![]() ![]() I hit my nose with a rolled up newspaper. I just want to make it through our first assignment: performing my skit in front of the class. My dad thought I'd grow out of it, but I still haven't," says Walsh, who fantasizes about parachuting in costume into a stadium on opening day. Walsh has just graduated from the University of Colorado, where he was a mascot, and he now dreams of reaching the NBA. In real life, the dragon is a special-education teacher, and the assorted other creatures include a professor, a mortgage broker, and a guy from Maine studying to be a funeral director. "Never walk around in public without your head on," a veteran mascot warns. It doesn't take long for me, the rookie, to earn my first demerit: going out in the hall half-dressed. All I have are a few faded spots and eyebrows drawn on with a magic marker. They bring signature moves like bouncing antlers and wormy head gyrations. Their muscles bulge and pot bellies roll. And looking down required scrunching up my shoulders like some sad hunchbacked puppy.īut my confidence really sinks as I suit up with my 15 fellow recruits, including Heater and Buddy, a purple bat from Louisville, Ky. Writing with four paws proved nearly impossible. Sure, the editor-in-chief stared at me oddly. Each season, fans spill an average of 35 beers on him and ask him to help with 16 marriage proposals.īefore arriving at boot camp, I rented a dog costume and practiced a few dance steps set to "Funkytown" in the newsroom. Victor Thomas, the dragon, says he'll hug 1,000 people and give 560 high-fives at a typical minor-league baseball game in Dayton, Ohio. "They don't realize how hot it is, how much it can weigh, how. ![]() "People think you're just running around," says Michael Walsh, who portrays Rapidman for the Colorado Rapids soccer team. Mascots say they can lose 10 pounds in a single game. Aptly, his character's name is Heater.Įven in my lightweight costume, I'm sweating. A fellow trainee's dragon costume weighs 45 pounds. The job is a mix of cheerleader, clown, cartoon character, and comedian. But for someone with the dance moves of a wooden board, the thought of performing at a halftime show seems as daunting as a 96-mile-an-hour fastball. Instead of push-ups and batting practice, I'm playing charades with large stuffed animals. This is my chance to prove I, too, can make it in the big leagues. I'm a big baseball fan with a photo album full of pictures of me posing with mascots at stadiums nationwide. No, I'm not looking for a bathroom - though it wouldn't be out of character, given that I am dressed as a dalmatian.Īs Scoop, the Monitor newshound, I'd reported for training at Mascot Boot Camp at the University of Delaware two days earlier, my tail wagging and paws held high. Scampering down the street, I lower my snout to the ground and sniff a fire hydrant. ![]()
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