From the Philly Phanatic to Benny the Bull, mascots have played an energizing role in bringing an exciting atmosphere to any game they rally around.
The first mascot was Yale’s “Handsome Dan” in 1892, an English Bulldog that brought a fierce and winning attitude to the team’s football games.
At TO, the oldest high school in the Conejo Valley, we could benefit from having a mascot at our football games and other athletic events.
“I think it’s a huge energy booster,” Lancer sophomore and football starting quarterback Jackson Taylor said. “It kind of gives that college football vibe because when you think of college football and college sports, you think of mascots, cheerleaders and hyped environments that make it feel like a lively sport.”
TO already boasts the biggest and most influential student cheering section in the area — the vaunted Green Hole — but even leaders of the group believe a mascot would provide a boost.
“A mascot could make the Green Hole way more exciting, especially during the dull moments,” senior Green Hole leader Emily Bryant said. “(It would) hype everyone up. I believe the mascot could become an icon for the Green Hole.”
Principal Dr. Eric Bergmann supports the idea of a live mascot — Larry the Lancer, perhaps? — especially if student support is behind the idea.
“It depends on the overall support of the school — it’s not really a decision I am going to make on my own — but if ASB says this is something we want to look at and the rest of the student body supports it, I would absolutely be supportive,” Dr. Bergmann said.
Bergmann does not believe there is a connection between having a mascot to pump up the crowd and success on the field, but he does believe it would enhance the student body experience.
“(Does it) benefit athletes? Not directly. I’ve worked at schools where there have been mascots, and I don’t think there is any connection to athletes on the field or the court,” he said.
“Where you would get the benefit is obviously them hyping up the crowd, and obviously a more excited crowd would support the athletes. But the mascot themself, (there) would be no change.”
Bergmann does offer a word of caution.
“I’ve also worked at schools where there has been a mascot where they just put on the costume and went out there and stood, and it was almost a joke,” he said. “It became kind of a running joke, so if we did have a mascot, and ASB wanted to go that route, we would have to make sure that the person wearing the costume was animated and they knew how to do a good job.”
If a Green Hole leader or ASB member would step up to be the Lancer mascot, they could help the crowd in leading chants and cheers and energizing the once lively student section of TO.
“It would be a cooler home environment and it would make it tougher for other teams that have to deal with crowd that is more joined together by something,” Taylor said. “It would make it more loud in our favor. As the crowd goes, the players naturally seem to go. If the crowd is hyped, it gives that high stakes environment.”