Blacksburg, VA - The Hokie Bird

11/4/2010 - Virginia Tech Hokies - Lane Stadium

Blacksburg, Virginia is a tiny college town in the southwest corner of the state. To say it is in the middle of nowhere is really to underestimate how far out "nowhere" can be. Located just off the Route 81 corridor, the closest major cities on that road are Harrisburg, PA (323 mi) and Knoxville, TN (236 mi). So, it begs the question - why venture all the way out here in cold, rainy November? Four words - Thursday night in Blacksburg.

It is synonymous with atmosphere and emotion and it is where ESPN's Thursday night telecasts gained their popularity. While the yearly tradition was originally seen as a way to get additional exposure by being the only game on TV Thursday night, it has evolved into a yearly event and we were excited to finally get it into our travel schedule.

Unfortunately, we only had the day to spend in town so we weren't able to scope out any local eateries or activities this time through, but we made it through the sea of tailgating just in time for the Hokie Walk - their version of the popular team parade into the stadium, complete with band, cheerleaders, team and of course, Hokie Bird.

If you've never been to Lane Stadium before and enjoy the adrenaline rush of the team taking the field, make sure that you are in your seats in plenty of time because no one does it quite like the Hokies. The team gathers in the tunnel as the first few notes of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" begins blasting through the PA System. The crowd begins jumping up and down, shaking the stadium and, well, just watch for yourself. The game itself was a nail-biter with the Hokies picking off a late pass to survive 28-21 against the GA Tech Yellow Jackets. In fact, it was so exciting that we barely had time to leave our seats to get food. Fortunately for us, the concession stands sold Turkey legs that were enough to feed both of us without any return trips to the concourse.

The campus is a beautiful, rural setting and I'm sure that there are plenty of good local eateries (Zeppoli's, The Cellar) and activities. Hopefully our next trip to Lane Stadium will be more than a one day affair and we can see all that the Blue Ridge Mountains have to offer. However, even staying just the one day, we had a great time. And while I can't speak for weekends or day games, there truly is nothing like Thursday night in Blacksburg.

Ole Miss Rebel Black Bears

It's apparently "New Mascot Week" in the SEC...

A day after Georgia introduced their latest Uga to the world, Ole Miss has announced that the Black Bear is the champion of their new mascot selection, beating out a Land Shark (not the Lager) and a human-ish thing called Hotty Toddy that was best described as looking like "Duffman" from the Simpsons.

This whole process is seven years in the making and began when Colonel Reb (basically Colonel Sanders from KFC) was deemed offensive due to its reference to the Confederacy. After much consideration and a period of time where it looked like Admiral Ackbar might take over Oxford, the school narrowed the possible replacements to the three choices. Feelings seem mixed among the students, who are still very supportive of Colonel Reb but will likely be happy to once again have a mascot roaming the sidelines. Now, if they can only beat 'Bama this weekend...

Uga VIII to debut

The most anticipated debut of the season in Athens, GA will take place this Saturday and won't involve a new player or coach. Uga VIII will be introduced in front of the homecoming crowd and take his place as the next in a long line on English Bulldogs to grace the sidelines for the University of Georgia (UGA). Currently weighing in at 55 pounds, UGA VIII is just over a year old and takes over for UGA VII, who passed away last fall. While Georgia's season has not gone according to plan so far, his arrival should spark the team to a strong second half (as long as he doesn't get arrested or try to sell his jersey to an agent).

Bill the Goat (Bill XXXIII)

So... I came dangerously close to being run over by a goat today.

I was in Baltimore for the start of college football season and the Navy/Maryland game. The game itself was what you'd expect for an opener - high energy and a lot of mistakes, especially by Navy in the red zone. After Maryland stopped them at the goal line to clinch a 17-14 Terps victory, we started back to car when past us ran none other than Bill the Goat, the mascot of the Midshipmen. The problem was that his handlers were chasing behind him. I, of course, took up the chase with them until Bill was penned into a corner of the parking lot, darting in and out of the tall grass at the edge of the fence.

