Chances are you’ve encountered our mascot, Ritchie the Tiger. Ritchie is a docile beast, living on a diet of steak and students from the University of Rochester. He’s a giving creature too; high-fiving every student he sees and posing for pictures like a model on the catwalk. See what I did there? But there’s a dark secret lurking beneath that tiger’s eyes. A secret so powerful I could be fired for revealing it. But I live on the edge so I’ll say it: it’s just a guy in a suit. I’ve been lucky enough to be Ritchie three times, and I’ve got some great “tails” to tell. If I don’t get fired for revealing Ritchie’s secret, these jokes will do the trick.
I was Ritchie at Student Government’s Super Bowl Party during my sophomore year. It was at this event I realized you can do ANYTHING in a mascot suit and people will just go with it. So I started going up to couples, getting down on one knee, and proposing to the girls. 99% of the time it was met with laughs and an “Oh Ritchie!” But my luck ran out when I tried it with a couple that had just had a fight. The boyfriend was not pleased and said some very unkind things to Ritchie. Oh well, it’s better to have loved and lost. That same night before the event started we tried to promote it in the gym. We thought it would be funny for Ritchie to go around the gym and lift weights while my handlers gave out flyers. All went well until we hit the bench press. I’m a pretty strong guy and can easily bench 135. Things change in a mascot suit. Things change when you can’t see if your hands are centered. Things change when the weights aren’t clipped down. I pushed up, sent one plate flying off, and was immediately catapulted off the bench in the other direction. The whole gym watched as Ritchie proved that he doesn’t even lift. Finally, I was Ritchie at an event for the United Way of Rochester. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s difficult to see out of the suit, and this day it was particularly bad and I had to climb a set of stairs. Stairs become infinitely more difficult when you can’t see your feet. I barely made it up the stairs, and did it so poorly that I almost fell on a child seated nearby. Not a good day for Ritchie.
Ritchie is a majestic creature that exuberates grace, poise, and an attitude that says, “Yes I’m endangered, but you’re in danger”. Just know that he gets those qualities from me.