Hoya File Photo Georgetown’s mascot Jack the Bulldog

Standing at over six feet tall with a head bigger than most freshman dorm rooms, Jack the Bulldog is a conspicuous presence at many Georgetown athletic events. It is hard not to notice Jack marching up and down Kehoe Field or the stands of MCI Center urging the fans to cheer on the Hoyas. However, life is not all fun and games for Jack. While he would be the first to admit that his job is very enjoyable, the world of a collegiate mascot is far from a safe one, entailing many pitfalls unseen by the common fan.

One of the difficulties of being Jack the Bulldog is that no one can know Jack’s true identity. The man or woman behind the mask must forever remain a mystery to all but a select few, which requires Jack to be somewhat of a loner, even though it is such an outgoing job. No one gets to interact with as many people at a game as Jack, and for that he is grateful.

Another one of the challenges facing Jack is that each time he goes out to perform, he, like every mascot, risks injury. Any regular viewer of SportsCenter has surely seen the Seattle ariner’s Moose roller skate into the outfield wall at the Kingdome. This seemingly amusing mishap resulted in a broken ankle for the man inside the moose. If a mascot at Disney World is injured or feels ill during a parade or performance, he or she is forbidden to seek help in order to keep children from realizing their real identity.

During a game at McDonough Gymnasium two seasons ago, Jack and the cheerleaders came onto the court during a timeout to form a human pyramid. They had expected the timeout to last for a full minute, and only when they began their routine did they realize it was only a 30-second break. They attempted to hurry through the routine, but this quickly proved to be a bad idea. Jack fell straight forward from the top of the pyramid an landed on several female cheerleaders. Fortunately, there were no serious injuires.

Ironically enough, Jack says his worst injury came not during a Georgetown game but while filming one of ESPN’s “This is SportsCenter” commercials this summer. The premise of the commercial was that Jack and about 15 of his fellow mascots had come together for a picnic. Before filming began, the mascots were happily playing with the toys that ESPN had bought for them. Jack decided to jump off a picnic table and land stomach-first on a large bouncy ball. He expected that after landing on the ball, he would bounce straight back up in the air. Unfortunately, this was not the case, as he instead flipped over and landed head-first on the ground.

“All the other mascots were staring at me. I had a concussion, and I don’t remember filming the second part of the commercial,” Jack said.

The Suit

The confines of his suit do not make things any easier for Jack. When asked why the suit smells so bad, he points out that besides the suit’s antediluvian age, he also sweats about 10 to 15 gallons of water in the average game. He says temperatures inside the suit can reach up to 130 degrees. He must take frequent water breaks if he wants to stay active and hydrated during games.

Unfortunately for Jack, staying hydrated is not always possible. During the men’s basketball team’s big victory over Syracuse last year, Jack was unable to take a break in the final minutes of the game due to the excitement. After the game was over and fans were rushing onto the court, Jack was picked up in the middle of the crowd by then-senior guard Nat Burton.

“I blacked out. I have no memory of what happened next,” Jack said. Alas, the spiritual leader of the Hoya fans was unable to lead his flock in celebration after one of their biggest victories.

One might expect the suit to add an extra degree of difficultly in going to the bathroom. But Jack feels it is relatively easy. He says he is allowed to leave to go to the bathroom as often as he needs to and claims to have never relieved himself inside the suit. He also claims he’s “never had to yak in the suit.” However, many would question this claim given the healthy combination of odors from various types of human secretions marinating the suit.

Mascot Relations

One of the unique and entertaining things about mascots is their strong tendency to fight each other during the middle of games. Jack says he has never been involved in any real fights with mascots and has never been injured while fighting. He says, “`no real fighting’ is one of three cardinal rules of the mascot community.” He refuses to divulge the other two, known only to the mascots themselves. Despite this rule, injuries do occur during these mock fights. At a recent Syracuse v. UConn game, the Syracuse Orange had his hip broken by the massive UConn Husky.

Jack says his best staged fight was when he squared off against the Maryland Terrapin at a Women’s National Invitation Tournament game. Battling the Syracuse Orange is also one of his favorite activities, and he wants the Orange to know “I’m gunning for him and I’m going to kick the hell out of him.”

The mascot community is generally supportive and respectful. Jack holds the Philly Fanatic in high esteem despite saying that “he must be drunk during games.” There is also a mutual admiration between him and the Syracuse Orange and he counts Notre Dame’s Leprechaun among his friends. However, this respect is not universal. He views Stanford’s mascot, the Tree, as “the worst-conceived and worst-executed mascot in the nation.” He also sees the Tampa Bay Buccaneer as being quite “lame.” Finally, he holds a personal dislike for the aryland Terrapin, a mascot whose continuous unprofessional activity nearly necessitated his removal from last year’s NCAA tournament.

It would be hard to imagine a major Georgetown sporting event where Jack is not roaming the sidelines and rallying the crowd. However, given the often-difficult conditions under which he has to perform, some might fear that a time could come where Jack is unable to perform his duties. While Jack is aware that the danger of injury awaits him in every game, he does not intend to let this slow him down one iota.

“It’s a problem, but you can count on Jack to tough it out. If Jack goes down, keep laughing,” he says.