It's Time We Finally Appreciate The Bizarre Life Of Mascots This March (From The Blogger Who Was A College Mascot For Exactly 1 Game In 2009)

I've seen this video starting to circulate around Twitter today. I figured oh look, we have mascots kayaking down the steps in an empty arena for the Big Sky Conference isn't exactly gonna play on the blog. Instead I took what I learned in blogger school and decided to make it a little more personal. Why is that? 

Under that gigantic head and fit with a fan inside was .. me. That's right, 2009 at the University of Vermont for exactly one men's basketball game I was the Catamount. You see, I lived a weird turned normal life before Barstool. Had high hopes my Journalism degree in 2009 would turn into something special. Instead it turned into a year working as an SID at Vermont when at 22-years old and the regular mascot(s) on break, I was called to wear this for a game. Hey, anything to keep the bosses happy and keep a job. Little did I know this moment would lead me to working in purchasing in Cincinnati, Ohio which then in turn led to me having time to blog at all hours of the day before becoming full time.

That's when I found a newfound appreciation for mascots. No more making fun of them for walking around with giant heads and having to do dumb shit to pump crowds up. That's why I will always respect the St. Joe's Hawk for flapping his wings at all times

Doug Pensinger. Getty Images.

Back to my original comment about working as a mascot. Hey, it's not even the most embarrassing previous job or interview at this very own company. Sorry, Smitty. 

Life was different back in 2009 for mascots. The job was simple. Wave a flag, wave your arms to get the crowd excited and don't fucking interrupt the game. That was basically it. Now? Now we know mascot names like Gritty and the Vikings mascot was debating a holdout for a bigger contract. The love of the game was gone. That was until I've seen mascots committing frog splashes off of ladders that would make the Hardy Boyz proud. 

Every so often they get to take their aggression out playing kids on the football field. But as we enter March, it's time to give mascots the right appreciation. It's time we laugh while understand how fucking absurd it is to have a blessing of the mascots for the ACC Tournament

Do you know how ridiculous this picture is if we showed to it anyone who doesn't follow college sports? 

Staying in character as you walk into a church and get blessed is a life not for everyone. Feels wrong to let a devil in, but what do I know? There's a fucking orange standing at attention to get blessed. We also have a Demon Deacon, various birds, a ram. It's laugh out loud funny seeing this go down.

I've sat on my secret long enough that for exactly 1 game and by force I was a mascot. Not everyone can put on that gigantic and honestly heavy head. The live mascots get all the love and rightfully so - who the fuck doesn't love dogs on the court or a giant buffalo on the football field? But it's time to embrace the bizarre life of mascots everywhere.