Double Identity
Ross Abramowitz leads a double life.
By day, the Butler High School senior is a mild-mannered, high-honor student who plays the saxophone in the school band.
On Friday nights during the fall, however, Abramowitz slips into his alter ego — literally.
His other persona is Tuffy, Butler's Golden Tornado mascot.
He mills about in the stands entertaining adults, students and young children. He performs with the cheerleaders on the sidelines and generally adds school spirit to the proceedings.
“It's been pretty interesting,” said Abramowitz, who has had to juggle his band responsibilities with his alter ego as Tuffy. “I've been able to be Tuffy for a half at each home game. It's been exhilarating.”
Abramowitz is not alone. Scattered at high schools and even colleges in the area, students just like him don costumes, acting silly for amusement.
“This is my last year,” Abramowitz said. “I wanted to go out with a big ending.“There's nothing like being a mascot,” he added. “The excitement it brings out in other people. The school spirit. They way little kids look at you.”But Abramowitz didn't plan on being a mascot.As with many other schools, the costume was sitting dormant without anyone to wear it when Abramowitz volunteered.The Tuffy costume, which has only been around for a few years, was pretty beat up when Abramowitz inherited it.He took it home and his parents, Ira and Helen, helped him fix it up.Now, it's like a second skin.“Who knows?” Abramowitz said. “Maybe someday I can be the Pirate Parrot, or one of the perogies.”Being a mascot is no easy business, however, as many students have discovered.<BR>
Tyler Krumpe has trouble seeing his feet.Apparently, purple fluffy gremlins have vision problems.Krumpe, a freshman at Karns City High, has to battle each week to maneuver through the fans and work his mascot magic on the sidelines as the Karns City Gremlin.“I can't see much out of this thing,” said Krumpe, shortly after removing his snarling head. “I don't fall down too much, though. It takes some getting used to, though. That's for sure.”Early in the season, the mascots also have to battle the heat.“It gets pretty warm under here,” Krumpe said. “I try to lift my head up to get a breeze whenever I can. I drink a lot of water.”Abramowitz said being a mascot also can be physically taxing. Moving around in a heavy costume can take a toll.But he has more maneuverability as Tuffy than most mascots do.“I have pretty good range of motion with my arms and legs,” Abramowitz said.He and his parents made some adjustments to Tuffy to give him a better field of vision as well.But once he's in the costume, the number one priority is to entertain.That, too, can be a tricky proposition.“I just kind of wing it,” said Nick Milliron, a sophomore at Freeport High who dons the school's Yellowjacket costume for Friday night football games. “I jump around, do a lot of cheering, just have fun. It's great for school spirit and the students and little kids have really responded well to it.”That's not always the case, however.Sometimes fans, particularly young children, can get a little too physical with the mascots.“I consider it a good night if I don't get kicked,” Krumpe said. “It's all part of being a mascot, though.Milliron hasn't run into too much trouble, save for one part of his costume.“The stinger,” he said. “For some reason, little kids have an obsession with the stinger on the back. They are always pulling on it.”Some schools, though, have mascot costumes but are finding it difficult to find anyone to wear them.
Sitting in a closet at Knoch High School is a Knight costume.Knoch athletic director Josh Shoop has made announcements to the students trying to drum up interest in the knight costume, but he has had no luck finding someone to wear it.Shoop said he is at a loss to explain the lack of excitement from the student body.Other school are having similar problems.There is no one to wear the Rocket outfit at Slippery Rock High or the Eagle costume at Grove City.Even at Freeport, it took a last-minute intervention from Milliron to save the Yellowjacket.“It was Nick's idea,” said Freeport athletic director Todd O'Shell. “We were thrilled to have someone to wear it.”Milliron heard about it from a friend who saw the costume sitting in a room and investigated.“It still had the tags on it,” Milliron said.“I couldn't believe people weren't lining up to do it,” he added. “When I found out no one was wearing it, I knew I wanted to do it.”O'Shell is just happy someone jumped at the opportunity to be the Yellowjacket, despite the tempered buzz about the costume.“It makes the games a little more special for the players and the fans,” O'Shell said. “It's a reminder of who we are. People talk about the Yellowjacket.”But the mascots can't talk about anything when they are in character.
Rocky, the Slippery Rock University mascot, hasn't said a word in years.It's the number one rule of mascoting: The mascot doesn't speak.It's an edict that Rocky, and the handful of students and volunteers who wear the costume, take seriously.“Rocky doesn't talk. Ever,” said SRU sports information director Bob McComas. “Rocky is a mystique. No one knows who he is. It's a mystery.”Rocky, a lion, is the third mascot costume used by the university.It was redesigned to better represent the “pride” in SRU and debuted in February 2007.“He had to go to get in better physical condition,” McComas noted.The high school mascots also adhere to the no-talk rule.Sometimes, it can be a challenge.“When your friends come up to you and start talking to you, it can be hard,” Milliron said. “But you have to be quiet. That's part of being a mascot.”So is communicating with hand gestures — something Abramowitz, Milliron and Krumpe have tried to perfect.Milliron watched videos of mascots on YouTube to try to get the gestures just right.So did Krumpe.“It's not easy,” Krumpe said. “It's hard to not talk and do your talking with you arms and actions and stuff. That's the hardest part for me.”Still, none of the mascots would trade their experience for anything.“I plan on doing it beyond this year,” Milliron said. “This is the most fun thing I have ever done. It's a blast. I'm so glad and fortunate to be able to do it.”
