 "Photo: Courtesy photo")
Sophomore Samantha Freese has a unique pre-game ritual.
She dons the University of New Hampshire blue and white like most students, although she'll forgo makeup and primping in front of a mirror. Instead, she ties her hair tightly in a bun and completely covers her face in layer upon layer of fake fur and wire.
And thus the night of a UNH mascot begins.
The native of Canaan, N.H., is one of 12 students who has dressed as the school's mascots this year. While the number has dipped slightly since the fall semester, Freese said there is a solid group of students who bust their furry humps at ticketed sporting events, something she said isn't an easy task.
"It's hard work," said Freese, who plays Wild E. Cat at women's basketball games and at some football games. "Some people wouldn't think so, but you're putting on a snowsuit and walking around and trying to entertain people, and it is exhausting.
"I feel so pathetic because I'm in shape and I work out. And yet, it's like you're wearing a snowsuit all the time. The gym's already hot, and the head's heavy when you're wearing it."
She said the hardest part, though, comes from the inability to respond to some students' actions, as Freese and others aren't allowed to talk while in the suit.
"I guess embarrassing for me - and I think it's kind of funny, too - is they don't really realize that Wild E.'s a girl inside," she said. "They'll pat my chest to be like, 'Hey Wild E.' Then they'll pull back and go, 'Whoa, Wild E.'s a girl.' And it's so awkward because it's like, 'Yeah, I am a girl and you just felt me up.'"
Despite the difficulties of the volunteer job, Freese said being a mascot is an experience she wouldn't trade for anything. "I love hanging out with the kids at the games," she said. "There's this family that goes to the women's basketball games every Sunday. Every time they see me their faces just light up [with] huge smiles. We'll color and we could just play the whole time, and I love it. It's just nice making people happy." WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A MASCOT
The job itself requires a special skill set, according to Amber Radzevich, who oversees the mascots and student interns as part of her role as the assistant athletic director for marketing and communications at UNH. She said it can be hard to find students with the necessary mascot qualities, as well as a willingness to perform the job without being paid.
"I think it takes an interesting personality to be a mascot," said Radzevich, who gives the mascots incentives for their work. "It takes a lot of patience."
Freese agreed. She said mascots need a positive mindset while in the suit since the mascot encourages fan participation and fosters an enjoyable game environment.
"It's your body language that's portraying the character because you're not talking," she said. "You have to use your whole body. If you're having a bad day your body language is going to reflect that."
A required skill for a mascot is the ability to read a crowd, said Radzevich.
"It's very important they understand children, and understand how to work with children because we have a lot of kids who come to our games and sometimes they're afraid of the mascot," said Radzevich. "We try to teach [the students playing the mascots] about understanding what to do if there's a child that's fearful of the mascot when they come over, and all of my mascots are very good at that."
Freese said the hardest part about the role for some people involves letting go of social inhibitions and acting against social norms outside of the costume.
"Once you're in the costume you have to become the character and have fun with it," said Freese. "No one knows who you are, and you can be the biggest idiot you want and just be OK with that. If you're not ready to give your all while you're in the costume and be OK with making a fool of yourself, you won't be able to do it.
"You just have to be ready for that. You just can't sit and wait and think people are going to be excited to see Wild E." April Gabrielle, who plays Wild E. Cat at men's basketball games, football games and gymnastics meets, said being the mascot involves a silly persona, but the job is also a professional one.
"You have to take it seriously because the kids and the parents get a big kick out of Wild E.," said Gabrielle, a junior history major and education minor. "You kind of have to live up to their [idea of a mascot] and be really energized and dancing around and poking fun, rubbing their hair, stealing their food. You can't just be out there moping around. That's not what Wild E. is."
Mascots are mandated fixtures at America East basketball games, and the athletic department requires mascot presence at the five other ticketed sports at UNH. This means if Freese, Gabrielle and the other volunteers are unable to make a game, Radzevich taps one of her student interns to play the role.
"Thank goodness for April and Sam, because if it weren't for those two, it would be challenging some days," she said. "I'd really need to go out and get more people involved."
Radzevich doesn't have to worry about coverage for the hockey games, however, as community members volunteer to play Wild E. Cat and Gnarlz.
There are times when games conflict, according to Radzevich, although ticketed sports are scheduled at different times and on different days. When there is overlap, Radzevich places priority on the basketball games and the other ticketed sports because they must be there.
Weekends loaded with games and events pose other logistical challenges for Radzevich and her staff. Wild E. Cat is laundered every Monday in the equipment room, and Gnarlz receives a hand-washed treatment from Radzevich herself. The suits need significant time to air dry, preventing washes between games on busy weekends.
