Church, Monte, Work, Gangsters, Typhoon

Posted on November 12, 2013 by brent

Good evening, everyone. Usually I end my posts by saying this but let me start one off with it for once: Thanks for reading my blog! I appreciate your loyal dedication to reading what I have to say and I always enjoy the feedback you give me via text messaging and in face-to-face passing. You guys are awesome.

Tonight I want to go through five topics to give you the typical rundown of what is going on in my mind and in my life.

Complete Transparency: I go to church at St. Francis Xavier, an absolutely gorgeous place of worship here in Missoula. Part of the reason why I choose to go here is because of the traditional, pre-Vatican II type feel I get when I walk inside. However, a very small part of what gives this church that feel will disappear this week. During the announcements during this past Sunday evening’s mass, Father notified us that windows would be installed inside the confessionals. Because of some terrible and vicious false allegations against members of the St. Francis clergy in the past year and with just the overall state of abuse allegations worldwide in the church, this move is being made to offer protection to both the parish staff and to parishioners. To me I find this very sad yet I understand why St. Francis is doing it.

Do-or-Die for Monte: The regular season of the 2013 Mascot Challenge is winding down and Monte is going to have to finish strong to make the playoffs. With two weeks left, he most likely will have to win out. Currently he is part of a group of three mascots who hold identical records of 6-4 and occupy the 6th-8th places of the standings. The competition takes eight mascots to the playoffs. However, there are three other mascots right under that 6-4 group who hold 5-5 records. If Monte loses, one of those mascots will surely take the playoff spot he now occupies. This week Monte is up against Wilbur T. Wildcat from Arizona. Next week he tangles with the Hokiebird from Virginia Tech. Monte should win this week. That would set up a battle for his playoff life against the 7-3 bird next week. Please vote for Monte at www.capitalonebowl.com .

Five Events in Five Days: This is the busiest time during the calendar year to work in intercollegiate athletics with the overlapping of fall and winter sports. Case in point this past week. Wednesday through Sunday I worked five straight Griz Athletics events. Our Griz basketball team played Wednesday evening, our women’s basketball team played on Thursday, our volleyball team played Friday and Saturday evenings, and our women’s basketball team concluded the madness with a matinee game on Sunday afternoon. Wednesday through Saturday were 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. days for me. By the time the Lady Griz disposed of MSU Northern at around 4 p.m. on Sunday I was ready for a break. Although fatigued I had a great time watching our teams go 4-1 during that span and I got to enjoy a nice day off on Monday.

Dang It Feels Good to be a Gangsta: I am on a bit of a gangster kick. Last Tuesday I watched “American Gangster” with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe for the first time from start to finish. Great movie! Last night I picked up where I left off on Tuesday and I stayed up until 2 a.m. watching the “Gangsters: America’s Most Evil” series on A&E. Starting at 11 p.m. I watched three of the hour long episodes chronicling some of the baddest and most violent people to ever roam the streets of this country. Learning about how these people rose to the top and then how they came crashing down is fascinating. Even though it is a show on cable TV, you get exposed to some very grisly images and some ear covering descriptions so if you do end up watching based off of my recommendation, please know that you have been warned.

Typhoon Haiyan: Can we all pause for one second and say a prayer that we live in a part of this world where we are free from unfathomable natural disasters? I have a tough time comprehending the damage that these outbursts of rage inflicted by Mother Nature do. Besides the shots of pure destruction we see on television, how can anyone see past that 10,000 number? Yeah, as in 10,000 people wiped out. How does a region deal with that? How can you go about your day after seeing the streets littered with bodies? I complain about the snow we get in Montana but something like what happened in the Philippines always makes me feel like a little baby.
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That’s my rundown for this week. Can you believe it will already be Wednesday tomorrow? Thanks again for reading and love life. Don’t Blink.

Monte Suffers a Loss in the 2013 Mascot Challenge

Posted on October 6, 2013 by brent

About an hour ago Monte was dealt his first loss in the 2013 Mascot Challenge in a down to the minute race with Sparty the Spartan from Michigan State. The close 51% to 49% defeat not only gave him a mark in the loss column but it knocked him out of first place and stripped him of his #1 ranking. Definitely a less than ideal way to end a weekend in which our football team crushed Portland State in the much anticipated Homecoming game.

