Mascots, Unmasked

Furry, larger-than-life, foam-headed mascots may seem standard-issue for sports teams now, but this is only a relatively recent phenomenon in the history of professional sports.

Dave Raymond practically invented the modern sports mascot. And over four decades, he has built a career on helping pro teams bring them to life.

Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers’ sensation-causing mascot, is a weird and scary avatar for a weird and scary time. The 7-foot-tall orange monster didn’t just put one city in touch with its identity: He is all things to all people. He is meme. He is messenger. He is message. And, in many respects, he is messianic.

We talked to the people inside the plush, furry costumes that are symbols of North American sports teams.

Ten companies proposed a mascot. One was chosen. The winner would live in Olympic infamy.

Walk a mile in the size 16 shoes of NYC’s hardest-working mascot.

There was a Phoenix Suns Gorilla before the one who dunked. And he became one of the world’s iconic sports mascots by happenstance.

Standing three floors high, it is the world's only shrine to the immortals of the big-furry-costume realm.

Beginning in the late ’90s, Swansea City’s mascot was accused of all manner of fowl play, from inciting riots and head butting a referee to attacking other mascots and even a rival coach, all while saving the club’s financial fortunes. Then the nine-foot-tall bird became the prime suspect in a serious assault.

Uga, Bevo and Rameses are all household names to many college football faithful. See what life is like off the field for these living symbols of school pride.

Ted Giannoulas has spent more than 40 years as the man behind arguably the most famous mascot in sports. But he staves off the future, one night at a time.

”First of all, before I get too far into this, Benny the Bull, the longtime clown prince of the Chicago Bulls, was not available to comment for this story.”

Arsenal’s dinosaur mascot is arguably the most famous in the Premier League, but his connection to the club makes no sense. We spoke to the guy who dreamt him up.

If nothing else, it would be pointless to deny that Jean-Claude Van Damme fighting a giant penguin mascot is a positive experience for all of us who get to watch it.

Inside the hilarious, treacherous, smelly world of minor league mascot races.

The apparel arms race at sporting events began when the San Antonio Spurs mascot wanted a way to launch free stuff to the fans in the upper deck.

In the United States, mascots are designed to appeal to children and are typically associated with sports and consumer brands. This is not true in Japan, where almost every brand, prefecture, and local government is represented by a mascot, promoting everything from local produce to pachinko parlors and generating billions of dollars in the process.