"We use a lot of Febreze," said Radzevich with a laugh. "It's one of those things that I kind of laugh [about] because I liken these costumes to hockey equipment. If you've ever smelled hockey equipment… I don't think the gloves are as bad as that, but it gets pretty ripe sometimes.
"It's tough. If we have a game on Friday night and [the events] go straight through to Sunday and you have, like, five events, that thing's not getting washed until the end of the weekend."
Radzevich said the department tries to keep a good tab on the upkeep of the uniforms to ensure cleanliness and comfort inside the suit.
"The mascots become very close friends over the course of the season," she said. "I'm kind of just thankful I have less of them because they don't have to wear each other's sweat as much - at least then April's wearing April's sweat, and not somebody else's."
THE POWER OF THE FUR
A mascot's primary duties are to bring a sense of pride to the university and provide an icon students, alumni and townspeople can use to represent the spirit of their college and team, according to Radzevich.
"I think that whenever somebody sees Wild E. Cat or Gnarlz, whether it's an adult or a child - providing the child's not afraid - they instantly go to hug them or high five them," she said. "It maybe sounds a little bit corny, but at the gymnastics meets, Wild E. walks down the front of that aisle and it's like the Pied Piper. There's this line of kids chasing after and high-fiving and hugging him. I think it's sort of a joyous thing."
The influence the mascot has on kids is what Gabrielle said she enjoys most about Wild E. Cat.
"I'm a big fan of little kids and just seeing their faces light up," she said. "One time at a football game this one little girl would not let me go. She just wanted to follow me around everywhere. That just shows how big this icon is for the school because it gets right down to the children's perspective of the sporting events."
Karen Collins, an associate professor in the kinesiology and sports studies departments, said mascots are also important because help bring unity to the student body because the characters represent the qualities of the university.
"The intent is for the mascot to be a unifying force that exemplifies pride, passion and tradition of a particular college or university," said Collins. "In an ideal world, it is a visual representation of what the university, and particularly the university athletic departments, stands for."
Without a mascot, Collins said, something would most likely assume its role as the UNH icon, although a mascot is a unifying figure and its disappearance or limited use could reduce recognition of the university and overall school spirit.
There are times the pride and energy can cross a line, though, according to Gabrielle.
At the first football game this season, Gnarlz was bombarded with handfuls of ice from a group in the student section. Gabrielle said the gesture was a show of student disapproval for the new mascot, something she felt wasn't warranted as the student underneath didn't deserve disrespect from the fans.
"It's a person underneath there, and yeah, you might not like the mascot, but you're still representing your school, too," she said. MORE THAN JUST A CHEERLEADER
While most students will recognize the mascots as the energetic fixtures of cheering sections and the comic relief during stoppages in play, sporting events aren't the only functions UNH's mascots attend. Campus celebrations like the University Picnic, the graduation ceremony, and community events all feature a UNH mascot, said Radzevich.
This year there has been a drop in overall requests for mascots at events, though, according to Radzevich.
"I don't know why or what - I don't think there's any real reason for that," said Radzevich. "Sometimes we'll get local hockey rinks that call and ask for them to come to something. Pat's Peak invited Gnarlz to come up to a fashion show or something. So we'll get really random things."
This year has also shown a drop in overall interest from student volunteers, Radzevich said. The athletic department recently held tryouts for next year's team of mascots, but no one showed. Radzevich said the department plans to hold another tryout session soon to recruit more volunteers.
She also said several of the 12 original mascots from the beginning of the academic year have cut back on participation so far this semester, which she said has to do with time constraints.
Freese said a good calendar and organizational system helps her schedule time well. In addition to the two hours a week she spends as a mascot, Freese also works as an administrative assistant in Thompson Hall, a resident advisor in Williamson, an EMT and a member of the campus sketch comedy troupe Sketched Out. This is all in addition to being a full time student, of course.
She said the job has been challenging at times, although Freese has no regrets about her experience as a UNH mascot and said she has found it incredibly rewarding.
"I can tell for the rest of my life, 'I was my college mascot,' which is the coolest thing in the world," said Freese. "Who wouldn't want to be that? Why wouldn't you want to get into a costume and be a total idiot in front of your peers? I'm being a little sarcastic, but you can tell people that forever. It's just a great opportunity.
"I'm totally going to put it on a résumé, just simply for a conversation starter. Who wouldn't want to know about my experience as the wildcat?"
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