Once the standings refresh on the Capital One website, Monte should sit in either third or fourth place depending on the tiebreaker method used in the competition. Two mascots hold unblemished 5-0 records while four mascots (including Monte) hold 4-1 records. Two of the mascots with 4-1 records suffered their lone loss in the competition to Monte.

During the last hour of this week’s round, I watched a noble and frantic effort by Griz Nation to push Monte to yet another victory over another giant in the BCS landscape. In the end, it fell just a little short. My Twitter and Facebook feeds were overloaded with people answering this past week’s question of “If Monte started a band, what would he name it?” Besides my actual Facebook friends and Twitter followers aggressively pushing for a Monte victory, everyone else in Montana seemed to be doing the same. Just searching the #CapitalOneMonte hash tag on Twitter yielded hundreds and hundreds of tweets coming in by the second! I got a good laugh at reading everyone’s take on what Monte’s band should be named.

If I was in Monte’s band I would play the recorder!

Of course anyone could see that the tweets marked with the #CapitalOneMonte hash tag vastly outnumbered the #CapitalOneSparty hash tags. Because of this, some might speculate that the final tally was not reflected correctly. However, standard voting is also a big part of the equation and the fact of the matter is that Michigan State has 50,000 students at its school while almost 10 million people live in the state. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that with a population size that large comes with it a distinct advantage. If a majority of those people are voting, it doesn’t matter how many tweets we are sending out… those sheer numbers will win every time.

But notice how I said if. We have absolutely no idea how many people are voting. The organizers of the competition elect to only give us percentages as opposed to concrete point totals. As I have said from the beginning, I have a tough time trusting internet voting formats. I have an even tougher time trusting internet voting formats where we can’t see the raw numbers. Judging by the comments on our social media outlets, many people have the same trust issues as me.

But in all honesty I have little to complain about. This competition has already given us great exposure, a nice check for our program, and a special experience for our Monte performer (he got to travel to New York City for photo/video shoots). Although I am not 100% convinced that we got a completely fair shake in this past round of the competition, I do realize that in the four prior rounds it is possible that we could have gotten the benefit of the doubt.

Life moves on in the 2013 Mascot Challenge and this week Monte is up against Baldwin the Eagle from Boston College. Just like during any other season in any other sport, you have to move on from defeat and come back with more tenacity and more hunger for the next opponent. I promise you that Monte and Griz Nation will come back stronger than ever. That Eagle better watch out. Don’t Blink.

Monte’s Big Weekend

Posted on September 23, 2013 by brent

Currently it is a great time to be a bear, especially if your name is Monte Bear. Yep, our mascot at the University of Montana had quite the weekend with many bright moments and one big milestone. Give me a couple minutes to tell you about how Monte dominated each day of this past September weekend.

Friday: On this day we celebrated Monte’s 20th birthday at our home opener Griz volleyball match. Before the Montana vs. Northern Colorado game got underway, cake was served in Monte’s honor in the adjacent gym. UM students were also given waterproof Monte cell phone cases. Fans showed up in droves to honor “The Bear” as the largest crowd in almost two years filled the stands to celebrate Monte’s big day. During the break between the first and second set the packed gym sang happy birthday to the bear of the hour. During halftime, Monte and Mo put on a birthday skit that had the place clapping and laughing in approval. The best part? The Griz volleyball team swept Northern Colorado.

Monte birthday cake is delicious!!!

Saturday: Home football games are always a big deal for Monte as 26,000 people watch his every move. In a unique twist never before seen, a video was played prior to Monte’s entrance. It simulated the path he took to arrive at the stadium. As soon as the video concluded, Monte shot out of the tunnel on his motorcycle. While the game got a little boring late with the Griz up big on Oklahoma Panhandle State, Monte added an element of excitement when he did what pretty much no other mascot can do…he kicked field goals. With his holder set up on the 25-yard line, Monte kicked the snot out of the football and split the uprights. It was pretty cool and just another example of why he is the best collegiate mascot.

Monte split the uprights on a 35 yard field goal on Saturday.

