DEL.ICIO.USWhat do you need to be mascot? Energy, energy, energy
Gwinnett Braves hold tryouts for Chopper
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
In sports, there are tough-guy mascots and acrobat mascots, traditional mascots and live mascots. Chopper, the Gwinnett Braves portly groundhog, was inspired by Gen. Beauregard Lee, but is still a personality in progress. His fur-and-plastic smile is too big make him a bully. He doesn’t have a favorite song. It’s not yet clear if he can, or should, do the splits.
During open mascot auditions Tuesday, wanna-be Choppers donned borrowed bloodhound, eagle and bear costumes, boogied to Usher and James Brown and chucked candy at students studying (or trying to) at Georgia Gwinnett College. Some did the splits; some were winded within minutes.
Mikki K. Harris/mkharris@ajc.com
Judd Hickinbotham (from left) and Bill Blackwell judge the mascots trying out to be Chopper at Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville.
“It takes a special person,” Gwinnett Braves assistant general manager Bill Blackwell said from behind the judge’s table.
So just what were the Braves looking for?
Good cheer, foremost — the kind of rodent who can brighten up a drunken, dispirited baseball fan or let a little kid win a race. Otherwise, energy, energy, energy.
“The mascot is always on. There’s no off switch,” said Rob Montepare, 22, of Lawrenceville.
Montepare is the new AAA baseball team’s primary Chopper. He’s also a former Gwinnett Gladiator Maximus, a guy well aware that a team’s players may change, but mascots are forever.
The Braves need a stable of auxiliary groundhogs to fill in at home games, attend birthday parties and make hospital visits. Much like Santa Claus, Chopper can be more than one place at a time. (The team owns two suits. No dollar figure was shared, but Montepare said he could buy a new car with the cost of them.) Chopper must prepare routines, but also be able to think on his giant, foam feet. His movement and personality, whatever it is, must be larger than life because, well, he is.
“It’s the most outrageous fun you can have in 98 degrees in a wool suit,” said Kevin Neely, 31, a would-be Chopper from Atlanta with five years of experience playing Rookie, the Hudson Valley Renegades raccoon.
What does a sports mascot need to succeed inside the suit?
Sweat resistance. Think moisture-wicking underclothes, powerful deodorant and a bandana. It gets hot inside the suit, even with a small fan buzzing and ice packs on the wearer’s chest. Sweat is a huge problem. “You can get in weighing 165 and get out weighing 155,” Montepare said.
Squirt guns. Or other props — games for playing, hats for tossing, other mascots to play with. As Rookie, Neely liked to keep it simple with dugout dances and on-field sprints. But to get kids’ attention quickly, he said, a mascot needs a Super Soaker.
First aid kit. Chopper’s includes: a sewing kit, in case of emergency costume repairs; disinfectant wipes for funk-prevention; a hair brush to smooth all the matting caused by small, sticky fingers; Mr. Clean Magic Erasers to keep his eyes and teeth a shiny white; and … dryer sheets? “Some guys like Burberry,” Montepare said. “Chopper likes Target dryer sheets. That’s his cologne.”
The big Sharpie. Mascots have big hands, and no hope of holding a little pen, or even a normal-sized marker. For all the autographs he signs, Chopper needs the BIG Sharpie — and a trademark signature. All the Choppers will learn to sign the same way, with a long “C” and teeth.
Buddies. Peripheral vision? What’s that? Mascots require a handler to lead them, line up autograph seekers and shield them from harm. Harm, of course, usually comes from a short, out-of-sight child that barrels toward the life-size character for a hug, only to knock him right where it hurts. Don’t forget: good cheer!
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