Adventures With a Very Popular Mascot

Portions of this article previously appeared on www.vype.com.dfw

On Saturday, I volunteered at a sports expo to earn community services hours for NHS (a club at my high school).

Basically, the expo was a bunch of sports groups encouraging kids (and some adults) to be active and join different organizations. I saw the SMU football and basketball teams, various volleyball squads, a cheerleading group that took themselves far too seriously (I shall not name them), and the gymnastics group who trained gold-medal winner Nastia Lukin.

The girls that performed from that group were 11 years old, some younger, and they were doing stunts that most grown men couldn’t even attempt.

Handstands for 30 seconds straight? Check. Pushups while intermittently clapping their hands? Check. Contorting their bodies into positions that I didn’t think were humanly possible? Double check.

Apparently, these youngsters train for six hours a day to prepare for the Olympics. That’s usually more than I sleep on any given school night.

Perhaps the most interesting moment came before the “mascot challenge,” when five random sports mascots in the DFW area (except for a mascot tooth guy, which doesn’t really relate to sports at all unless you count competitive eating) battled in a variety of games designed to attract visitors.

I was standing next to the mascot of a very popular sports team in the area before he changed into his suit. We actually made some small talk, which was a first for me since my whole life I’ve thought of mascots as not having a voice.

I also overheard him speaking to a volunteer coordinator before suiting up, and let’s just say it was apparent that he wasn’t super excited to be performing. Once he put on the gear though, the mascot was “on.”

He stopped talking entirely, even when I was walking with him and carrying his bags. He communicated through funny hand gestures, and I could tell he really thrived in an environment where he was the center of attention.

It was definitely interesting to see the “man behind the mask” before and after the event, and it showed me that even mascots have tough jobs.