markman32

A-10 Tournament GW vs. St. Joe's

Fri, 01 Apr 2005 00:16:19 GMT

The biggest game of GW's season took place on March 11th. GW was set to play the A-10 championship game against their rival St. Joe's. Our spirit team arrived promptly at the Bank One Arena once more, setting up in our locker rooms. My manager Nicole knew this was not only an important game for the GW team but for me as well: this was my chance to mascot as Little George against the St. Joe's Hawk and out cheer him. Just like last game as I predicted, I stayed on my designated spot with the dance team and the St. Joe's Hawk was on the opposite side of the court, flapping his measly wings. Before the team came out the St. Joe's Hawk began to run his figure 8 around the court. I was ready for him this time. When he approached our team, I jumped out in front of his path and raised my fists. The Hawk was literally stunned, not expecting me at all. We almost had a collision, but I dodged him quickly. One should know, by the way, that the St. Joe's Hawk is never allowed to stop flapping his wings. I think that when I came out in front of the Hawk he was so surprised that he lost his focus and stopped flapping. I didn't stop there, however. Once I got his attention, I ran around after the Hawk raising my fists and swerving them around his face, without touching him of course. The Hawk found it in his best interest to run quickly to his side of the court. But my objective was accomplished. The GW fans were already packed in the arena and applauded my act very loudly. I finished with crossing my finger across my neck to indicate that I wanted to harm the Hawk if he came over our side again. The crowd was once again very receptive, cheering my last moves. The teams were soon introduced and the game began. It was a close one for the most part. GW and St. Joe's scored back and forth and neither team maintained a lead for a long time. The closeness of the game made my mascoting better. I clapped or saluted at the players who executed smart plays for our team, jumped up and down on dunks, and raised my hands in the air when our players were shooting free throws. At halftime, GW and St. Joe's were still within points of each other. The Hawk, however, was attempting to score his own points with the crowd. He walked to the center court after the teams went in and waved his wings up and down in a "c'mon" fashion to encourage support from the St. Joe's. I walked out slowly to the center court, and stood behind the Hawk. With my hand cupped over my mouth and my finger pointed toward his direction, I imitated a laughing motion in order to taunt the St. Joe's mascot. Somehow, the Hawk knew I was behind him and turned around. I then proceeded to flap my hands up and down, taunting his flying motions, followed by raising my fists in his direction. I was so lucky, because the referee came out to center court and told both the Hawk and I to go back to our designated locker rooms. So in a sense the Hawk never got a chance to respond to my moves, and was forced to retreat to the locker room. And after halftime, he didn't get any time to celebrate, because little did he know that GW would be winning the A-10 championship and entering the NCAA tournament. During the second half I cheered frantically. My showing up of the Hawk encouraged me to get really pumped. With less than 2:00 left the Colonials sealed the deal, beating the Hawks by about more than 10 points. The players ran out excitingly to celebrate, and the coaches were ecstatic as well. I and the dance team walked out on the court and stood behind the players as they received the A-10 championship trophy. The spirit of the George Washington University dominated the Bank One arena. The GW fans with their buff shirts, hats, and axes cheered excitingly for their team. It was a great day for the basketball team history and the spirit team as well. But even more significant, I felt proud that I had represented my team throughout the season and the A-10 tournament. Little George established himself as a tough general who rooted his team to victory. The NCAA tournament will be no different. The Colonials will reign supreme in future games and in my heart as well.

