Teams Love Their Mascots
While at the Oklahoma versus West Virginia football game this past weekend, there were some tense moments on the field, and it had nothing to do with the players in the game. After Oklahoma’s fourth touchdown, the school’s mascot, the old-style schooner wagon pulled by our two horses, Boomer and Sooner, took the turn in the end zone too tight and toppled over, throwing the Ruf-Nek queen, the driver and two guys in the back to the turf. To me, of all the Sooners that got knocked to the turf that day, the girl hit the hardest.
It was homecoming and the alumni band sits in the northeast corner of the end zone by the tunnel where the schooner comes out, so the mishap occurred directly in front of us. The entire thing happened in a slow-motion flash, with gasps when the wheels started to rise to seeing the girl flying through the air. Luckily, everyone was okay including our beloved ponies. The OU training team, the cheer squad and the security staff were immediately in play to check on everyone and clear the field. Play resumed without a hitch (pun intended) within just a few minutes.
Before we could even get to the sidelines for halftime, however, calls from other sources were already being made about the dangers of animal mascots. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) even got in on the act by calling for OU to stop using the ponies at the game. No surprise, as they did likewise last year during pregame of the Sugar Bowl when Bevo, the Texas longhorn mascot, charged at Uga, the bulldog for the University of Georgia.
What those calling for the live animal ban fail to realize is just how special these mascots are treated. I know that Boomer and Sooner are treated like royalty not just on gameday but all year long. At the games, they have their own vet, along with professional handlers. Even though the drivers are students, I know the Ruf-Neks go through a lot of training to be with the ponies before and during the game.
Over the years I have been privileged to spend some time with Boomer and Sooner away from the game day atmosphere. I can assure anyone they love their own personal “home” field, and get quite excited when they get loaded up in their own specially made trailer to travel to a public event. They are chosen for that reason.
To my knowledge, it is that way with all of the live mascots. Bevo, Uga, Bullet from OSU, Reveille from Texas A&M and the myriad of others all have special connections to their schools, teams and fans.
They are, however, live animals and sometimes mishaps happen. Back in the mid 1980s while a member of the OU drumline, we purposely tried to get Bevo riled up while standing right next to him (sometimes college students have ideas that maybe aren’t so great). We played as loud as we could to see what he would do. Luckily for us, the only damage done was to a Texas cheerleader’s shoe because she was standing a little too close to the back.
Again, without knowing all of the facts, some groups like PETA are in it mostly for the attention. Some animals in some situations are treated poorly, and like so many other things, there are laws to protect against that. As for school mascots, most of them are treated better than many humans. So, PETA and others, focus on the problems and stop creating ones that don’t exist.
Randy Gibson is the CEO of RDG Communications Group, LLC, and the former director of the Tahlequah Area Chamber of Commerce and the Texas State Rifle Association.
