The Top 5 Mascots in the NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB, MiLB and NCAA

This is the first time I've ever gone on record to announce my feelings about many other mascots in the sporting universe.  I'm doing a Top 5 of the NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB, MiLB and the NCAA.  Now I'm sure I'll leave some people who I know and like off the list.  That's the tough part here, I know many performers and I'm biased to some of their characters and programs.  I tried to put bias aside and use my knowledge of all characters programs, skits, videos, history and community integration.

Over the past 11 years or so, I've read almost every single mascot article that has come out, it's my profession, I can't help myself.  But over the years, there have been so many lists based on looks, not substance.  This is a substance list.  I'm also willing to test my theory that this will be the most viewed post on my blog so far.  A list creates controversy, because it leaves people out and recognizes that some are better than others.  Almost all major websites, papers and other media outlets all have done a Top Mascots list, there is a reason they do this.  It creates controversy and controversy drives traffic, which in turn, drives revenue.  I'm not driving revenue with this site or my opinions, I'm here to simply break down the top mascots and programs.  Remember, this is an opinion, like every other list ever created.

We'll start with the "premier" league for mascots, the NBA.  In the NBA, you have the highest concentration of full-time performers and good character programs, so it will be tough to break down.

#1 - The Gorilla.  One of the original NBA mascots.  The first mascot to do a number of common-place stunts like trampoline dunks, flaming hoops, etc...  A big part of the Phoenix Suns game entertainment and a pioneer in the field.  It seems like there is great buy-in for the Gorilla, which starts with the ownership group.

The Gorilla

#2 - Clutch.  A ground-breaking mascot in the realm of bringing a business model into the creation of a character program.  A leader in school shows, skits, video and marketing.  Also, broke the NBA mold of the skinny, athletic, gymnastic character.

A hero for fat mascots everywhere.

#3 - Rocky.  One of the most consistent characters in the NBA, famous to the  masses for his feud with Charles Barkley to most of America.  Well known to those in the business for always being on top of the next promotion, video, etc...  A good combo of athleticism and hilarity.

Rocky

#4 - Benny.  The Chicago Bulls are known for putting on a good-show, and without MJ, it's a testament that their game-entertainment carried them through less successful seasons.  Benny is a big part of that.  A performer who mixes in athletic ability with astounding dancing and a little bit of a reckless attitude.(supposedly, running over a cop on a mini-bike and high-fiving someone too hard, I believe)

Benny.

#5 - Tie Between Rumble/Squatch(same performer) and MoonDog.  Rumble was the first mascot to do the tall ladder backflip dunk that was popularized last spring when Bango blew up on YouTube.  MoonDog is a veteran performer who has been bringing it for many years now and has always had a consistent program.

Honorable Mention - Hooper.  I've known the last two Hoopers personally, so I had to throw them in!


Next up is the league that I know the least when it comes to their mascots and their respective programs, the NHL.  I like hockey, but I like hockey for the fights and beer.  It's such a fast paced game that the mascot usually gets lost for me.

#1 - Sharkie.  Sharkie, to me is the most recognizable NHL mascot.  Maybe it's because I'm currently located in Central California, but he always seems to have good skits, videos and is constantly in the community.  Sharkie travels very well for an NHL mascot program.

Sharkie, being lazy.

#2 - Stanley.  The Florida Panthers mascot is running a good program and is always coming up with new online content.  He's also a very knowledgeable ex-college performer and is on top of the trends.

Don King approves of Stanley being #2

#3 - ThunderBug.  Another performer I personally know.  However, that's not why she's #3.  ThunderBug has a great reputation over the years as an innovator and the current performer is no different.

ThunderBug, hard at work. (Sitting down and watching the game.:)

#4 - Gnash.  The Nashville Predators mascot was my UCA instructor when I was in college, the first "pro" mascot I had met at the time. 

I give this jump a "teeeeeen"

#5 - Louie.  The youngest character on the NHL list for me is Louie from the St. Louis Blues.  He seems to have successfully integrated a mascot into a hockey rich team.  Not the easiest task.

Louie.

(I know I said I would try to keep bias to a minimum, I didn't for the NHL, I simply don't know too many of the performers)

The next league I'm going to take a look at, is the NFL (No Fun League).  Mascotting in the NFL is very interesting to me.  You only have 10 home games to prepare for, but at the same time, the NFL is notorious for cracking down on mascot performance.  It's a tough league to figure.

#1 - Jaxson De Ville.  This was one of the easier #1's to determine.  Jaxson has created a monster program in Jacksonville, based around a large number of community appearances, great stunts and a poke fun of attitude to some of the stiffer "suits" who are running the NFL.

Take that NFL.

#2 - Swoop.  The Philadelphia Eagles mascot is a constant during Eagles games and is usually good for some stunts throughout the course of the year.  He's always been good at being part of the show that the Eagles put on.

There were better photos of Swoop, but the ugliness of this jersey still blows my mind.

#3 - KC Wolf.  A long-time veteran of the NFL mascot scene, KC Wolf may be best known outside of Kansas City for his tackle of the streaker, but in Kansas City, fans have supported this character who is constantly seen around town.

KC Wolf jumping on the pile.

#4 - Toro.  The Houston Texans mascot has always impressed me with some of the pics and video that come out of his performances.  I'm not terribly familiar with many of his stunts, but he comes to mind to me more than many other mascots in the NFL.

Toro. (Not the lawnmower)

#5 - Pat the Patriot.  Not a big fan of his performances and the fact that most of his popularity is working for a winning team, however, he was caught doing some naughty things in the off-season, which raised his profile, good or bad.

Pat "Coattails" Patriot

Next up is the second most mascot friendly "major" league, MLB.  Baseball and mascots are synonymous with each other. 

#1 - The Phillie Phanatic.  Easiest #1 pick out of any of the leagues.  If you're reading this blog, I shouldn't have to explain to you why the Phanatic is #1.

Dear Brad, Thanks for voting me #1 in MLB.  Love, The Phanatic.  P.S. Love the Blog

#2 - The Pirate Parrot.  The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pirate have a good thing going.  I really believe that it's the goofy nature of the character, down to his look and antics, that make the Pirate a success.  Even though he's working for a terrible team, his marketing efforts and antics are top notch.

What are all these fans doing here?

#3 - Oriole Bird.  I'm usually not a fan of teams that don't have full-time performers, but the Orioles are an exception for me.  The Oriole Bird is one of the oldest MLB characters and all the performers leave the program better than when they came into it.  A history of solid performers have made the Oriole Bird a great success throughout the state of Maryland.

Hey Oriole Bird, Just Remember what I said about the Champagne Room.

#4 - LouSeal.  The SF Giants fanbase has an interesting reaction to mascots, this dates back to the creation of Crazy Crab, the anti-mascot.  LouSeal has done a good job of not completely shunning the anti-mascot past of the SF Giants, but embracing it and making the character program the winner.  For that reason, he lands on my list of top mascots in MLB.

Lou Seal.

#5 - Tie between Raymond and Billy.  The two sunshine state MLB mascots come in 5th in my opinion.  I love the way both suits look and both of the attitudes of the characters.  What is it about Florida mascots and quirky behavior?

Goats = Mascot Gold.

Raymond....in his prime.

Now that I've broken down the 4 "big" leagues, I'm going to analyze Minor League Baseball and NCAA characters.  First up will be what's near and dear to my heart, Minor League Baseball.

#1 - Thunder.  The Lake Elsinore Storm have an attitude and great marketing plan that revolves around fun and especially around Thunder.  They have taken their time to carefully select the right performers and then given them all the necessary tools to succeed.  There seems to be great ownership and management that truly understand what it takes to be successful.

Thunder has fallen and can't get up.

#2 - Wool E Bull.  The Durham Bulls character had a ball thrown at his head in Bull Durham.  Not only that, last check, they had a full-time performer and had really bought into the power of harnessing Wool E. for all he's worth.

Who Does #2 work for?  The Durham Bulls, that's who.

#3 - Parker.  My past character of the Grizzlies, falls in at #3.  We'll see what happens in the future, but the past 5 years were outstanding, it's just a lack of history that prevents me from putting him higher on this list.

That's where I used to work.