A-10 Tournament Reflection Continued

Thu, 31 Mar 2005 00:32:42 GMT

On March 9th, the beginning of the A-10 tournament took place in the Cincinnati Bank One Arena. GW was set to play Fordham in the opening game. I was ready for what was perhaps the biggest game of my season as a mascot. The spirit team arrived at the arena at about 11:00, two hours before game time. I unloaded the costume off the bus and took it inside. The Bank One arena staff led us to a small room near the locker rooms where we were allowed to set up and get changed. Our manager Nicole sat the whole spirit team down and discussed the ground rules for the game. Since this game was being covered by a lot of television cameras and the arena was going to be crowded with fans, the general rule for our spirit team was that we would stay in a designated spot on the side court for the whole game and throughout the entire tournament. Nicole mentioned that we would be shown cheering during timeouts and the camera would catch a glimpse of us every so often as the players moved to our side of the court. I myself was happy that I could stay in one spot. It would be easy to mascot without having to get lost in the arena or perhaps ambushed by other A-10 team fans. Nicole went over the various routines that the dance team would do on the sidelines and the main performance they would do during the timeout. For me she said something different, "Mark, this is a very big tournament for us and we need to represent GW hard. I know you're only in one spot for the whole game, but you've got to cheer your hardest and pump up the GW fans in the crowd. Be tough." Those last words, 'Be tough' struck a chord with me. At the St. Joe's game I wasn't really being a tough character as Little George, and the fans weren't very receptive. I realized that this tournament was a chance for me to re-establish my character as Little George, as a strong stern general supporting his troops on the battlefield, in reality the Colonials on the basketball court. A half hour before game time against Fordham I suited up and waited for the GW team to go out. When the announcement was made, the GW team and the dance team ran out of the concourse, with me as Little George following behind. I ran around the court just once as the team was being introduced. There were cameras all around the arena, and I'm sure as I ran around they put me on TV. I came back to our designated sideline post and cheered for our team. The game started pretty quickly after the teams were introduced. Throughout the game I did different motions to cheer on the team. When one of our players dunked the ball (and they did a lot that game) I would pound my chest with excitement. I tried to compromise my over active moves with my tough character, saluting players when they made a nice shot and jumping up and down when they stole the ball or executed another nice play. Occasionally after a big play I would cater to the crowd by pointing at them and raising my arms to encourage fans to cheer. The best part of the game was when the camera man for the sideline walked by and got a shot of our dance team and me rooting for GW. During halftime, the dance team performed for the crowd at center court and received a lot of applause. For the remainder of the game, I stayed in my spot, constantly watching the players' moves and cheering appropriately for each scoring point. It was very easy to mascot when you didn't have to walk around like I did in the Smith Center at the GW games. Speaking of GW, they did very well, dealing a blowout to Fordham. The opening round of the A-10 tournament went very well. But more importantly, after the game my manager Nicole praised me for doing such a good job as Little George. She told me I helped pump up the crowd and made the game more enjoyable for our fans. I truly represented my school that day and I was proud of it. The next day we were set to play Temple. For the most part this game was very similar to the Fordham game in that GW played very well and easily won. I stayed on the sidelines and cheered consistently. On March 11th, the most important game of the A-10 conference tournament was about to take place: a rematch between GW and our rival St. Joe's for the A-10 championship, with an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament up for grabs. The game was important for both the basketball team and me. For the team, it would be the first time in school history that they won an automatic bid to the tournament. For me, it was a chance to be the best mascot I could be and show up my arch rival the St. Joe's Hawk.

A-10 Tournament Reflection

Wed, 30 Mar 2005 06:22:57 GMT

It's certainly been a while since I've updated my blog, but I have done so much as a mascot in the past month that there is much to say. On March 8th, I traveled with the spirit team to Cincinnati, Ohio, to mascot for the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament. For those who may not know, the George Washington Colonials are in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Although they had won many games before entering the tournament, they had lost about 5, including the recent St. Joe's Game on March 1st. Thus their only likely bid into the NCAA tournament would have to come from winning their conference tournament and getting a seed. Our fiercest competitor in the tournament included many, such as Fordham who nearly beat us at home, but more importantly St. Joe's which dealt a loss to us in our last home game. As a mascot, I was so excited to get to travel with the team. When I tried out early on in the year, I knew that traveling with the team if they made the playoffs was one of the perks of being a mascot, but to actually have it come true was really great. As a first year mascot being able to undertake such a privilege made me feel that I truly represented my school. I packed my bags the night before, and on March 8th at noon I got on the bus. Before that, however, I had to take the Little George costume from the Smith Center and put it in the bus's luggage compartment. I should clarify that when I said I was traveling with the team, I meant the spirit team, more specifically the dance team. The basketball players naturally got their own bus, and so did our spirit team, but only a bus big enough to carry the dance team. We hoped that we would win an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament, whereby the cheer team would attend instead of the dance team. I arrived on the bus, very excited to be traveling to the A-10. But about 3 hours after the bus had taken off I was so bored and tired from riding that the excitement subsided. The bus took occasional rest stops but the ride was still very long. Once we arrived however, I was excited once more. I had never seen the city of Cincinnati before. We passed by the city's famous bridge and entered downtown. We also passed by the Bank One Arena where the game would be. The city was very nice, but I was so tired from the ride that I wanted to get some sleep. We arrived at the hotel shortly, which I must say was very rewarding. Everything was covered for: food, hotel, you name it. We stayed at the Marriott, which I'm sure our high priced tuition university administration had no problem covering. But the hotel was close to the arena, which is probably a better reason for why we stayed there, rather than the hotel's quality. When we got to the hotel our spirit manager Nicole assigned our rooms. Unfortunately (not for my sake) there were no boys on the dance team, and I ended up rooming with two girls on the dance team. I was very friendly with all the dance team members during the regular season, and they had always commented on how they loved my mascoting. My two roommates for the trip, Merrill and Brianna, had no problem of rooming with me. Although I was very tired, I was even more hungry. The spirit team went to the hotel restaurant and ordered dinner. (I'm sure Nicole was trying to economize, but it was so late when we arrived that the hotel restaurant was the closest and easiest option for dinner.) I had a delightful grilled italian sausage panini sandwich, which filled me up immediately. After dinner I headed back to my room, showered (after politely letting my dance team roommates go first), and went to bed. Before lying down I imagined the Little George costume bag in the bus. The next day on March 9th, I was going to represent my school as a mascot in a nationally televised conference tournament game. I was so overfilled with joy that I couldn't fall asleep, but soon enough I did, gaining my energy for the next day.

