ENTER THE DRAGON... A MASCOT'S TALE

by Jon Street, Everyman's Communications Assistant

 

When I started work at Everyman, I hadn’t envisaged that five weeks later I would be dressed as a snake/dragon hybrid and made to chase a bipedal Lion, a large green dinosaur and a six foot bulldog around a running track in east London.

However, to promote this year’s Keep Your Eye on the Ball 5k run, a photo shoot had been arranged whereby a selection of football mascots were gathered to encourage people to sign up for the run due to take place on 1 June.

Jon (far left, as Theo the Wyvern) joins Harvey the Bulldog,

Zampa the Lion and Gunnersaurus Rex

Fan-revered, footballing mascots Gunnersaurus Rex (Arsenal), Zampa the Lion (Millwall) and Harvey the Bulldog (Charlton Athletic) were all in attendance. With the usual Leyton Orient mascot otherwise engaged, I stepped in as a last minute substitute and donned the suit of Orient’s Theo the Wyvern.

Finding myself stumbling around in this fragrantly-challenged suit, adopting sportsman like poses, at times had me shaking my wings in disbelief. Luckily the more experienced mascots took to the task with such  professional aplomb that it somehow brought a sense of normality to a very surreal situation.

Luckily, my spirits weren’t dampened too greatly when my shoddy attempts at ‘keepy uppys’ made my mascot compatriots, in contrast, resemble three furry, beast-like Ronaldihnos.

I’d like to thank the other guys for making it such a memorable, if slightly unorthodox day. And while I had fun, rest assured, I don’t thinking I’ll be trading the comfort of the stands for a mascots suit on the touchlines just yet.

Whilst you won’t need to dress up in a furry suit for the 5k run (although some have tried it), why not sign up for this year’s event?

Logos and links to the campaign organisers websites

Launch the PFA website Launch the FA website Launch the everyman website