Unveiling the Pack’s mascot
Inside the suits, they feel invincible. Alphie and Wolfie, the university’s mascot and his little brother, can dance, flirt with girls and play tricks on fans, and no one knows their identity.
Wolfie, the mascot’s little brother, does push-ups and gets the fans cheering during Nevada’s 35-19 loss to Texas Tech Saturday night.
“You feel like the Incredible Hulk,” Alphie said. “You can’t get hurt in that costume, I think, and no one knows who you are if you mess up.”
Hiding behind the wolf head has helped his pride and health a few times in his mascot career. During his only back flip attempt, he landed on his head. At another game, a student carrying Alphie tripped, flinging the mascot into the marching band.
Wolfie has needed the anonymity too. At a basketball game last year, the cheerleaders lifted him during a stunt and he plummeted to the court, face first.
“It’s mysterious,” Wolfie said. “You can do stupid things and people don’t know who you are. It’s kind of like being a super hero without the powers.”
Although the secrecy can be rewarding, it comes with a price.
The wolf heads leave little breathing room and the air is thick and hot inside the costumes. Sweat drenches the mascots. And although it’s tiring, they push through the fatigue to keep the crowd entertained, they said. Their drive doesn’t go unnoticed.
“Any time people see the mascot, everyone gets pumped,” said 25-year-old Krissymal Cagney said, who sported an “I love Alphie” T-shirt at Saturday’s football game. “Everyone’s all about him and Wolfie.”
To keep the fans excited, the duo performs skits, such as fighting with the other team’s mascot. They plan it out with the opponent’s mascot beforehand, but often rely on improvisation, Wolfie said.
Once while taking a picture with the female Lobos’ mascot from New Mexico University, Alphie gave the mascot a kiss and smacked her butt.
They prepare for more than just skits. The two hit the gym about five days a week, two of which they lift weights. They run on an inclined treadmill and need to run a quarter-mile without stopping to keep their endurance high.
“Then once you’re in the costume, it’s a piece of cake,” Alphie said.
Despite their training, it’s still tough. Sometimes the mascots will pretend to fall down so they can take an extra break, Wolfie said.
At times, the falls aren’t planned. Peripheral vision is lost in the costumes, making it difficult to see certain things — especially little kids. Wolfie said he’s tripped over a few children on the job.
But they keep their chins up and run with it. They are training two understudies to keep the tradition going and to teach them the way of the mascot.
“You gotta represent the school well and have fun with it,” Wolfie said. “It’s all about crowd interaction.”
This entry was posted
on Monday, September 8th, 2008 at 11:25 pm and is filed under News, Student Life.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Print this post
Email this post© 2008 The Nevada Sagebrush