GW vs. St. Joseph's (March 1st)

Thu, 03 Mar 2005 03:32:42 GMT

This was it. The biggest home game of the year, and personally the biggest game for being a mascot. GW vs. St. Joseph's. After the Alumni event I rushed to get situated with my co-mascots. I had about a half hour before game time so I took a short break. But by 6:45 I suited up and got ready to greet the crowd and also be on camera for national television. (It was my parent's anniversary that night so I wanted them to see me). However, I couldn't walk out on the court too much before the game, because the basketball team was paying a tribute to the seniors: the biggest one being T.J Thompson. This would be T.J's last home game played at the Smith Center. Once the tribute was over, gametime started. I was told by my mascot manager and captain Steve that this game was no different than any of the other games, so I shouldn't do anything that could be a liability or misrepresent the University. (Last ESPN game, my co-mascot crowd surfed with the fans!) This rule applied to one huge factor about the game: I wasn't the only mascot at the game. The St. Joseph's Hawk was there traveling with his team. Before the fight song, cheerleaders pointed the Hawk out to me and told me to mess with him. I knew I couldn't physically touch the Hawk, but I could get the crowd riled up by pretending to mess with him. However, I must admit that for the most part of the game this didn't happen. I started the game off as I always did, getting riled up for the fight song, pumping up the crowd during the introductions of the players, and standing very patriotically for the national anthem. After I took a brief break, I went up on the concourse to greet some fans and watch the game, cheering on GW as they played. I went down into the Colonial Army section of our student fans, in order to pump them up and hopefully get on camera. Constantly I got urging requests from fans to beat the Hawk. While down in the stands I saw my mascot captain who told me to go down on the court and mess with the Hawk. During one timeout I saw the Hawk do his traditional figure 8 sweep around the court. He did this a couple of more times. I didn't want to go near him for fear of hitting him or enticing the crowd, so I simply went to halfcourt and danced for the crowd. A couple of minutes later Steve came up to me and took me backstage. He told me that the fans weren't liking Little George, in the sense that he wasn't defending his house. The Hawk was running all over the place while I was just standing in the corner and dancing. He told me I had to get angry, meaning I didn't have to touch the Hawk but I could pretend to fight him or chase him around the court. Most importantly I was supposed to get the crowd into it. At halftime the players went in, and it was then that my mascot captain established all the ground rules for how I was supposed to get angry. I felt mad at myself because I realized that indeed I wasn't pumped up enough to defend my territory and prevent the Hawk from running all over it. I was determined to do so in the second half. I subconsciously cheered during the game, but what I was really doing was eagerly watching the Hawk, waiting for him to do his figure 8 sweep. An official timeout was called and he ran around the court. I ran right in front of his path raising my fists, and he turned around and went back to his side of the court. What happened however, was that a student had jumped from his seat and chased the Hawk back to the other side. The fan was ejected, and from that point on the Hawk never did his figure 8 sweep. I realized later that it wasn't my angry jaunting at the Hawk which prevented him from running around but the fear that students would get him. In essence this meant that I wasn't good enough to scare the Hawk off and that it got to the point that a student had to do it. My mascot captain alluded to this after the game, and I felt terrible. With the St. Joe's Hawk staying on his side, I cheered as best as I could, jumping up ecstatically, high fiving the fans, and jumping up and down. Unfortunately the St. Joe's team was up on the GW men's team and eventually won the game: 71-56. Not only had we lost, but my job as a mascot to represent this school, especially on national television, was in my mind mediocre. I did not represent this school hard enough. As my parents told me, they saw me on camera for a split second but the Hawk was all over the place. There was no doubt that he was the dominant cheering mascot in the game that night. After the loss I was disappointed; despite the reassuring comments of my co-mascots that I did well, I still felt terrible. After everyone had just about left, I changed out of costume and headed out. On the way out, I saw no other than the St. Joe's Coach Phil Martelli. Being from the Philadelphia area I followed his coaching of the team when they were very good, eventually losing to Oklahoma State in the Final Four. To much surprise when I saw him I said "Oh my god", and the coach stopped speaking and focused his attention on me. Speechless for a moment, I suddenly blurted out "Phil... It's a pleasure to meet you sir. Congratulations on the win tonight." I shook his hand, and he thanked me. I realized at that point that I was shaking hands with the opposing coach of the opposing team that had just beaten us, especially their mascot. I then told him, "Sir I just wanted to let you know that I am the school mascot of this University. And when you get on that bus tonight tell your mascot he did a good job. But let him know I'll get him next time." The coach laughed and thanked me again for my praise, and further congratulated me on my hard effort. I still felt disappointed about my mascoting for the game, but as my mascot captain told me the next day, mascoting such a big game against another mascot is a learning experience. Being the best mascot you can be comes with time, and practice makes perfect. This was a life lesson that I took in with stride. I hope in the next season of basketball I will try out and if I make the team again be as angry and spirited in defending my house. That Hawk had better watch out, because he doesn't know what's coming to him.