Sunday: The best moment in my opinion came just last night when Monte upset Big Red from Western Kentucky in the 3rd round of the 2013 Mascot Challenge. In a battle of the unbeatens, Monte narrowly edged out Big Red, 51% to 49%. Now you might ask how it was an upset if both mascots were undefeated. I actually agree with you, it wasn’t an upset because Monte is the best mascot around but on paper it was. Big Red was technically ranked #1 in the standings while Monte was the lowest ranked unbeaten at #5. Monte also stated off the week trailing the Big Blob 60% to 40%. Then, if you want to take in consideration what the below Big Red supporter spewed out on Facebook, you can see where he was the underdog. With me sweating it out at my office computer during the waning minutes of the round encouraging our fans to vote and complete challenges, Griz Nation did what it always does and took care of business. When 10 p.m. came around the slight 51% to 49% edge that had flopped back and forth for the entire weekend between Monte and Big Red now rested on the side of #00. The victory propelled Monte to a 3-0 record and a current #1 ranking in the competition. It also pumped me up like no other.

This guy mistakenly thought that a larger student body and a larger “national presence” (whatever that means) would defeat the pride and tradition of Griz Nation.

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This week Monte is taking on Rocky the Rocket from the University of Toledo. Although Monte boasts a 61% to 39% lead right now, anything can happen. It is because of that unpredictability that we are holding a special event on Wednesday that will hopefully give us a little more control and bolster Monte’s lead. More on that later. For now it is totally acceptable to look back on this past weekend and marvel at the three great days that Missoula’s most beloved personality enjoyed. Don’t Blink.

Brent’s Top Five For Monday

Posted on September 16, 2013 by brent

Good evening, readers! Thanks again for taking the time to check out Don’t Blink. I hope you all had great weekends and that Monday was not too rough on you. Well it is another one of those nights where I rather just touch on several different subjects instead of writing a long post on just one. So get ready, I am going to whip through five totally unrelated topics.

Monte Improves to 2-0: You bet I will be using my blog to fill you in on how Monte is doing in the 2013 Mascot Challenge throughout the three plus month competition…well, at least as long as he is still winning (kidding of course). This past week Monte soundly defeated Bucky the Badger from Wisconsin. I definitely thought the final tally would be closer but Monte won the vote 63% to 37%. Unfortunately, we might find ourselves on the other side of that outcome this week. Our bear is against Big Red from Western Kentucky and right now Monte trails 60% to 40%. But the week is young and I know Griz Nation will rally. Vote for Monte here and make sure to complete challenges by using the #CapitalOneMonte hash tag.

Weather Still Nice But Days Getting Shorter: It is mid-September and fortunately we are still getting some warm days in Missoula. I hope they stick around as long as possible. Some people wish for more “Fall-like” weather but no thank you! That just means the start of eight long months of cold, snow, and wind. However, the nice weather can’t hide the fact that the days are getting shorter. Today I woke up while it was still dark out, drove to work while the sun was rising, and left work with it already dark. I really don’t want to say goodbye to the warm weather and the long days.

Big Week At Work: What a week I got going at work! This first half of the week I am working long hours to prep myself for the events we have at the latter half. Thursday night we have our major basketball fundraiser, Friday night we have soccer and volleyball, Saturday afternoon we have football, and Saturday evening we have another volleyball match. With more on my plate than ever before it is going to be a very exhausting several days but after it is all said and done I will get that redeeming feeling of accomplishment. I love my job and I love doing my best for Griz Nation…can’t ask for much more than that.

Shakeup in the Booth: I watched all of the Sunday Night Football game yesterday and I watched the second half of tonight’s Monday Night Football game and it convinced even more of an idea I have had for the last few years. Can we please merge/cut NBC’s SNF announcing crew with ESPN’s MNF crew? From NBC we will save Al Michaels and give Cris Collinsworth the ax and then from ESPN we will let Mike Tirico go and keep Jon Gruden. Al Michaels does a fabulous job calling any sport under the sun and no analyst compares to the knowledge and character that Gruden brings to the booth. The Michaels-Gruden team would call both evening NFL games on Sunday and Monday and we could send Tirico and Collinsworth to Canada to call CFL games or something.

Amazing Sunrises/Sunsets Across the Country: Is it just me or did the whole nation experience beautiful skies this morning and this evening? Driving to work today I definitely got the joy of driving into a sky filled with amazing colors and judging by my Instagram feed so did seemingly everyone else both in Montana and in every other corner of the nation. Getting to admire the beauty of the sky this morning made me feel better starting off the long week and I hope it brought similar joy to others whether it was at the start or end of the day.

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Have a great week everyone! Hope to talk to you a couple more times this week but can’t make any promises. Thanks again for taking time to read what I have to say, I appreciate it. Don’t Blink.