#4 - Phinley.  The character of the Clearwater Threshers has done a good job of becoming an important piece of the teams marketing effort.  They've done a great job establishing an identity in a baseball and sports rich area.

Phinley.

#5 - Orbit.  The Albuquerque Isotopes mascot program really bought into the fun attitude and getting a great costume and full-time performer before many other MiLB teams did.  For that, they deserve some credit.

Orbit.

Finally, I'll give my Top 5 Mascots in the NCAA.  This is usually the most debated list anytime some publication releases one.  I don't think this one will be however, because it's based on program strength, not a popularity contest.


#1 - YouDee - University of Delaware.  This Fighting Blue Hen has produced more mascot performers than any other college program I can think of.  Despite a smaller enrollment than many schools, YouDee is always near the top of UCA and always being innovative.  There are a number of reason I believe YouDee has great success.  There are a number of pro-teams in close proximity to the U of D campus.  Raymond Entertainment Group and Dave Raymond (original Phanatic) are headquartered next to campus.  Good alumni who still have contact with the program.

That's right YouDee, you're #1.

#2 - Aubie - University of Auburn.  Aubie has consistently put their performers into the pro's.  They have a high profile character who always performs well and an alumni base who support the program.  A lot of their success comes from the consistency the get from the Aubies.  Aubie is always a smooth, good dancing, flirtatious mascot.

#1 in Football, #2 in NCAA Mascots.

#3 - Sparty - Michigan State University.  Sparty is probably the most recognizable mascot in America.  A great program with a very well connected alumni-base that help this program stay near the top of competitions and idea-generation.  Also, a great strength of this program is the quantity of mascots and how quick they are building an alumni base.  There are 4 - 6 performers per year now in order to keep up with appearance demand.

Hmmmmm, #3 you say?

#4 - Goldy - University of Minnesota.  Goldy spins his head and is always one of the funnier mascots when it comes down to it.  Also, the 2011 UCA National Champion.

Attention Gopher.

#5 - Monte - University of Montana.  A lesser known school, but a great training ground for future "athletic" mascots.  I really like their program because it's established it's uniqueness by keeping the "gymanstic and athletic" vibe of Monte.

Monte.  (If you couldn't read his headband)

There you have it, go ahead and argue why I'm wrong.

Quick, Easy and Cheap Ways to Enhance any Mascot Program

Thanks to a post by MiLB Blogger, Ben Hill, http://bensbiz.mlblogs.com/ I've had quite a spike in traffic on the blog and would like to thank those who took the time to check it out with some information that I think is valuable to any team with a mascot program.  Let's face it, most teams and most mascot programs are always looking for ways to do things on the cheap.  While there are always drawbacks to cutting corners, I present some solutions to teams looking to spruce up the mascot and the program a couple months before the season starts.

1.  Clean your mascot shoes.  Shoes are one of the dirtiest things on any mascot costume.  Replace the soles on the shoes.  Any decent shoe repair place should be able to do this for around $30.  Get new shoelaces while you're there too.

2.  Fix the character hands.  Hands, along with mascot shoes are the dirtiest parts of any mascot costume.  Steam clean them, take them to a seamstress to get holes sewn up, find a matching color sharpie and "hide" any worn out fur.  Just think about how many times your mascots hands will be interacting with your fan base, whether it's giving high fives, signing autographs or doing promotions.  Fans notice sloppiness, you should too.

3.  Take a good look at the helmet or strapping system used to keep your mascots head on.  Try it on yourself.  If it wobbles a lot, fix it.  Mascots losing their heads can be solved by upgrading your chin strap system at any sporting goods store for under $40.

4.  Come up with 5 new skits.  Encourage your performer to come up with these ideas.  Pay him or her for a couple hours of brainstorming with your marketing team if you have a part-time performer.  Focus on skits that will enhance your game presentation, (example - doing a hula skit on a hawaiian theme night).  Provide resources and practice time to your performer, at the least.

5.  Have your characters outfit professionally cleaned.  Check with your mascot manufacturer and see if they have a service that does this.  (Many do.)

6.  Pick a theme song for your character.  There is no cost at all for this. Having a theme song for your character creates a sense of anticipation for your fans and breeds familiarity.

