Picture this: you are in the stands at a basketball game. The score is 63-65, the fans are screaming, the air is thick, and the opposing team shoots for a three-pointer. Almost everything becomes silent. Popping up among the fans and cheerleaders is a crazy dark-haired kid wearing a jersey and short shorts screaming at the top of his lungs to pump up the crowd!

What I just described is my job. Mascots are the unsung heroes of sports, ridiculed both by fans and students. These elite few risk their bodies, voices, even their dignity, to jazz up the crowd. This job can be dangerous and stressful since rowdy fans have attacked mascots in frustration.

Being a mascot, however, can earn you a letter in high school and even an athletic scholarship since most colleges have mascots. Usually mascots do the same thing at all levels: get the crowd into the game, and entertain fans.

Mascots should be respected, and acknowledged in the media. Also, they deserve more funding for training. If the media had more coverage of mascots, they would earn more respect and it would be nice to have our job be recognized.

Unfortunately, some colleges have been forced to cut their mascot programs while cheerleaders remain intact. Some say cheerleaders are enough to pump up the crowd but they aren’t as comical and that takes away from the experience. Mascots dissipate tension.

People may think mascots are useless and a waste of money but they don’t understand that not only do the fans benefit, but mascots love doing their job. I hope this piece helps mascots earn the funding and respect they deserve.