Greetings everybody!
This is my first article in 2000 so I wish you a happy new millennium!
I wasn’t sure what to talk about in this article since we just finished the
holidays, but since I’ve seen a lot of those TV special, lately, talking about the
"best and worst" of the century and the most influential people, I will tell you
which mascots and people have been the most influential and important in the mascot world:
The San Diego Chicken: He has his own style and opened doors to other
professionals like me. Our business progressed because of him, and he showed what mascots
can bring to sporting events.
The Philly Fanatic: In the 80's, David Raymond was the Fanatic and he
revolutionized the business with many tricks and skits. He also gained respect from
baseball players. In my book, David is the best mascot.
Erickson Company: Mr. Erickson-Harrison is the man who designed the
best mascot costumes. He understood how to make an attractive mascot and also how to build
it to make it easy for the person inside to move efficiently.
Jean-Claude Tremblay: After Harrison, I would say that Jean-Claude has
been the best in the past 15 years. He managed to find a unique style to his mascots. They
are light, flexible and very functional. I think that he makes the best mascot costumes.
Jean-Claude gets better year after year and he was a pioneer in Québec.
Street Characters: Mr. Street from Calgary also revolutionized the
mascot world. For many years, now, he has been the king in western Canada. He makes really
good mascots and made his mark especially in hockey.
Here are the mascots that greatly influenced the industry for hockey and baseball:
- Hockey: Sharkie of the San Jose Sharks, Florida Panthers' mascot
- Baseball: Chicken, Philly Fanatic, Moose and Youppi.
I know that there are many other good mascots, but those are the ones that I think
really brought our industry to where it is now.
I must say that mascots really started having a major impact starting in the early 80's.
Nowadays, sports teams, companies and special events have mascots to entertain people.
Having been in the industry for 15 years, I can see that it keeps growing each year.
There’s always new things, tricks, skits, gadgets and technologies. If you ever have
a chance to see BZERK, you’ll see that he uses a very special new technology.
But the most important thing is that it’s a great industry and we have managed to
make different events more dynamic and fun. There’s nothing nicer than putting a
smile on people’s faces. Nothing can replace that.
Happy Y2K to all of you!
