The Preakness Needs To Do The Smart Thing And Bring Back The Best Mascot In Sports - Kegasus

The Washington Post. Getty Images.

There are very few guarantees in life but one of them is if you are in the infield at Preakness, you're going to have one of the drunkest days of your life. Just happens. That was especially true when I used to go back in the mid-late 2000s and you could just bring your own cooler of alcohol into the place. An insane idea looking back on it but we sure took advantage of that. It's also part of the reason the running of the Port-A-Potties became so popular. 

But the BYOB went away shortly after I stopped attending the Preakness. Can't say I blame them since they finally realized, hey wait, we can make MORE money charging people to drink our own alcohol here in the infield? Wild concept, I know. But you see, the Preakness is sort of a weird race. You tend to have a lot of horses that got smoked in the Derby not run on the short turnaround. You're really just wondering if we're going to have a chance at a Triple Crown. It's sort of forgotten about with the timing of it all. But there's a simple solution.

Bring back the greatest mascot in sports. Kegasus. 

The Washington Post. Getty Images.

People actually got pissed at this. PISSED AT A THING CALLED KEGASUS. (h/tvinepair)

Baltimore officials didn’t buy it. Maryland State Delegate Pat McDonough was “disgusted” with the campaign, saying, “Kegasus is infantile and creates a negative image.” University of Maryland media professor Jason Loviglio suggested that the mascot would encourage binge drinking. Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot decried Kegasus a symbol of “alcohol overindulgence that appeals to largely adolescent boys.” And in a press release headlined “Preakness mascot’s gut and nipple ring raise ire,” the Associated Press reported that the character’s catchphrase, “be legendary,” was a plain reference “to the infield’s reputation for hard partying.”

Uh yeah dude. It's the infield at Preakness. What else is there to do besides binge drink there. Also hilarious that people were pissed at the man's nipples. Everyone's got nipples dude and if you're at the infield at Preakness, you're going to see fucking nipples. At least the jockey committee had the right idea. 

Meanwhile, Chuckas said simply that his organization had “never hidden the fact that they want young people to come to the infield and party. ” He later told the Washington Post, “Kegasus brought the spirit of fun and energy tailored towards a younger demographic,” making the 2011 event “one of the most successful InfieldFests in history.”

This is even more true this year than ever. With all the shit surrounding Medina Spirit, people are just looking to party. The Triple Crown feels over despite the horse not losing yet. It's a split audience of cheering for chaos and wanting Medina Spirit to win and others who want Baffert to lose always and forever. Let people get drunk as shit, party with Kegasus and chuck beers at people running at toilets. That's what America is really all about.