7.  Take $50 to the Dollar Store and get some new props.  You don't need expensive props to be funny, you just need props that can be used in game and crowd situations.

8.  Every mascot does at least one thing very well.  It could be a certain type of dance, a great communicator with kids, an acrobat or improv, whatever.  Recognize that skill and exploit it to your teams benefit.  If your performer is a dancer, put them in situations where the dancing will entertain your fans.  If your performer is great at dealing with kids, encourage them to do more crowd work and win fans over slowly but surely.  If your performer is a gymnast, allow them a safe spot and time to work that into a game.  Utilize your performers strengths.

9.  Establish relationships with all the other costumed characters in your market.  Call them and have them help on mascot birthdays, promos, etc...  Many times there are thousands of dollars of untapped sponsorship that can be attained through companies and helping them use their mascot to drive their brand.  Most company/corporate mascots are woefully underused.  Allowing them a performance showcase, helps your brand and theirs.  Just make sure you are getting proper value for it.

10.  If you're the boss of a mascot, have fun, smile and encourage the same from your performer.  Trust me, this is one of the most important things you can do to help create that elusive "truly fun" atmosphere.

While this is an old image of "Sherman the Shorebird", you can clearly see how something as small as fixing the hands, makes a big difference.

Breaking down the Lap Dance Promotion

I have to comment on this.  I spent a good 10 minutes trying to come up with a funny saying and some witty observational humor about the Boston Blaze lacrosse mascot Scorch and the failed lap-dance promotion.  Then, I realized that this should be an educational tool for smaller teams and mascots getting their start in the business.

Maybe all the bad PR that the Boston Blazers are getting will have teams reconsider just how important game operations and your entertainment brand is.   While there is a saying there is no such thing as bad PR, I'm pretty positive that this qualifies as bad PR.  Yes, people who had never heard of the Boston Blazers before are talking about this fiasco.  I knew the moment that my mom emailed me with the story, that I needed to write about it. An incident like this is something that fans remember first about your organization, no matter how many community appearances your players do, no matter how many tickets you donate, the Boston Blazers are now synonymous with the "lap dance" halftime show.

The Boston Blazers front office consists of about 10 staff members and a couple of coaches, this is according to their website.   I'm sure that there are plenty of part-timers who "work" for the team but are disconnected with front office happenings.  Namely, the mascots and dancers.  These are usually part time low paid positions, which is fine for teams needing to meet a budget, but there needs to be a relationship with the front office.  This team just had a mascot and three dancers sabotage their community, PR and marketing efforts.  All that needed to happen was a simple pre-game meeting that goes over all the promos, skits, music and placement for the night.  I'd like to think that if the Director of Game Operations had heard this, that it would've been immediately shot down and played off as young kids who don't fully understand the consequences of their actions.

Here are the Sparks dancers doing a well thought through dance routine.

I just read that they actually played a "boing" noise simulating an erection for the mascot during one of the lap-dances.  Strike out my theory about the game-ops people being in the dark.

Do you think Scorch made it "rain"?

What's happened has happened.  The next step is learning from this mistake, not only just the Boston Blazers, but small teams and big teams alike.  Have a plan, think things through, know your fanbase, stick to your branding message of fun and affordable family entertainment.  At the end of the day, I doubt this will cause the kids who were attending the game with family or friends to be lured into the world of exotic dancing.  I'm sure many mascots have heard that they are being racy or inappropriate, there is a line, and good performers can toe that line and keep it more funny than dirty.

This is a classic example of when parenting needs to be strong and teach the kids that this promotion was meant to be funny, but wasn't well thought through.  Nothing more, nothing less.

UCA Mascot Nationals - It's a Love / Hate Thing

The world of UCA Mascots, that's Universal Cheer Association, to the unfamiliar, will crown a new "National Champion" on Friday night in Orlando.  To the outsiders who read this blog, this is a huge deal for college mascots and is probably one of the most fun weekends of the year for most of the mascots in college.  I had the pleasure of going down to Orlando twice for UCA Nationals, in 2002 and in 2003.  Those are some of the best memories I have while I was in school, many not appropriate for this blog.  I knew after competing in 2003 and really establishing the Sparty program amidst the top UCA mascots, that I was going to be performing well after college.  It's been 8 years since my time in Orlando and I've been a "professional" ever since.  Taking a look back at UCA now, I'm able to see things differently than I did then, a new perspective.  One of the benefits of being older and wiser.