Basketball Alumni Event

Thu, 03 Mar 2005 02:38:26 GMT

On March 2nd, the Alumni Association at the George Washington University hosted a tribute reception for the basketball players that played in the last three decades. The event was right before the St. Joseph's basketball game so I had no problem doing the appearance as Little George. (Plus I didn't want my co-mascot stinking up the costume before I did). The event was held in our university gym from 5:00 to 6:00 PM. For the first half hour I was asked to stand next to the door and greet the alumni as they came in. Occasionally the hired cameraman for the event would take some pictures of me and the alumni. After I greeted the alumni at the door, I went up to the main reception room. I walked around and greeted many more alumni while the cameraman took some pictures of me with them and their families. At about 6:00 the event kicked off. What was most significant about it was the speech from Coach Karl Hobbs. With less than an hour away from game time he willingly came to speak to the alumni. Before he gave his speech he asked me if I was pumped for the game. I nodded yes and proceeded to take a picture with him. Deep down inside I was ecstatic to finally meet face to face with the coach of our men's basketball team. Coach Hobbs addressed the alumni with a great speech about his love for coaching, and his hope that the alumni would always continue to support the team. He then rushed off to get to game. I too had to get to the game, as I was about to mascot the biggest game of my freshman year: the televised ESPN game against the A-10 East 1st place team: St. Joseph's University

