This video is all over the place, and I can’t help but wince every time I see it.
Get ready, because I’m about to “take this too seriously.”
As someone who’s spent significant time in a mascot costume, this video is painful. You’re hot. You’re exhausted. You can’t see shit. Your mobility is limited. You’ve been putting up with drunk fans and demanding event organizers all night. You’re most likely hungry, dehydrated, and desperately in need of a bathroom break. And then a football player clotheslines you and slams you to the ground. They laugh. The fans laugh. The TV commentators laugh. The internet laughs. “Look! A giant orange getting tackled! Awesome!”
Except it’s not just a giant orange. It’s a person. It might be a big, sturdy person who can take the contact. But it might also be someone a bit more fragile. Or a kid. You don’t know. It might not end this well. In this case, they seemed to be OK and did a great job of playing it off as nothing, but it could be much, much worse.
I know. Taking it too seriously. But as someone who has been on the receiving end of physical force from a college athlete while in a mascot costume, I just want to make it clear that that shit really hurts and it’s important to remember that’s not just a walking, talking, real life cartoon character. It’s a person.
I don’t know if you ever tried to just abruptly stop after running that far and that fast…I guess if you’re stupid enough to stand directly in front of a football player that is running into the inzone, you deserve to get hit.
