The Famous San Diego Chicken

For anyone who has followed mascot-related humor over the last 2 or 3 decades, this bird needs no introduction. It is the legendary San Diego Chicken. Ted Giannoulas has been performing as the Chicken since 1974 and is still going strong. He's performed at Elvis Concerts, for various US Presidents and at more baseball games than anyone can count. And last night, he was at the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees game. (Let me go on the record again to say that Mrs. Mascot Hunter is a very patient and wonderful person. You would expect to hear "six hours in the car in one day to go see a guy in a chicken suit?" But with her, I didn't really even need to ask twice.)

I won't drone on here about the history of the Chicken but if you've never seen his antics, take a few minutes to check out some of his highlights. While most mascots hang out on the dugout or wander through the stands, he is interactive with the players, the home mascot and (of course) the umpires. His between inning bits included a dance-off with the home mascot, the theft of a vendors bag of cracker jacks which he then distributed to the fans and the "hatching" of a practice baseball in which he stole the infield warmup ball, ate it, shook around and, let's just say, hatched it. He even served as the first base coach for a half inning and voiced his displeasure for the umpire's strike zone.

After his performance, which lasted from the second through sixth innings, the Chicken sat in the concourse behind home plate and made it a point to meet with everyone who wanted to meet him and sign anything and everything (for free). In a sports world where access to the performers is often limited, it's great to see that a legend of the game is willing to take the time to acknowledge the fans. I told him that it was an honor to meet him. He shook my hand and then tried to eat my head. It's a thing we have.