GW Women vs. Xavier

Mon, 28 Feb 2005 02:55:44 GMT

On Sunday February 27th, the GW women's team played their final home game against Xavier. This was also a celebration of Senior Day, where the GW women's team recognized the senior players and congratulated them. It was especially significant for the players because it would be their last game played at the Smith Center. The game was very festive and the attendance was higher than usual. I did not mascot this game, but my co-mascots did a very good job. The Hippo danced with fans in the crowd and stood beside the conductor, imitating him as he directed the band. What was most memorable about the game for me was the halftime contest. During the game a student came up to me and asked me if I wanted to participate in the halftime contest, which consisted of shooting a free throw and making a layup on the opposite basket. I immediately said yes, but because I was a member of the spirit program I was unsure if I was able to participate. I ran downstairs to check with my mascot manager, and I was very glad when she approved. I went back to the student and told him I could participate. When there was 5:15 left in the game I saw him again to sign my name for the announcer to read, and also met my friendly competitor Andre. Once halftime started I took the basketball and went to the opposite side of the court. I thought the contest would be easy for me, because I regularly went to the gym and played basketball. I especially practiced my free throw shots. The announcer told us when to begin, and when he said "Go" the contest started. I shot from the line but the ball didn't go in. The cheerleader behind the net rebounded the ball and gave me another shot. I tried again but it still didn't go in. From this point on I wasn't preparing my shot from the line and taking my time, but shooting again and again. Finally, on a lucky bounce, the ball went in much to the surprise of the cheerleaders behind the net. I took the ball and ran down to the opposite side of the court. My competitor Andre was still shooting free throws. I had to go around him and in doing so I missed my layup shot. However, I backed up and shot the ball against the backboard, sinking it in. I saw the pleased faces of the cheerleaders and heard the support of the crowd as well. I was very excited, and in showing my excitement I did a victory dance in front of the cameraman. I asked myself: What had I won? The answer: an IPOD! I was very elated at this because I had once won an IPOD in a raffle before, but I was not there to claim the prize. What were the chances that I could win it again? At the women's game, I found out. My co-mascots who weren't doing the game congratulated me for the win. And speaking of wins, the GW women's game ended up being very close, but when the Xavier player's shot didn't go in, the team won the game successfully. The women won their 20th consecutive win at home. It was a great day to be a fan at the GW women's game. Now that the women have played their final game, I am looking forward to seeing the team in the A-10 finals, which conveniently will be held at the George Washington University.

GW vs. Dayton (Away)

Mon, 28 Feb 2005 02:15:08 GMT

On Saturday February 26th, GW played Dayton in an away game. I did not mascot this game, nor did any cheerleaders or dancers go either. I just had to mention this game because it was so phenomenal. GW and Dayton were tied. As Dayton had the ball a player made a bad pass, and our player Carl Elliott stole the ball. With 1.9 seconds on the clock, Elliott threw it up into the air. From the look of the shot it appeared he had not expected to be accurate, but merely just as a shot so the overtime period would start. But surprisingly to everyone in the gym and all those watching at home, Elliott's shot was good! Elliott saw he had made the shot and immediately ran back into the locker room to avoid any upset fans. His cheering GW teammates followed him excitingly. The buzzer beater was #1 on Sportscenter's top 10 plays, and it certainly was well justified. Our next game for the men's team will be at home, against St. Joseph's. As the designated mascot for that game I am very excited.

GW Women vs. Xavier

Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:55:42 GMT

On Sunday February 20th, the GW women played Xavier. I did not mascot this game, but I was very glad that I was a fan. In one past entry I've commented that the women's games are nothing like the men's games. Although the fan attendance was still not as significant as the men's game, the gameplay was certainly thrilling like a men's game. For the most part the women have easily executed sharp plays with the basketball and won games easily. But the Xavier women's team played very defensively and managed to keep the game close, eventually sending it to overtime. The Colonials, with the help of Anna Montanianna who scored her career high 26 points pulled out a final overtime win. This game was a big day for the spirit program as well because of the Junior Colonials program. The Junior Colonials is a seminar for very young children who have an interest in cheer and dance. Mostly it's just for the kids, and during the timeouts the cheerleaders helped the toddlers cheer up on their shoulders. During halftime the Junior Colonials performed a cheer and dance routine with the help of our spirit program. I am not a cheerleader or dancer, so I couldn't help out with any routines. However, I was given the delightful duty of sitting in the stands and making sure the kids didn't run away. The funniest thing was the job of my co-mascots, who not only had to entertain the fans but the kids as well. I laughed when the Hippo was being bombarded by the grabbing hands of the little children. While I was sitting down my co-mascot came over to me in the Hippo suit and said, "Save me!" The game was fun for me, the mascots, and the children. The women's win put them in first place, so I look forward to seeing how well they do in the rest of the season.

