Tag: Mascots

Your most famous stunt is the ladder …

Your most famous stunt is the ladder dunk during the Bucks’ 2010 first-round playoff series against the Hawks. You bought the ladder the day you decided to do it and didn’t get a chance to practice it, right? Oh, man. Yeah. You are right. (laughs) It was one of those stunts on my bucket list. I wanted to do it. I was just waiting for the right moment. I think it was Game 4 against Atlanta. You plan out your games and your skits and your stunts and all of your stuff. And I thought, “Man, if I don’t do it now, I won’t have a chance to do it.” I forget exactly what the series was, but there was no guarantee we were going to get another game. So, if I wanted to do it, I had to do it that game. I was going back and forth about what stunt to do or what skit to do and I finally decided, you know what, I’m going to do it. So, I bought my ladder on my way into work that day.

The most serious injury was the ACL …

The most serious injury was the ACL tear at the 2009 All-Star Game, right? Or did you break an ankle at some point? I sprained my ankle more times than you can count and when you do that over and over and over again, you just end up with bone spurs in your joints. So, I have a ton of bone spurs. I’ve had it cleaned out, scoped a couple of times, tried to clean it up, but the ankle was just a little bit of an injury. My biggest injury was my knee. I tore my ACL in 2009 and then it was good for a couple of years and then I tore it again. Those were the two big ones. Other injuries were shoulder separations and broken fingers and little stuff like that, but nothing major.

They had the Luvabulls and the constant …

They had the Luvabulls and the constant din of entertainment. But Benny took what was happening on the floor and brought it into the stands. And he made Benny into a personality. “He didn’t completely reinvent the way we did things,” Wohlschlaeger said, “but he came up with ideas to really promote the brand of Benny within what we were doing in a much grander way. He found ways to establish significant brand strength.”

J.A. Adande, who covered the Bulls for …

J.A. Adande, who covered the Bulls for the Chicago Sun-Times, on The Lowe Post: “Benny The Bull sort of – his shape morphs over the years, and he becomes this more rotund Phillie Phanatic type of body – right? – over the years with the dyed hair. So, then, Zach, you remember they bring in Da Bull, who – as you’re getting into the more athletic mascots in the 90s, the guys who jump off the trampolines and stuff. So, Benny has become this overweight Bull. So, they add Da Bull to all this trampoline stuff, right? So, Jordan being Jordan trash talks Benny The Bull and says, “You’re no good. That’s why they brought in Da Bull to replace you.” He used to trash talk Benny The Bull.”

A bunch of NCAA dog mascots got on a Zoom call together and it was just spectacular

Look at all these dogs.

Being quarantined has mostly sucked. But one of the more fun things to come out of it is people doing virtual happy hours through video calls with their friends.

Here comes the plot twist. These Happy Hours are not just limited to people. The dogs are involved now, too. Seriously.

Bryant Tupper, the Bryant Athletics bulldog mascot, invited a bunch of other canine college mascots to a video chat and, quite honestly, it might be the most adorable thing that you’ve seen in the last month. It’s hard to think of anything better.

You just want to pet every single one of them.

Look at all those good dogs practicing social distancing. Give them each a treat. And a belly rub. They deserve that and more. This is amazing.

My only question is whether we can get more mascots in on this. Because somebody needs to get Mike the Tiger on the line ASAP.

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That’s because the men who perform as …

That’s because the men who perform as Rocky and Hooper are believed to be the first father-and-son mascot duo in NBA history. Their story is largely unknown to the public because of the strict code of secrecy the mascot world demands. But with assurances their identities would be sealed, both men agreed to speak with The Athletic and share how their unique, anonymous trade became a family business. (We will call the father “Tom” and the son “Jack” to help with reading ease.) “We chuckle about it every time we meet up,” Jack says. “It’s really cool to look at each other, and I know where he’s been and what he’s been through.”

Tom and Jack don’t have a running tally …

Tom and Jack don’t have a running tally of who is most efficient with the family shot. “We don’t compete in costume because I never want to create that sort of pressure,” Tom said. “But when we get together, we’ll have little contests out of costume when we’re fooling around the court, put a dollar on it.” Still, the two men wouldn’t have signed up for a life around professional sports if they didn’t share a competitive streak. Jack is astutely aware that Rocky once nailed the shot in 17 straight games.

‘Only Gritty is above the law’ becomes Philadelphia rallying cry for Trump impeachment

Flyers mascot Gritty has become a symbol for the Philadelphia left.

President Donald Trump will most likely be impeached by the United States House of Representatives today, following an investigation that found he pressured the Ukrainian government to investigate the son of one of his political rivals, Joe Biden.

From there the impeachment case will go to the Senate, where the Republican majority will most likely vote to acquit. On and on we go.

HOWEVER, there have still been rallies around the country in support of impeachment, including one this week in Philadelphia. There, we saw signs for what has become a rallying cry for the Philadelphia left: “Only Gritty is above the law.”

Gritty, the Flyers mascots, has become an instant folk hero in the city of Philadelphia, and somehow also become a symbol of the anti-fascist movement? (Read the Daily Beast story, because I can’t summarize how this all happened.)

This isn’t exactly a new thing. “Only Gritty is above the law” has been a rallying cry for a while now, with t-shirts being printed already, and the sign showing up at more than a few protests over the last few months.

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