My Two Minutes of Fame

Posted on September 3, 2013 by brent

Click here to watch me act in “A Monte Movie :: Monte’s Roommate”

At Griz football games I am sheltered high up in the press box inside the snug confines of the control room. At least 99% of the 26,000+ people who cram Washington-Grizzly Stadium have no idea that I am up there, let alone even know that I exist. I like it that way. I enjoy the anonymity and I enjoy the behind-the-scenes work that I do. However, last Saturday the cover on my anonymity was blown completely off.

On Saturday in front of the largest crowd to ever watch a sporting event in Montana, my ugly mug appeared up on Griz Vision (our video board) for two minutes. By resurrecting an element that was done about a decade ago, I starred in the first modern version of Monte Movies. If you don’t know a darn thing about mascots or if you didn’t read my blog post last night, Monte is the mascot at the University of Montana. And yes, we do make videos of him and feature them at our football games.

The premise of this first Monte Movie was to show what it is like to be Monte’s roommate. Monte played himself and I played the roommate. We filmed the whole thing in my apartment. Yes, that shower curtain really is mine and yes, Monte actually sat on my toilet. We filmed the movie in one night about three weeks ago. Let me tell you, filming is long and tough work. For the two minute long movie it took us about four hours to film. People don’t realize all the takes, all the angles, and all the details that go into making something like this. I was definitely one of those people before my acting debut. If not for my great co-star and if not for our talented director/cameraman/editor/winner at life Nate Michael, I would have looked even worse than what I did in the movie.

The opening scene of the movie!

I first saw the mostly completed film in Nate’s office a week before the game. I could barely watch myself. The next time I saw it was two days before the game when we went through our walk-through for Saturday night. With a few other people watching I could tolerate it a little bit more just because they were laughing and it gave me a little bit of encouragement. On Saturday night with our team dominating Appalachian State and with everything going right game production wise I watched the whole thing from the control room and kind of just enjoyed seeing myself act stupid in front of 26,293 fans.

A scene where Monte and I watched a tear-jerker movie together.

Although I stomached watching myself the best the third time around, there was something a little unsettling that I noticed. I kept listening (more like hoping) to hear the stadium erupt in laughter but I never really heard that chorus of maniacal giggling that I would have hoped to hear. When “THE END” flashed on the screen I wondered if the crowd even liked it, wondered if I had killed Monte’s thunder and Nate’s hard work with my terrible acting skills. But right when “THE END” flashed away, I had my answer. My phone started blowing up. I got texts from good friends, people who I hadn’t talked to in forever, and from numbers I didn’t recognize. I got tweets sent my way and someone even attempted to call me. The reaction was all positive and they said they loved it.

That was only the beginning.

After the game I went down on the field to meet my dad and brother who came to watch the Grizzlies and by default my performance. As I visited with them people came up and commented on the video. When I went back up the tunnel and to my office, people passed by saying how cute they thought the movie was. The recognition came the rest of the weekend with acquaintances and randos pointing out that I was “The Roommate.” Today with the start of the work week I had several co-workers mention the video. When I went to the gym I had no less than four people point me out.

In this scene our director/cameraman/winner Nate Michael gets to make a cameo!

Even though I talked non-stop for three weeks about how embarrassed I was to have my shabby acting skills on display and even though I tried to tell the people who knew the video was coming not to expect much I have to admit, I liked the well-wishes and recognition that came after it was played on Griz Vision during primetime.

All the kudos in the world to Nate and Monte for using their talents to make me look decent in the video. It was cool to see the process of how everything works and like I said the recognition was pretty nice too but I think I am going to go out on top and retire from acting. I am the ultimate one-hit wonder. Don’t Blink.

Last scene of the movie…time to retire from acting!

A Special Mascot: Support Monte for National Mascot of the Year

Posted on September 2, 2013 by brent

I feel fortunate to have a job that I love so much that I constantly feel the need to write about it. I apologize if I have gone Grizzly Athletics overload on you the past few posts but I can’t help it. But let me preface by saying that tonight’s topic is pretty cool!

Once again, Monte, our mascot at the University of Montana, has made the 2013 Capital One Mascot Challenge team. Each year a number of mascots are chosen from across the country to engage in a contest to see which furry creature will come out on top and become the National Mascot of the Year. In the past the winning mascot has been chosen through a voting system. This year a version of the voting system is still in place but there is an added twist to the mix. More on that later.