GW vs. Duquesne

Sun, 27 Feb 2005 05:30:47 GMT

On Saturday, February 19th the George Washington Colonials played Duquesne. This game was big for me because I was finally mascoting. It had been a while since I did a game, but that night I was ready to be Little George. I suited up as usual, but I had no idea the game was going to be so exciting as it was. The fans were numerous in attendance and very excited. When the players were introduced I tried something new for entertaining the crowd. When the opposing team players were introduced I looked at my watch, pretended to yawn, and laid on the court, ultimately pretending to be asleep. But when the Colonials were being introduced, I jumped up and ran up and down the court to rile up the crowd. Every time a player from our team was introduced, I would spin my hands and point to them frantically. I finished the player introductions with one final jump. One can imagine that cheering very frantically for a team is very tiring. It was even more tiring when I had to stay still for the singing of the national anthem immediately after the player introductions. I was breathing so hardly, and the fact that the student sang the national anthem very slowly didn't make my fatigue go by any faster. After the anthem and before I began to mascot, I went backstage where we suit up and took a water break. My mascoting went well this game. I riled up the crowd with a couple of dance moves, and while walking along the ramp upstairs I slapped hands with all the fans in the front row seats. What made my mascoting so much more fun for me was the fact that the Colonials played a great game. We ended up beating Duquesne 80-57. With every dunk, lay-up, and free throw made I jumped up and cheered. When the band played a song, I danced every time. I was so pumped for the Colonials that I didn't take a break until halftime. And even during halftime I came out to cheer on local students as they participated in the A-10 Shootout contest. The game was very funny at the end because we were beating Duquesne so badly that Coach Karl Hobbs took out the starters and put in the players that usually sit on the bench. The crowd went wild when Freshman Pat Joyce was fouled and scored his first point of the year. What pleased me the most was that the fans were very receptive to Little George, and I had great opportunities to cheer with students in the lower stands and upper seats. It was a great game, and I am looking forward to my biggest game of the year: GW vs. St. Joseph's. This game will be featured on ESPN, and the other mascot from the team will be at the Smith Center. As the last home game of the season, it should be a thriller, and I feel very privileged as a freshman to be the mascot for the game.

GW vs. Richmond

Thu, 17 Feb 2005 03:45:48 GMT

On Saturday February 12th, the GW Colonials played Richmond. This game was important for two reasons. First, we lost to Richmond on the road, so this game was crucial for us to win in order to show the Richmond Spiders that they could be beaten. Secondly, the game was being broadcasted nationally on ESPN, so the focus was going to be on the mascots. Although I did not mascot this game, I helped my co-mascots get ready. During the game one of our players Pops Mensah Bonsu dunked the basketball and I was sitting right behind him when he did it. Later on the ESPN highlights of Bonsu's dunk were shown on Sportscenter, and you could see me cheering on the TV. I was very excited. After the game I had the fortunate opportunity of meeting Mike Jarvis, a famous ESPN announcer and former GW basketball coach. I told him I was the mascot of GW as well as my dreams to be a broadcast anchor, and he was very receptive. This game was very high spirited, but I look forward to mascoting the game on Saturday February 19th.

Women's Game, GW vs. Dayton

Tue, 08 Feb 2005 21:10:24 GMT

In the past entries of my mascot journal, I recounted that I only performed at the GW men's basketball games. But we also have a women's team, and on Sunday February 6th, I mascoted as Little George for the game against Dayton. Let me start by saying that the women's games are nothing like the men's game in terms of the fans that show up and cheer on the team. For the most part the only fans that show up at the women's games are a lot of season ticket holders, barely any students, and occasionally some members from the men's basketball team to support the women. Despite the minuscule attendance at the game, it was a perfect opportunity for me to practice my mascot expressions and dance moves. Most of the seats are empty and the gym is not as packed, which allows me to move around fans more and perform my character in the seats. While the Colonials played I sat in the stands and when they made a nice play I stood up and cheered. Throughout the game I found couples sitting in the stands and I would put my arm around the wife of some man. As for my dance moves, lots of fans were receptive when I moonwalked on the court to the band music. Aside from me performing as Little George, my co-mascot partner played the Hippo. We often found each other in the stands and coordinated some routines for the audience. The game ended up going well as the Colonials pulled behind to pull out a win.

