news, a man dressed as a Wookie was arrested for attacking a tour guide on the streets of Los Angeles. Chewbacca allegedly headbutted the tour leader who had admonished him for harrassing two tourists. According to the newsstory, he costumed actor responded,
"Nobody tells a Wookie what to do."

A few weeks ago, a family filed similar charges against the bouncy "fun, fun, fun fun fun," Tigger at DisneyWorld in Florida. While posing for a photo with a family, Tigger allegedly punched the a 14-year-old in the face.

This begs the questions What changes a person's behavior once they are behind the mask? Should we carefully consider who is permitted to don our Rocky costumes, if and when our campaign for mascot change is successful? How can we prevent abherent behavior in our mascots, and thus, preserve the integrity of the mascot ideal?

The answer may lie in the mascot training process. Perhaps mascot therapy and conditioning should be a part of this process. It is clear to any Star Wars fan that the actor in the Wookie costume BECAME the Wookie, racting as Chewy himself would have. Tigger is perhaps THE single most annoying Disney character, hyped up on unrefined honey and likely caffiene, he wants to steal the show by bounded in and bouncing around...the innocent blow to this teen's face was likely a consequence of the actor becoming just as annoying as the character he is playing.

I can only imagine what would happen if a ballistic rocket was able to fully get into the character.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Friendly Mascots


While we ponder the possiblities of an additional University of Toledo mascot--if not an Extreme Makeover for Rocky--let's take a look at the mascots chosen for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

The Five Friendlies, each in the color of an Olympic Ring, will, according to the Olympic Games website, "carry a message of friendship and peace ...and good wishes from China."

I suppose these Pokemon-like cartoon characters: the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow, and the Olympic Flame--are a fitting vehicle for sending such a message.

And such a message is in stark contrast to the other messages China is currently dispatching to the world.

They could have chosen short-range ballistic missles as the five mascots (which would not be unlike our Rocket that greets spectators at the Glass Bowl.

They could have created cutesy, cartoonish executioners...China still leads the world in executions, according to Amnesty International.

Gosh, imagine the possiblities for the opening ceremonies! ATiananmen Square reinactment may prove quite a crowd pleaser.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Best Mascot Chosen


News of the day--the Capital One Best Mascot has been chosen. It is Butch T. Cougar of Washington State University. You can read all about him here:
http://www.capitalonebowl.com/BioDetail.aspx

Butch appears to be a single mascot, with no inflatable friend. As I predicted, furry friends still dominate.

Testudo came in second. Sorry Michelle.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Two Gators versus One Big Nut


The BCS has spoken--The University of Florida will face The Ohio State University in the National Collegiate Football Championship in dusty Arizona January 8.

This forum is not about football, but mascots, so what concerns us here is the mascot-action we'll see on the sidelines during lulls on the gridiron.

We all know Brutus, who represents the nut shed by the state tree, the buckeye. AND, this will come as no surprise, but UFla is blessed with TWO gators: Alberta and Albert, pictured here with Jimmy Chin and someone who refers to himself as "Croc," who keep a webpage photo album of all the mascots they meet. Perhaps their ethnographic research can help us to pursue our mascot goals.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Furry Friends will Still Dominate

Capitol One, the credit card company, is planning to settle the issue once and for all. The winner of its mascot contest (http://www.capitalonebowl.com/) will be announced on New Year's Day. Sadly, the inflate-a-Rockie didn't make the cut. But one thing is for sure, furry mascots are given as the "unsung heroes" of the mascot world--not those hot air balloons.

The field was narrowed to twelve for this contest. Check here for the latest scoop on this contest. http://www.creditcards.com/fur-flies-in-competition-for-capital-one-national-mascot-of-the-year.php

Maybe Rockie can get some pointers from these guys. Notice that Lil' Red or Herbie Husker aren't in the line up. I wonder what a Testudo is?!