Sammy Wins National Title
By Matt Pederson/Staff
Writer
The Huntsville Item
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Sammy the
Bearkat, National Champ
Photo by Richard Nira/Huntsville
Item
|
Sammy the Bearkat, the mascot of Sam Houston State University,
went to Las Vegas looking for some recognition and returned
to Huntsville with the top prize at the United Spirit Association's
national competition.
The competition consisted of a prepared skit, and Sammy took
on mascots from schools like Oregon, UCLA and Washington State.
This was also the first time Sammy has ever won a competition
and his first time at the USA competition.
The theme of the skit, with Patrick Gardenier inside the suit,
was a road trip, and the two-minute performance showed Sammy
encountering the many things that can happen on a trek. It
starts off when Sammy wrecks his motorcycle in a small town,
and features music from the Village People, M.C. Hammer and
Rick James.
Besides the eclectic musical numbers, Gardenier said the wide
variety of props he used was the key for Sammy's first-place
finish. Those items included a stand-up of the Village People
and a motorcycle.
"I think that was the thing that really separated our
skit from everybody else's was the props," Gardenier
said. "With everybody else, there wasn't a whole lot
with what they did."
This is Gardenier's fifth year inside the Sammy costume. He
originally came to SHSU to study criminal justice, but after
earning his degree, decided to go to graduate school to learn
history.
"For me, I gradually got more and more into it,"
Gardenier said. "When I came to Sam, I came for criminal
justice and I wanted to get done as quickly as I could and
go get a job. But then I found myself finding ways to stick
around."
At first, Gardenier was not involved with anything at school.
In fact, he had never been to an SHSU football game before
donning the Bearkat costume.
He first found out about the possibility of becoming a mascot
at SHSU's block party. Mascot tryouts were announced and Gardenier
thought it would be fun to see what he could do.
"I figured I wasn't going to make it, but I tried out
anyways," Gardenier said. "I go and tryout, and
I make it and then they came to me and said 'Do you want to
do a football game tonight?' And I've been doing it since
then."
While at games, Sammy is involved in a wide variety of activities.
Whether he appears with the players or fans, the mascot can
almost always be seen somewhere when SHSU sports are played.
"Sammy always runs out with the football team,"
Gardenier said. "Sammy will go out in the crowd, but
most of the time, he just stays down on the track. He likes
to go over to the couch potatoes, because that's where a lot
of the louder fans are."
Since the job is such an active one, not only does Gardenier
sweat, but he sweats inside a big suit, which makes matters
even worse.
"It's hot. Really, really hot," Gardenier said.
"Wherever the performance area is for the mascot, it's
about 40 degrees hotter in the suit. Even at Washington for
the playoff game and Montana, eventually it starts getting
pretty hot."
When it gets especially hot, Gardenier said things can be
done to make life a little more comfortable. Although he is
the official "Sammy," there are others who will
take over for a short period of time to give him a rest.
"It's really bad on those games where it's 2 in the afternoon
during the autumn games," he said. "Every once in
a while, if people pay attention, they might see Sammy go
over to the trainers and just have them squirt water down
his mouth. It goes all over the place, but some of it is going
to go in my mouth."
It may get tough at times, but the job does have its perks,
like competitive trips to Las Vegas, and even some TV time.
While in Las Vegas, Sammy made an appearance for a show on
MTVU, which is MTV's college-oriented network. He was involved
in a "Dating Game" show that involved a cheerleader
and two other mascots, and the mascots each went on a "date"
with the cheerleader. Sammy's date was a helicopter ride over
Vegas.
"Sammy has never been in a helicopter before, so that
was a lot of fun," Gardenier said.
Sammy the Bearkat fans will have a chance to see his award-winning
performance Saturday night during halftime at the SHSU men's
basketball game.
- END -
Matt Pederson can be reached at 936.295.5407, ext. 3023, or
by e-mail at mpederson@itemonline.com
SHSU Media Contact: Frank
Krystyniak
Feb. 18, 2005
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