Mascot Meeting

Wed, 02 Feb 2005 06:38:56 GMT

On Monday January 31st, we had our weekly mascot meeting. This meeting was very significant for me because the upcoming schedule for the basketball season gave me a lot of significant opportunities to experience the life of a mascot. Let me elaborate. First, I found out I would be mascoting the game where GW played Duquesne. This game was significant because the EA sports video game company was coming to Washington to shoot video of me in the game and put the footage in the upcoming video game "March Madness 2006". I was so excited because I knew that all across the country and maybe the world millions of people would see the video of me as Little George. Of course they would never know it was me, but to be able to brag to my friends who knew I was the mascot gave me a powerful feeling. But mascoting the game that would appear in a popularly played video game was not the only good news I received at the meeting. I also found out that I would be mascoting the men's basketball game against St. Joseph's University, which will be broadcasted on March 1st nationally on ESPN. What a great feeling, I thought to myself. I knew the cameras would try to catch the spirit of the Smith Center which meant there would be at least one or two shots of me as Little George. In the upcoming weeks before the game I am going to work on my dance moves so I can direct attention from those cameras immediately. If the ESPN game wasn't great news already, I found out that I would be traveling to Cincinnati, Ohio for the men's basketball A-10 Finals. I will be representing my school as the mascot by traveling to another city which I have never been to before. Our cheer and dance team will be staying in a nice hotel and eating a lot of food. The best part is that all this is paid for! Truly the mascot meeting on Monday established within myself why I love my job as a school mascot of this great university, George Washington.

GW vs. Dayton

Tue, 01 Feb 2005 05:48:38 GMT

On Sunday January 30th the GW men's basketball team played Dayton. This game was a very important game for us since Dayton was on top of the A-10 conference. Unfortunately I was not mascoting this game, but I thought it was a good idea to talk about my perspective of helping other mascots do the game. Our call time for the 2:00 game was 1:00, where our team brought up the Little George and Big George costumes. When it was time to get dressed, the mascots put on their costume accessories. I helped my partner put on his battery pack to inflate the Big George costume, and helped my other partner strap on the head for the Little George costume. I was very lucky today because a new Spirit policy was incorporated today where the mascots that weren't doing the games were allowed to sit in the front row of the student section, right behind the men's basketball bench. I must say I enjoyed these seats very much as I was able to see the coach direct the team up close and see the fellow mascots and cheer and dance team on the sidelines. During halftime I went to check on my partners and see if they needed help, and they told me no. They were getting ready for the halftime contest, which I must say gave me a justification for not doing the game today. The halftime contest called for three students from the crowd to be blindfolded and run all over the court in search of Big George or Little George. Meanwhile the two mascots would run around while the students kept on searching from the guiding words of the audience on whether they were getting closer or farther. The students were called up and the contest began. One student immediately found Big George (which was no surprise because he was a big mascot), and because he was so big was able to stay on his feet when he was pushed by the student. Another student, however, found Little George and tackled him right on the court! I was a little concerned for my partner but when he got up I felt relieved. But I imagined myself in that costume being tackled on the hard court and I would not have liked it. I love mascoting with a passion but that incident gave me some thanks to myself that I didn't volunteer for that game. By the way, GW ended up beating Dayton 82-73, advancing farther in the A-10 conference.

GW vs. Xavier

Thu, 27 Jan 2005 05:41:53 GMT

The George Washington Colonials are in the A-10 conference of NCAA men's basketball. In my last entry I mentioned that we beat the two ranked teams of Maryland and Michigan State. These wins improved our record immensely and during the past month we were ranked as highly as the 22nd best team in the country. Unfortunately during the past two weeks we lost two crucial conference games (one in overtime) to the University of Massachusetts and Richmond, putting us out of the top 25 ranking. The Colonials needed to bounce back this week and get some wins on their record. On Tuesday, January 25th they played our hugest conference rival Xavier, and I was set to mascot. One thing I should mention is that when I mascot I am usually Little George. The reason for this is that the costume for Little George is similar to the Lion costume I had in high school. There is a huge head that I strap on over separate clothing accessories. However, I am trained to play the other two inflatable characters, and last night was my first chance this year to play one. I found out that instead of being Little George I would be Big George. The reason was that my co-mascot partner Steve had to do a halftime show that involved some complicated routine. This didn't matter since I was anxious to try out another character. My roommates were also coming to the game so I was excited to show them how well I could play another character. (They had already seen me as Little George.) The thing about Big George versus Little George is that the costume is inflatable instead of various articles of clothing (gloves, jacket, shirt, shoes). Big George inflates from a huge battery pack that is strapped on the side of our hips and is connected to a huge hose that inflates the costume itself. So once I have my battery strapped on I just zip up the plastic costume and press the air button which immediately inflates the costume with air. As for the accessories of the costume, there are two strings inside of the head for moving it around.