Here's what I love about UCA Mascot Nationals:

• It provides a creative outlet for many college mascots that have limited performance time during games at their schools
• The video portion forces the mascots to create events and staged shots, which leads to better skits, ideas and props during the school year
• It's 4 days in Disney World for 18-22 year old males (there are some female mascots) with Dance Teams and Cheerleaders running around everywhere
• The competition and preparation forges bonds of friendship and teamwork that last a lifetime
• Networking 101 with all the other mascots, I'm still in touch with many of the other performers from 2002 and 2003.
• Every now and then a great performer from a small school blows people away with pure talent and creativity.
• Did I mention it's at Disney World for 4 days?

Here's what I hate about UCA Mascot Nationals:

• I know that the video portion represents the overall scope of the program and the character and community and game entertainment, etc...I get it.  However, the skit you do during Nationals requires no improv or quick thinking, which is what I believe to be at the heart of all the great mascot performers.
• The props.  In 2002 it was like the Wild West with all the sizes of the props.  We had to rent a UHAUL in order to get all our props down to Orlando.  In 2003 the rules changed and we were limited to smaller props, but still, the props were things that we'd never use during an appearance or game.  I'm not sure of the current rules, but this always seems to be an issue.
• Whenever I see the skits, it seems like there are maybe 2 or 3 that are original and funny and well-planned, most of the others are just using the same pop-culture jokes and ripping on the other mascots.  (I'm posting this before the competition, but I will wager on the following things being included in the 2011 skits....Snooki, Lady GaGa, Kim Kardashian, some YouTube celebrity, and some new rap dance move I've never heard of).
• It doesn't include a lot of West Coast schools and their mascots, they do a different competition, so it's really not a "National" competition.
• Like college football, the richer schools and athletic programs are historically better.  $ Talks.

Like I mentioned earlier, I'm on both sides of the fence here.  I love it and I hate it.  It can be better, it needs to be better, it needs to crown a true "champion".  Here's how.  Keep the video portion exactly the same.  Your mascot program submits a 3 minute video highlighting the past year and you invite the top 16 mascots down.  Based on how you place in the video standings determines your seed.  Best video gets the #1 seed, worst video gets the #16 seed.  So it's much like the NCAA tournament where you have the #1 vs #16, #2 vs #15, #3 vs #14, #4 vs #13, #5 vs #12, #6 vs #11, #7 vs #10 and #8 vs #9.  Winners advance, losers are out.

Here is how the competition would work, the mascots come out and have ninety seconds in front of the crowd with some of the following things happening, a pre-determined list of songs, props and scenarios from the judges that show the mascots ability to dance, think and improv.  The mascots would all be kept separate and they wouldn't know what to expect when stepping on the stage.  The music, props and scenarios change from round to round.  I think this set-up allows real performance and mascot talent to shine through.  You'd inevitably have upsets (which everyone likes) and you'd have the "best" college mascot, based on performance.  This system of competition would force mascots to practice true mascotting skills like dance, improv, quick-thinking etc... instead of doing a 2 minute pre-planned, probably not very original skit.

Wouldn't you rather see these mascots go head to head?

I know these ideas may be a bit out there, but it's an opinion.  I do appreciate the fact that there are even competitions like this around.  I'm smart enough to understand that it's a privilege to get to compete and be in Disney World representing your school.  UCA runs a great mascot competition for pre-planned skits and props.  If you abide by the rules and give the judges something good, your chances of winning are great.  I've accepted that the UCA Mascot Competition is what it is, a collegiate mascot competition that is more of a showcase than an actual competition.

To Tat or Not to Tat...That is the Blog

Many people have asked me over the years to describe the experience of being a mascot.  How could I sum it up?  I believe an answer that best describes the experience is this:  It's the only thing I've ever imagined tattooing on my body.


However, I'll admit that I've never pulled the trigger on getting one.  I just can't imagine something on my body like that 40 years from now. I have met and heard stories from many mascots who were so impacted and had such a great time portraying whatever character it was, that they got the mascot tattooed somewhere on their body.


