By Nick Bicho
Blaze, Hood’s mascot, has received both praise and criticism from basketball fans and players regarding his court-side presence last season.
Players and fans have mixed reactions to Blaze’s ability to pump up the crowd during the school’s basketball games. Blaze is played by five students and appears at all the home games for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
The athletic department chose the five students to be Blaze based on a few different factors. The assistant director of athletes at Hood,
Geoffrey Goyne, said that applicants for the mascot job were chosen based on their height and how they responded in the suit. Goyne said that they also needed to have multiple students wear the costume because class times sometimes conflict with games. The students who play Blaze are also required to keep their identities a secret from the rest of the student body.
“I interviewed each of the kids who responded and we kept the kids who showed the most interest,” Goyne said.
Regarding to how Blaze gets the fans excited, freshman Taylor McGaughey, a guard for the women’s team, says that there are certain points during a game where Blaze can really get the crowd going.
“When he does the shooting at half time everyone seems to really enjoy that and laughs,” McGaughey said.
During half time, Blaze can be seen participating in the 30- second shot contest with fans. The mascot can also be seen giving out high fives to fans in the student section while the basketball team plays.
While some fans enjoy Blaze’s court side presence, one fan, junior Theo Jenkins said he believes that Blaze does not really keep the crowd going during the games.
Another fan, Andrew Jacobs, a freshmen, who regularly attends the men’s basketball games, said that Blaze needs to be more involved with both the student section and the fans.
“Honestly I don’t even recognize him until halftime,” Jacobs said.
Goyne says that this problem comes from the lack of experience many of the students who play Blaze have.
“There was not a lot of experience for the performers to pull from.” Goyne said. “Only 25 percent of our potential performers had ever been a mascot prior to the fall. So, especially during the fall semester, when you saw Blaze, it could’ve been the first ever performance by a particular person.”
Todd Welch, Blaze’s handler, who helps guide Blaze during the games and who talks to fans for Blaze, sees how the fans react to the mascot during the home games. Welch says that some people are indifferent to the mascot while other people react pretty well to Blaze.
“A lot of people are excited and happy and want to take pictures,” Welch said.
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