Monte and I at the NCAA Tournament in 2012.

It is truly a big compliment that Monte continues to get chosen to the Mascot Challenge team (he has made it in 2002, 2004, 2007, 2010, and 2013). Pretty much all the other mascots on the team hail from large, BCS schools. The fact that a mascot from a smaller school in the FCS can continue to crack the team speaks to the talent, creativeness, and marketability of Monte. Each year we submit an application to Capital One. The required materials call for a highlight video, a couple high resolution photos of the mascot, and a completed paperwork form. You can then add any supporting documents that you see fit to improve your mascot’s chances of getting selected. We always see to it that we go above and beyond when creating our application.

When we got word that we made this year’s team we were ecstatic. Besides the great publicity and notoriety that we knew we were going to get from making the team, it also came with a $5,000 prize that went straight to our Mascot program. The payoff for taking the time to create a superb application packet is immense.

Monte and I close up style.

The senior of the two Monte performers who I oversee traveled to New York City in June to shoot the commercials and other promo materials that make up the Mascot Challenge. This student got the luxury of an all-expenses paid trip to the biggest and best known city in the nation to hang out with fifteen other mascots, stay in a nice hotel, and do some filming. Not a bad perk of the job. When he returned from the Big Apple he told me that he really tried to make Monte standout from the other mascots during all the shooting.

Monte and I goofing off.

From the time of us submitting the application to hearing the good news to sending our mascot to New York it seemed like a lot of time had passed. So last week when the competition finally went live I think we were all ready to finally start the long campaign. But before we really started to ask people for their support for Monte, we needed to make really clear how they could support Monte. You see, things this year had changed.

In a quest to create more engagement and to take advantage of the ever increasing landscape of social media, Capital One introduced a three level point system. While you can still go with the old-fashioned way of simply voting for Monte there are other options that can boost his status in whatever head-to-head competition he is engaged in that week. While voting will only get you 1 point, you can complete “challenges” that will award Monte more points. Each week the contest organizers will present a question or task. If you answer or complete the task and use the appropriate hash tag of #CapitalOneMonte on Facebook or Twitter you get 25 points. However, if you want to put a little more effort into your support you can take the 25 point challenge a step up send 100 points Monte’s way.

Monte and I at the UCA championships this year.

Take for example this week. The 25 point challenge is to write a cheer for Monte. However, if you perform it in public and video it and then submit to Facebook/Twitter/Instagram with the appropriate hash tag you add 100 points to Monte’s schedule. I have no idea what the other challenges will entail but they should be fun for fans to complete.

Here is the cool thing about Monte in this competition: Each time he participates in it he does well. Even though out of all the other mascots he is from the smallest state in the smallest city at the smallest school (population wise), he always manages to make a great run deep into the competition. Because of the strong passion Griz Nation has coupled with the strong social media presence of Grizzly Athletics, Monte has a chance to win a competition that he really should have no business doing so. It is a beautiful thing and a pretty cool tribute to one of the best fan bases around.

I ask that you please go here and complete the challenges for Monte and then vote 100 times for him. Remember to use the #CapitalOneMonte hash tag. This week we are up against CAM THE RAM from Colorado State University and we need your support. Yes, we do have a good lead on him right now but with any competition that hinges on social media things can change drastically and quickly. Hope you had a great Labor Day weekend and please support Monte for National Mascot of the Year.

One Special Griz Football Game

Posted on September 1, 2013 by brent

I fully intended to write a lead up post about one of the biggest regular season football games ever played inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium but regrettably never got the time to do it. Working long hours that stretched late into the night made it difficult to devote time to my blog. But maybe I shouldn’t regret the missed opportunity to write a lead up post because that means I can just pour more energy and pride into the wrap up post. The last evening in August of 2013 in Missoula will go down as nothing short of spectacular.

I was so happy that my brother and dad got to see this game and also catch my Griz Vision cameo.

Last night the Montana Grizzly football team hosted Appalachian State in a game between two FCS powers. Our fan base had eagerly waited years for the kickoff of this game and once the summer hit, people started getting extremely excited for the marquee game that would bring a start to the football season and an exclamation point type end to the summer season. You experienced the anticipation from Griz Nation everywhere whether it was on the streets, through social media, on the message boards, or just in the sweet Missoula air…it was there, you could sense it…you could feel it.

