I’m a sports fan. But here is the thing.
You don’t have to be a sports fan to enjoy the best thing on the field.
The mascot. I’m not sure every team has one. But if they don’t? They should.
During my athletic career, I have been a Wildcat, an Eagle, and a Bulldog on the field of play.
I don’t think we ever had the actual mascot at any of my games throughout all of those years. The mascots only showed up for the male athletic events. Another form of discrimination, in my opinion.
Anyway.
We all know them. The mascot is a human character or an animated figure representing a particular group, especially in sports such as football, basketball, and baseball. Today, institutions that employ mascots find them useful for entertainment, branding, and marketing. So some schmuck gets to put on some furry, striped suit and plop a gigantic tiger head on their shoulders.
DBMascots says the most popular mascots are (in all sports from schools to pros):
1. Eagles (1812)
2. Tigers (1466)
3. Bulldogs (1264)
4. Panthers (1224)
5. Wildcats (1106)
6. Warriors (1033)
7. Indians (878)
8. Lions (807)
9. Cougars (692)
10. Knights (684)
So why do we have them? Well. The name might tell us something. Mascot comes from the French word “mascotte,” which translates to “lucky charm.” It was first used in 1867 and eventually popularized by a French composer, Edmond Audran. Of course, this word had found its way into the English language and was used to refer to animals or objects thought to bring luck.
That’s why we have them. The big lumpy lion on the sideline brings us luck.
I always wondered what it would be like to be one of those mascots, all dressed up and flouncing around on the sidelines. But here is something I didn’t know. The mascot gig can be lucrative. For instance, NBA mascots make up to $650,000 a year. That isn’t the case with all of them, as most mascots are paid little to no stipends. But others get some big bucks. Like good old Rocky, who represents the Denver Nuggets (NBA). Rocky rakes in about $625K annually.
Speaking of mascots earning money. Here is one way to go. It is the story of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ (that’s baseball) mascot and frontman, Kevin Koch. In 1985, the mascot acted as a middleman between players and drug dealers. He would sell cocaine to players on the field. And he would attend some games high on cocaine. As it turns out, Koch escaped prosecution thanks to the FBI making a deal with him. He agreed to wear a wire and provide evidence about the big drug dealer guy named Dale Shiffman. The FBI nailed him with 11 counts of trafficking.
Okay, so that’s a sad story. It happens.
Apparently, being a mascot is not all smiles and good cheer. You see, Japan has a famous mascot known as Gudetama, who suffers from crippling depression. Yes. This character mopes around miserably and is always sad. However, even though Gudetama may “hate” the world, Japanese society loves it beyond measure.
Finally, the mascot transcends sports. Mascots are everywhere. Like Burger King has the big-headed Burger King Guy. And Frosted Flakes has Tony the Tiger. Fritos. The Bandito. The tire company, Michelin Man.
Even movie companies, like MGM. Yes. The lion that roars at the beginning of MGM films is real, and there have been seven of them so far. One of these seven, Jackie, has been through hell. Jackie survived an earthquake, an explosion at MGM studios, a boat sinking accident, and two train wrecks. The mascot was even involved in a plane crash and made it out. Besides being honored to serve as an MGM mascot, Jackie is so lucky to have survived all these incidents.
And so, we find that maybe a mascot is lucky.
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“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky
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“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi
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“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.” – Tommy Lasorda
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Siss Boom Bah. Thanks to that lion on the side line.
