“For the blue and white, get down and fight, fight, fight.” Blue and White seem to dominate hallways, classrooms, and the cafeteria. Brahma spirit is more visible than a deer in headlights and is blossoming now that our athletic season is beginning to take start on the highway to victory. We all know that cheerleaders and Brahmadoras don’t provide all the school spirit. There is one more anonymous character on the sidelines that puts PEP in peppy: our beloved school mascot, the fighting Brahma (aka Lil’ General). Take the liberty, (I decided) to go behind the horn and hooves to see what the students behind the costume really think of being the school mascot. Of course the whole purpose of a mascot is never revealing the person behind the suit, so I will keep this as anonymous as possible.
“Nobody knows it’s me, so I can dance around like a dork and not worry about embarrassing myself”, said “lil General 1”. The perks of secrecy have “lil’ General 1” jumping for joy, literally. It seems that each Lil’ General has their own techniques. “Lil’ General 1” likes to “jump and dance around like a fool”. Other techniques are sticking to the student section tighter than glue. “I make sure I stay and cheer at the student section until they are pumped”, “ lil’ General 2” said.
But of course all that jumping and cheering in a fifteen pound fur suit can get a little toasty. When it comes to the comfort of the suit the answers tend to differ. “Lil’ General 2” says “It’s hot, but comfortable”. I guess the love for school spirit cools the hot heat, making our lil’ Generals feel comfortable. Another exciting and noticeable perk that has mascots smiling with glee is increase of altitude…. “ I feel TALL in it!!!” says “lil General 2” “We have a ice packs that keep our bodies cool, but twenty minutes until the game the ice melts”, “lil’ General 1” said.
Wave those hooves in the air like you just don’t care! Mascots are the driving force and humorous factor that brings comedic and cheerful relief to the audience. Whether it be choking a Reagan rattler, represented as a stuffed animal, or even dancing in the stands with Brahmadoras, the spirit of MacArthur is in the hooves of lil’ Generals, and year after year he never seems to disappoint.
