Tori Lemon
Lantern Staff
Most jobs, sports teams and clubs come with a mandatory uniform or outfit for the employee, athlete or participant to wear. A typical sports uniform, for instance, might include a jersey, matching sneakers and some sort of compression wear to layer underneath.
For one Butler sophomore, his game day get-up is comprised of his jersey, any tennis shoes he would like as well as a very large amount of fur.
Sophomore Jory Martinez was granted the position to be Butler’s one and only Grizzly mascot for the 2016-2017 school year. This was not the original plan for Martinez; however, much joy was brought to him because of it, even through a hairy mask.
“At first, I was trying out to be a yell leader, but after the first day of tryouts, the coach informed me that the position for mascot was available,” Martinez said. “I jumped on the offer. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
Martinez heard about the opportunity to audition from a friend. What started out as a unrealistic joke suddenly became more and more appealing to him.
“Tryouts are always nerve wracking, but I feel like I showed up and got the job done,” Martinez said.
Typically, a mascot can be thought of as the “hype-man” for games and events. What seems like a simple job has more wrapped into it than meets the eye. Being the mascot entails being interactive with the crowd, dancing and sometimes even being involved in the stunts.
Having to be a vital part in all of these activities warrants some reassurance that great college memories will be made because of this opportunity.
“The most rewarding part of that experience by far was the memories and friendships I made,” Martinez said. “It’s an experience I’ll always be thankful for and never forget.”
One of his most favorite memories involves his family being able to see him fully dressed as a grizzly bear and in character, full-force.
“My favorite memory of being the mascot was when my family came from Alabama to watch me perform- especially seeing the look on my little brother Nikko’s face,” Martinez said. “He only got to see me in the costume that one time, but we made it a time worth while. They couldn’t stay the whole game, and while they were leaving, I waved at them in the stands and he ‘dabbed’ to say goodbye.”
However, there must be a few cons to tag along with every positive situation. The costume itself was the most challenging, as well as trying to maintain a “secretive” identity about the man behind the mask.
“It’s definitely not the most comfortable costume I’ve worn, but the experience and memories makes up for it,” Martinez said. “A lot of sweat is expected while wearing the costume, but after a while you get used to it. The most challenging part however was vision– the eyes of the Grizzly were far separated, so I had to focus out of one eye to navigate.”
Beyond the sweat and tiredness from constantly keeping his energy up, as well as the crowd’s and team’s, Martinez would not have that part of his sophomore year play out any differently.
For him, being the mascot comes with not so much blood and tears, but definitely sweat and a lot of good friendships and memories that will last a lifetime.