Cocky will have a chance to live up to his name this fall as fans will have the opportunity to vote him Mascot of the Year.
In June, Cocky, along with 11 other mascots, was selected to the Capital One All-America Mascot Team. Starting on Sept. 4, fans can log on to www.capitalonebowl.com and vote for their favorite to see who will be crowned Mascot of the Year. The voting ends Dec. 22, and fans are only allowed to vote once a day.
As part of the All-America team, Cocky traveled to New York for a media blitz, where he appeared on the CBS Saturday Early Morning Show and made an appearance at ESPN Zone, a restaurant/game hall in New York City.
From there, Cocky traveled to Miami where he filmed a commercial with ESPN anchor Kenny Mayne to promote the contest. The winner will be announced during the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1, 2004.
The university also received $5,000 for its mascot program. If Cocky wins the Mascot of the Year award, the university will receive an additional $5,000.
Ayanna Wakefield, assistant media relations director, accompanied Cocky on his tour.
"The thing about Cocky is he is a loveable character," Wakefield said. "We like to think of him as a big kid."
USC cheerleading coach Toni Karl works with Cocky on a regular basis. She said the reason he is so popular is that Cocky represents not just football, but student life in general.
Cocky keeps up a very busy schedule during the school year. Besides appearing at every football game, Cocky also travels to men's and women's soccer games, community service events and the President's reception before home football games.
"I feel like his agent," Karl said.
Cocky will embark on an all-out effort to bring out the vote this fall. He has a special jersey that says "vote for me" as well as fliers that cheerleaders will hand out at every public appearance.
The national exposure could also bring in more money from memorabilia sales. USC is already one of the top-selling brands in the nation, with the "Cocks" logo being a high seller.
"I think it will bring some fun, light-hearted exposure," Wakefield said. Mascots have often been the unsung heroes of college athletics, stirring up the fans to give the team some extra energy at home games. Mascots started appearing at college games in the 1800s. Yale University claims to have had the first school mascot with Handsome Dan the Bulldog. The school went 125-6 with Handsome Dan as their mascot. Handsome Dan is now stuffed and preserved in the trophy room of Yale's gymnasium.
Be the first to comment on this article!