The game began with our traditional fight song and introduction of the players. I did a spin dance and directed attention toward each individual player with my inflatable fingers. Once the game got underway I took the stairs up to the upper concourse where the students and season ticket holders sat. As I walked by lots of the event staff smiled at me. Some staff members got my attention and asked me to pose with them or children in the crowd. While I walked around a lot of ladies also smiled at me as I extended my hand out for them to slap. I found my roommates sitting in the first row of the student section along with their friends and they gave me a cheering support. When I wasn't walking in the aisles I was in the corners of the Smith Center watching the game and reacting after each play. If the team made a basket I would point to the court or spin my head wildly by using the string inside the costume. And when we made a dunk I would lower my costume and bow to the player who made it. One routine which got a lot of laughs was when I came up the concession stand and took some popcorn. That's another great thing about being a mascot: free food. Lots of fans smiled as I walked down the concourse aisles with the popcorn and some fans grabbed the popcorn out of my can. The band would play some songs which I enjoyed dancing to. I attempted to jump up and down in the costume, but this was very difficult because of the weight of the battery pack. I periodically took some breaks, especially during halftime. My co-mascot Steve, who was playing Little George, wanted to entertain the crowd so he pretended to fight me in the stands. I participated and pretended to fall down when he hit me. I responded by bopping him with my huge inflatable head. For the most part I can say that unlike Little George where I have my attention directed mostly toward the game, I can't really do that as Big George. For one thing, I always have to keep moving by either shaking my inflatable head or moving the costume up and down. Another thing is that I always have to watch out that I am not obstructing a fan's view since the costume is very tall.

When there were 3 minutes late I went down near the cheerleaders to watch the end of the game. Believe me, it was a close one. GW had the lead with 9 seconds left, but an Xavier player made a lucky 3 point shot to give them the lead. With 0.3 seconds left, Colonial Mike Hall inbounded to J.R. Pinnock, who unfortunately missed the buzzer beater. The whole arena was shocked that we had lost so quickly in such a fashion. Additionally, the fact that this game was our second straight loss was shocking because losing to Xavier was unprecedented. I was right near the lower deck seat entrance where the players exited and saw their angered and disappointed emotions. Our coach Karl Hobbs, who usually stays and conferences in the room where we put away our costumes, didn't even stay behind but instead walked straight through the door to talk to the players, with an upset expression on his face.

I am very disappointed that the Colonials lost that game. But in terms of mascoting, despite the loss being Big George was an excellent opportunity to not only tryout a new character but truly see the spirit of the students on campus. I look forward to doing it again and seeing the Colonials go all the way to the playoffs.

Introduction

Thu, 27 Jan 2005 04:43:54 GMT

Hi there. My name is Mark and I'm going to let you in on a little secret: I have a passion for school mascoting. This passion derives from my love to entertain others. I did a lot in high school drama club and was in a lot of public speaking organizations in my youth. Being a mascot, however, is a different feeling because I can still be entertaining but in a disguise. Mascoting allows me to take on a different personality, and what makes it even more challenging is that you can't talk. During high school I was my school mascot, the Lower Moreland Lion of Lower Moreland High School in Pennsylvania. Currently, I along with my other co-mascot partners participate as the George Washington University mascots. These mascots are Little George, Big George, and the Hippo. Basically, Little George is a colonial costume replica of George Washington. Big George is a huge inflatable costume replica. The Hippo, however, is a different story. Our university president Stephen Joel Trachtenberg once went to an exotic country and bought a statue of a hippo as a souvenir gift. He sent the statue to his wife, but she wasn't sure what to do with it, so Trachtenberg placed the statue right on the George Washington University campus. His excuse for placing the statue is stated on the sign below it: "Hippos used to live in the Potomac River during the Colonial times" (or something along those lines). Eventually, the Hippo joke became popular among students on campus and the Hippo character was transformed into one of our other inflatable school mascots. Our biggest sport at GW is basketball since we don't have a football team. Our spirit program is really phenomenal in terms of how we promote games and cheer on the players. Our actual team has a very impressive roster and in my first semester as a freshman at GW, we beat then at the time two ranked teams: Maryland and Michigan State. This site, however, is dedicated to telling you about my experience of being the school mascot at George Washington University. I plan to recount my experiences through each game we play, and hopefully if our team makes the playoffs I will travel with the team! Get ready to enter the inside look of being inside the suit of a college mascot!