To look more closely at the phenomenon of mascot performers getting tattoos of their mascot, I'm going to examine two collegiate mascot programs whose tattoo tradition, I have some knowledge of.  Everyone knows I'm a Michigan State Spartan, but I'm not going to start with the Sparty mascot program.  I'm going to start with another collegiate mascot program that I have great respect for, Aubie from Auburn.

I reached out to Aubie XXIII-XXIV to discuss the Aubie tattoo tradition in further detail.  Wait, what's XXIII-XXIV?  That's a little piece of college mascot history that I find very interesting.  All former Aubie performers are able to create their own unique identity by the roman numerals signifying their years performing as Aubie.  Some have chosen to get the roman numerals tattooed to serve as a memory.  Here is Aubie XXIII-XXIV's description of the tradition, "As for mascot tattoos, I do know a few guys that have them off hand. And there are probably more that I don't know about. It is true that all the "friends of Aubie" use roman numerals as a way to refer to their years of service. For instance, I was a part of Aubie XXIII-XXIV. I don't know where it started, but it's been referred to that way long before me as far back as I can remember. Aubie made his debut in 1979. As far as the number of guys that got Aubie tattoos over the years, I'm afraid that's a mystery to me too."  Interesting.

Aubie

Only Aubie tattoo I could find, I reached out to a few Aubies and didn't hear back.  If you have an image of the roman numeral tattoo...send it in!!

The Sparty mascot program is near and dear to my heart and I still feel like I'm a part of it.  However, one of the traditions that I didn't do was the tattooing of the Sparty head or logo on me.  Part of our tradition was that the tattoo was something you got after your time as Sparty was up.  A reason for the tattooing after your service was done, is due to the secrecy behind the identity of Sparty.  Bad karma has come the way of some performers who jumped the gun and got the Sparty tattoo before graduating.  There are no identifying numerals for Sparty that depict years of service, however guys have gotten images of full-Sparty, the signature or just the head.  It really varies in taste.

The face that inspired a few tattoos.

Sparty signature tattoo.

In summary, tattoos are for life.  In the case of mascot tattoos, I think those that get them, like having them as a reminder of the times that they've had.  It speaks volumes that someone can be so deeply impassioned by portraying a mascot.  I envy those who will be able to look at their shoulder or ankle or chest or wherever, see the mascot tattoo, and be brought back to a time when they were able to create a lifelong memory.

My Very First Mascot Appearance

The Best of the Decade Award has really made me nostalgic.  I decided to go back all the way to the beginning to try and rekindle the feelings I had as a brand new mascot.  I stumbled across the pictures from my very first mascot appearance.  See, I never even considered mascotting before college.  I'm sure most performers get their start at a middle school or high school football game or parade, my first official event was the 2001 CCHA Championship Game at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.  It was an experience I'll never forget.  I figure I'll add some witty captions to describe my experience.

About to step onto the JLA Ice for my first promotion ever, how did I not put the two UM lovers in a headlock?

This is what happens when Death mates with a hockey goalie.  Also note fellow rookie Sparty Erik staring in awe.

"Keep your arms up! Lift your legs!"I couldn't believe how heavy this head felt.

Aren't people supposed to cheer?  I mean, I'm Sparty!

Chicks dig dudes in green.

Kids love some Sparty.

In hindsight, I should have made more of an effort to get behind Dave Ellis and the camera.

Pretty cool to lead a CCHA Championship Parade on your first event, no matter how much I had to learn.

Hey Idiot, Get in the Championship Pic!!!!

 It didn't strike me for a year or two that many mascots never get to experience something like this, but that this was a luxury at a school like MSU with big time collegiate athletics.  This was my first event and I clearly remember on the way back to East Lansing, not being able to see due to the record amounts of sweat that had stung my eyes that night.

I also took away a few things from my first appearance.

• I knew my life would never be the same
• I thought it was crazy that college students were allowed to have this much fun on behalf of the university
• Always rinse hair spray or gel out of your hair before working a 3 hour hockey game
• When working a hockey game and you don't have skates, don't try and walk on the ice after the zamboni