Breaking Mascot News
The indispensable Deadspin alerted me to the fact that the Milwaukee Brewers are adding a chorizo to their sausage race, a nightly tradition during which four (now five) people dressed as different sausages see who can run around the stadium fastest.
There are several angles to this story I want to address, so allow me to take a deep breath... (If you’re asking yourself, given my abiding interest in the subject, whether I should start a separate blog devoted solely to mascots, believe me, I’m asking myself the same thing.)
First off, any news involving the race, from now until the end of time, will call to mind the incident a few years ago when Pittsburgh’s Randall Simon took out one of the sausages with a bat from the top step of the dugout. This was arguably the richest moment in American sports history, dubbed Sausagegate by the press. It also got the attention of a certain upstart blogger.
Trust me, dear readers, I have searched high and low for video of this incident. The fact that YouTube doesn’t have it leads me to believe that YouTube is not living up to its potential. There is a moment after Simon decks the sausage when another outfitted runner, startled, turns to assess what happened to the fallen comrade. Despite the fact that said person is wearing an unchanging mask of foam meat (with facial features, of course), he or she still manages to express bewilderment. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen. If you have Windows Media Player, unlike me, you may be able to watch it here. I hope so.
In any case, the chorizo news understandably brought Simon to mind.
It’s also fascinating in its own right, though. A sports business reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes:
So there’s that.
And lastly, there’s the usual effect of any mascot story, which is to fuel my insatiable hunger for more mascot stories.
I love this country:
There are several angles to this story I want to address, so allow me to take a deep breath... (If you’re asking yourself, given my abiding interest in the subject, whether I should start a separate blog devoted solely to mascots, believe me, I’m asking myself the same thing.)
First off, any news involving the race, from now until the end of time, will call to mind the incident a few years ago when Pittsburgh’s Randall Simon took out one of the sausages with a bat from the top step of the dugout. This was arguably the richest moment in American sports history, dubbed Sausagegate by the press. It also got the attention of a certain upstart blogger.
Trust me, dear readers, I have searched high and low for video of this incident. The fact that YouTube doesn’t have it leads me to believe that YouTube is not living up to its potential. There is a moment after Simon decks the sausage when another outfitted runner, startled, turns to assess what happened to the fallen comrade. Despite the fact that said person is wearing an unchanging mask of foam meat (with facial features, of course), he or she still manages to express bewilderment. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen. If you have Windows Media Player, unlike me, you may be able to watch it here. I hope so.
In any case, the chorizo news understandably brought Simon to mind.
It’s also fascinating in its own right, though. A sports business reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes:
Chorizo, who will be adorned with a sombrero and decked out in red, green and white, will be formally introduced on Thursday at a press conference at Miller Park.Yes, I know that if I was in charge of lobbying for the dignity and increased visibility of my people, the first thing I would ask for is the creation of an ambulatory sausage wrapped in our flag and sporting an accessory associated with our caricature.
Latino community leaders had lobbied the Brewers and Klement's to add a Mexican mascot. The unveiling is in conjunction with Cerveceros Day, set for Saturday night at Miller Park.
So there’s that.
And lastly, there’s the usual effect of any mascot story, which is to fuel my insatiable hunger for more mascot stories.
I love this country:
Labels: Mascots
posted by JMW at 12:24 AM
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