In my senior year of high school, no one was able to be our high school's mascot, Sparty the Spartan. There was one basketball game, and the opposing school had brought their mascot the Colt. I turned to my sister and our best friend Grace and said where's Sparty? I then ran over to my principal, who is a dear family friend to ask where Sparty was and that I wanted to be Sparty for the game. He laughed, and we went to get the outfit. This was a spur of the moment, but knowing how fun I am, this wasn't surprising to many. Let me preface that the costume had just been dry cleaned, and I am 5'3. The outfit was a little bit big on me, and Sparty was a 5'3 fighting spartan. That was a highlight to my senior year and dressed as Sparty for a few more events for the district. One of my favorite memories alongside that one was when I had to go to our elementary school. I couldn't walk there, so we had to load me in our 2017 Hyundai Elantra in full costume. I ended up lying in the back with the front seats pushed as far up as possible and struggled to get out. Grace and my sister Andrea thought it was the funniest thing as they were my guides to the elementary.
With my experience, I do want to put on the Klondike mascot uniform on once in my Ohio Northern career. I would prefer it to be clean and smelling good, but for the one time experience, it is okay not to be as clean. I would also be interested in a full-time gig if that is available. I have seen many tall polar bears so that the height might be an issue, but I would do it for the experience. I suppose this blog post could be a mini-application to whoever is in charge of Klondike.
I find it so interesting to hear about students wanting to be Klondike. I remember asking who it was and the upperclassmen told me its a secret. The few granted the privilege of wearing the suit are sworn to secrecy. I had a friend in high school who was a mascot for one of the community colleges near by. For months, he suited up as the riverhawk and never once told us. It wasn't until the end of his time that he revealed it was him. I never had thought before to be a mascot, but I am curious as to what that would be like.
ReplyDeleteI always find it funny how secretive they are with Klondike, but I'm also always surprised when they reveal who Klondike is. I love your story about being the mascot in high school. I find it so funny that that one game got you the gig a few more times. I love it! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete