Mobile Mascot Tour Stops at Snickers Touchdown Alley
- Baylor's Bruiser Competing for Capital One Mascot of the Year -
by Lori Fogleman (254) 710-6275
Baylor fans can cast their vote for Bruiser for Capital One Mascot of the Year and meet two former Baylor football greats, when Capital One's Mobile Mascot Tour makes a stop at Snickers Touchdown Alley prior to this Saturday's Baylor-Nebraska game at Floyd Casey Stadium.
Baylor's Bruiser is among 12 college mascots named to the fourth annual Capital One All-America Mascot Team. Now through Nov. 21, the All-Americans are contending in a weekly head-to-furry-head competition for the ultimate title of Capital One Mascot of the Year. Fan voting will determine who is crowned Mascot of the Year.
The Mobile Mascot Tour exhibit will be open from 4 to 6 p.m. at Snickers Touchdown Alley. The tour stops at each All-American's campus to offer fans the ultimate mascot experience, including photo opportunities, mascot facts and statistics, voting stations, interactive games such as the football toss and mascot skills challenge, and more. The Baylor stop is the tour's seventh appearance this season on a college campus.
Bruiser will be taking photos with fans, urging them to cast their votes and signing autographs from 4 to 5 p.m. at the exhibit. Former Baylor and NFL standouts Alfred Anderson and Vann McElroy will be signing autographs from 5 to 6 p.m.
"The mascot tour is a celebration of mascots, and should inspire more fans to support their mascot and vote," said Pam Girardo of Capital One.
The competition consists of an 11-week regular season that pairs the All-Americans in a weekly head-to-head match up, with the winner determined by fan voting. The mascots with the six best win/loss records will face off in online playoffs in December. The final two mascots will meet up in a championship match, with the Mascot of the Year announced during the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 2, 2006. The winning mascot also will receive an additional $5,000 scholarship to help fund its school's mascot program.
Bruiser is currently in a tie for fifth place with a 2-3 record in head-to-head competition with the other mascots. However, Baylor's mascot tops the leader board in total votes with more than 658,000 votes cast for Bruiser since Sept. 1.
This week, Bruiser is matched up Cocky of the University of South Carolina, the 2003 mascot winner. The next five weeks will pair Bruiser in online matches against Buzz, Georgia Tech; Joe Bruin, UCLA; Butch T. Cougar, Washington State; Smokey, Tennessee; and Sam the Minuteman, Massachusetts.
"This is such an honor to be among the 12 best college mascots in the country for 2005," Bruiser said. "Last year, Baylor had its best athletic year to date...and we're only getting better...so watch out, America! Baylor is back!"
"Mascots work as hard as anyone on the field, but are lost in the shadows of the flashy all-star quarterbacks and running backs," said David Raymond, mascot expert and original Phillie Phanatic. "This is a great tribute to them, and fans should show their support. Bragging rights are on the line."
For more information, contact E.J. Williams, Baylor's spirit coordinator, at (254) 710-7542.