Bucky the Bronco identity a mystery

By NIKKI COLLINS

Many Santa Clara students have seen the crazy antics of the university's loveable mascot Bucky the Bronco, but what does it take to fill that cute little pony's shoes?

Athletic Marketing and Promotions Manager George Husack is in charge of getting students into that huge horse's head.

"George Husak from Athletics has been great; there's absolutely no commitment," one current Bucky said. "Anybody with enough energy who is willing to give some enthusiastic time to an entire basketball game - or any other sport or event - can be Bucky."

Husack appears to be on top of the responsibility.

"This season I've tried to keep the Bucky position rotating amongst a group of five to six people," he said.

So what makes these few individuals want to run around blindly in a hot, heavy and stinky costume?

"I always dreamed of doing the giant mascot thing - for kids to love you and hug you, to make the crowd laugh and cheer out of their mind and to do wild and crazy things without anybody ever knowing who the heck you are," one Bucky said.

Anonymity appears to be one of the more appealing qualities of the job.

"I'm not certain that Bucky's identity should be revealed to the campus at large," another Bucky said.

During this lanky Bucky's first two games he nearly collapsed from heat exhaustion, harassed an unknowing ex-girlfriend, stormed the court to hug a player and perfected an intentionally graceless cartwheel. After such success, he appeared as Bucky the Bronco at the NBA All-Star Jam Session in Oakland on Feb. 13.

Other Buckys have used the opportunity to turn themselves into human bowling balls - which is becoming a popular attraction at men's basketball games.

"I have a giant fetish for Bucky bowling," a well-known campus figure, who has put on the costume at least a dozen times in the past year, said.

He describes Bucky bowling as "lining up cheerleader cones as bowling pins and then homerun sliding into them."

This Bucky has also enjoyed crowd surfing at the NCAA women's soccer semi-finals.

Some toting the costume have complained of a foul stench emanating from the furry guy. There are even rumors of one Bucky throwing in the towel because he couldn't handle the smell."I've never heard of anybody quitting because of the smell, although it was quite overbearing and sad when nobody wanted to hug me," a current Bucky said. "A few weeks ago, however, Bucky received his first ever cleaning, and the smell has been quelled a great deal. They stuffed the whole suit in the giant athletics uniform washer and then sprayed him down with whiskey, if you can believe it - supposedly the technique works for such jobs."

Bucky receives no monetary compensation for all of this.

"Unfortunately, Bucky isn't paid right now," Husack said. "Funds are a bit limited, but not the fun times for Bucky during the games."

Husack said he would like to move Bucky in the direction of other mascots such as the Stanford Tree, where mascot wannabes audition and hold the position for a set term. For now, volunteers will have to do.

"I've given everyone the opportunity to be Bucky by calling students that I heard would be interested," Husack said. "I didn't want to limit who could be Bucky since I think a lot of people enjoy the freedom when they're in the costume. I think the people who have been Bucky have really enjoyed themselves at our events. Things can get a little hot in the costume, but with breaks here and there, I believe the overall experience has been positive."

For information on getting into Bucky's pants, contact Husack at husack@scu.edu or (408) 554-4066.