While they tried to get a hold of him, it occurred to me that I was the only one between Bill and the exit and those horns are at an unfortunate height and look pretty darn solid. Fortunately, the team of handlers (there must have been at least 10 of them) were able to corral Bill before he made a break my way and they were nice enough to stop for a quick picture before taking him back to Annapolis.

Lancaster with the Phillie Phanatic

Lancaster, PA - 08/14/2010 - Clipper Magazine Stadium

Our tour through the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball landed us in Lancaster, PA on a beautiful Saturday night (mid 70s in August!) for a game between the league's two closest geographic rivals, the York Revolution and the Lancaster Barnstormers. As one of the league's top draws, weekend games in Lancaster typically are close to sold out. Add in a rivalry game and a celebration of all things Philadelphia (with an appearance by the Phillie Phanatic), and those without tickets purchased in advance - namely us - found themselves on the lawn. Although the capacity is officially listed at "6,200+", 8,069 fans turned out to watch Lancaster outslug York 11-7.

Lately, getting mascot pictures had become a little easy. In many cases, we found ourselves at sparsely attended games or at places where the mascot had a set time and location to meet with the fans and pose for pictures. Not this time. We've met Cylo (Lancaster's cow)

a few times before and since Junior is fresh off of his Cheesesteak tasting excursion, we set our sights on the legend himself, the Phillie Phanatic. Watching the Phanatic walk through a sea of people is similar to seeing a politician move through a crowded room. His handlers were telling anyone the would listen "no autographs" and "he won't be stopping for pictures." Lucky for us that there is one thing politicians can't resist - kissing babies. Well done, Junior!

Camden, Philly and a book update

Sorry for the long break since my last post but I've been busy. All this book research and proposal writing is hard work. For instance, just the other week, I found myself sampling cheesesteaks in Philadelphia with Mrs. Mascot Hunter, trying to decide who had the best ones. Ah, the hard life I live. At any rate, the scope of the book has changed slightly to now only include the teams within the Atlantic League. These eight teams span from Connecticut to the southern tip of Maryland and will still allow me to approach the book how I want but will allow more detail on the teams and adventures than I could have fit in with the original plan of 30. I'll update the book's website to reflect this as soon as I get a few free minutes (or my cardiologist bans me from cheesesteak tasting for a week).

To date, I have received one rejection from an literary agent stating, in so many words, that the project was not far along enough to warrant her getting involved. At this moment, I have a completed proposal on my desk awaiting one last proofread and then it will be off to a publisher that I have identified as a possible fit based on some of their previous books. In the meantime, any activity or restaurant suggestions within a hour of Bridgeport, CT, Long Island, Somerset, Camden or Newark, NJ, Lancaster or York, PA or Waldorf, MD are always welcome at mascothunter@aol.com. OK, enough ramblings - you really just wanted to see pictures of us with Finley and Blooper of the Camden Riversharks and a six month old taste-testing cheesesteak. For the record, he preferred the roll at Pat's and the flavor of the steak at Gino's.

Phillie Phanatic Being Sued (Again)

Everyone likes the thought of holding a record at some point in their life (some day, mine will involve the most pictures with mascots and cause most of my in-laws to disown me). Today, however, a present day record got extended as the Phillie Phanatic got sued for $50,000 relating to an injury suffered by a fan at a 2008 Reading Phillies minor league game. Unlike Sluggerr's incident with an air-powered hot dog cannon, this one simply involved climbing through the stands and pushing down on a woman's arthritic knees. Make your own judgments on the merits of the lawsuit but this makes at least 6 such cases since 1990.

When asked why the lawsuits are piling up for the Phanatic, a professor of sports law cited that he had been around since the late 70's (me too), has a "bulky, hard-to-control body" (2 for 2), and we live in "a litigious society." All of a sudden, I'm a little concerned that I too may end up in court some day.

Oh, and if you ever need a character witness, Mr. Phanatic, you know where to find me.