Giant sausages, aggressive swans or politician monkeys … Five times sports mascots have gone too far

Bear, rabbit, dog, character inspired by cartoons or more traditional … You thought you had seen it all when it came to mascots? The Chiba Lotte Marines, a Japanese baseball team, recently switched to a lanternfish. Yes, this abyssal fish, already unspoiled by nature, styled in neon blue with fuchsia lips, capable of regurgitating fish bones. The find went around the world in early June, highlighting (a little) Japanese baseball, the national sport in the land of the Rising Sun. Never mind that the Marines already have three ducks (link in English) in their bestiary …

魚 の 第 3 形態 を 至 近距離 か ら 撮 影 す る 事 が 出来 ま し た。 (広 報) #chibalotte # 謎 の 魚 pic.twitter.com/rkVGpC3YYX

– 千葉 ロ ッ テ マ リ ー ン ズ 公式 ア カ ウ ン ト (@Chiba_Lotte) June 11, 2017

One more proof that the imagination of mascot creators is limitless … Franceinfo looks back on five other examples.

The anti-fascist: no one has a crush on the San Francisco Giants’ Crazy Crab

1984. Mascots have flourished all over the United States, but the San Francisco baseball team missed it. The club is digging its head to fill the ancient Candlestick Park. “My job was to have asses sitting on the seats, sums up Pat Gallagher, the Giants’ thirty-year marketing director, at ESPN (at 1’56 ”, link in English). I didn’t want something trivial. People here wouldn’t have appreciated a Muppet-style mascot that was everywhere else. “

The management of the club discreetly carries out a survey: 75% of those questioned say that they will whistle a mascot, no matter which one. The idea of ​​an anti-fascist, to make an apathetic public react, emerges. It will be an orange crab, one of the tourist symbols of San Francisco. A bit as if the PSG chose a giant wand for their mascot. Comedian Wayne Doba, who just shot in Scarface, is cast for the role.

Watch this short documentary on Crazy Crab #SFGiants #Giants http://t.co/vvIN4CrFXW pic.twitter.com/WV3FRUtuk0

– SF Giants Report (@sfgiants_fanly) May 20, 2015

For his first public appearance, the crowd turns hateful “in six seconds”, remembers a leader. People throw at him whatever comes to hand: tobacco quid, chewing gum … And the players are not left out. “We loved this crab, remembers Mike Krukow, a member of this broken arm team, at SFgate (link in English). He was slapped in the shin guards with a fake foam bat as soon as he approached. It was therapeutic. “ A leader adds: “It diverted some of the hatred aimed at the players.” Crazy Crab season will end in a fishtail, when two San Diego Padres players beat the unfortunate crustacean (link in English). A cracked vertebra and a lawsuit will end the mascot’s career. The Giants will wait thirteen years (link in English) before acquiring another.

The trash mascot: in Swansea, a swan named Cyril will suffice

1998. The year Mike Lewis, ex-marketing director of Tottenham arrives in Swansea to revive this modest football club, which languishes in the lower divisions of the English league. Used to happenings – he regularly brought fire eaters or the tallest man in the world to White Hart Lane – he advocates the creation of a mascot. It will be a swan (swan in English).

The costume is not cheap – 4,000 pounds (around 4,500 euros), the equivalent of the club’s transfer budget -, but the investment quickly pays for itself. Quickly, Cyril becomes a local celebrity. His children’s book and his (horrible) single are a hit. Not a weekend without being occupied by an anniversary or a wedding. The club switchboard is overwhelmed with calls. He was quickly named Personality of the Year by readers of the South Wales Evening Post.

#EnglishMascotMonday: Cyril The Swan of Swansea City @DannyHotFooty @SwansOfficial https://t.co/7HQ5OHP4NA pic.twitter.com/OXQ9Py03Xj

– HotFooty (@hotfootynews) June 6, 2016

But the swan is especially noted for its aggressive attitude, describes the book Pulp Football. He tears off the head of Zampa the lion, another mascot, throws pies at opposing supporters … And, one FA Cup night against Millwall, in a white-heated stadium, Cyril joins in the celebration of the players of Swansea and sends a ball into the head of an opposing player. Overwhelmed by euphoria, he stroked the bald head of the assistant referee with his wing.

This is too much for the British federation, which decides to crack down and summons the mascot. He was sentenced to a 1000 pounds fine, ultimately paid by the club. After all, the receipts had increased tenfold thanks to his presence alone.

The bulimic mascot: at the Sausages of the Milwaukee Brewers, it’s sausage fair

For Americans, Wisconsin rhymes with sausage, so much this state has made a specialty of it. The nod had long existed in the Brewers Stadium: On the club’s notice board, a cartoon showed sausages racing past state monuments before arriving. In 1994, a member of the board of directors wondered, innocently: “Why don’t we rent costumes to organize a real race, as a surprise?” “We only thought we would do it once”, tells Laurel Prieb, then vice-president of the club, at New York Times.

Twenty years later, it is still the main attraction of County Stadium. The three sausages of the time (a Bratwurst with a lederhose, a kielbasa Polish and a salsiccia Italian) have grafted a hot dog and a chorizo, to satisfy the Hispanic community. The club’s communication department cuts short any interview request – “Sausages don’t talk.” A veteran gives some details: “The suits are pretty much aero, except for the chorizo, which has to come with a huge sombrero. Usually, you put the more experienced rider in to balance the race.”