This anticipation circulated through every crevice of Griz Nation, including right at ground zero within the walls of the athletic department. For about eight months a dedicated team of department employees started envisioning and planning for what occurred on Saturday night. The vision was nurtured along as more and more pieces started to fall into place as the date got closer. Come the start of August it was full steam ahead as round the clock hours were logged to make the 2013 edition of Montana vs. Appalachian State one of the best shows ever presented inside of Washington-Grizzly Stadium. I think we delivered.

Because one of my duties is to serve as the mascot coordinator, probably the image that will forever be etched in my mind was when Monte drove down the middle of the field on his Harley with fireworks streaming from the back of his bike and pyrotechnics booming up in the air from either side of him. But myself, along with everyone else, will still remember all of the other images and memories from Saturday night. Take for instance when Bo Reichenbach was honored at midfield. Or when the Navy Seals parachuted into Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Or when the football team ran out in their sharp looking new maroon uniforms. Or when tunnel walk captured the attention of everyone. Or when the crowd got to party to Cotton Eyed Joe TWICE. Or when the whole stadium sang “Sweet Caroline” in perfect unison. Or when the Montana Grizzlies crushed Appalachian State by the score of 30-6 in front of the largest crowd ever in Washington-Grizzly Stadium history.

Fireworks lit up the sky after the Griz victory.

Of course these were just some of the highlights that defined yesterday’s game. Everyone will probably take something a little different from the experience. Heck, some people even mentioned that they will forever remember the Monte Movie that aired in the third quarter that stared some awkward, mumbling dude with curly hair (my two minutes of fame). But that is what great game presentations do, they cater to all types of people and present many different elements that everyone can connect with.

Sometimes people don’t realize who is behind the scenes doing all the work at these games but that is okay, because they really shouldn’t have to. They pay the money to get in and should just worry about the experience they see on the field, not necessarily who is pulling the strings. But it is still nice to recognize the people who made it happen last night. First and foremost you got to tip your hat to our marketing director, Brynn Molloy, who pulled every ounce of her energy into making sure this game was special. Beyond setting the stage for success, she executed success as well with her leadership during the game. Then there is our video guy Nate Michael who not only pumps out great video piece after great video piece but he also directs the video board flawlessly. Next there is our IT guy, Aaron Heiner, who works probably longer hours than us all and has incredible talent and patience. He has saved us all on numerous occasions. Can’t forget the people at Grizzly Sports Properties who helped us as much as possible to both introduce and enable exciting game elements for corporate sponsors. Next, lots of credit must go to two of our associate athletic directors, Greg Sundberg and Chuck Maes who did all they possibly could to support us and guide us as we pulled this thing off. They were behind us 100% of the way and when you know you have that backing it makes you feel very comfortable.

Brynn and I share a sigh of relief after the game ended.

Let me not be so blind that I totally forget about the student participants who are the reason why people come to the games in the first place. I am talking about the football team, the Spirit Squad, Monte, and the band. Also, a huge shout out to our marketing interns who helped us immensely last night. Everything from on-field direction, Monte entrance coordinating, Griz Vision element execution, and social media reach was done top notch.

I am excited for the next home game but I must say that I am in no way against the three week period we have until the kickoff of that game on September 21. I think we are all tired and need a little bit of rest. The Labor Day holiday tomorrow is exactly what the doctor ordered. Thank you Griz Nation for being so awesome, you rocked it last night. Don’t Blink.

A True Professional: Barry Anderson

Posted on September 25, 2012 by brent

When it comes to my job, the one duty that I hold that most people don’t know about is that I serve as the mascot coordinator. I am in charge of our two students who play Monte as well as our mini replica, Mo. Basically I schedule all appearances, oversee the financial piece of the program, serve as the liaison between the mascots themselves and the general public, and help with the development of the mascot entertainment during games (notice how I say “help”… our student performers have amazing minds and they come up with most of the good ideas).

When I got hired in the athletic department a little over three years ago, the mascot program was already nationally renowned for its excellence. In fact, Monte had held a top spot in the mascoting world for several years running. If you were to go anywhere in Missoula and ask a random person how Monte exploded onto the national scene and became the darling of college mascots, most would simply respond with a name: Barry Anderson.

During the early 2000’s, Barry Anderson donned the Monte suit. For the sake of length, I am going to omit his laundry list of accomplishments and accolades while wearing the bear suit at The University of Montana and just say that he took the Monte character/identity/brand to an extraordinary level, a level that many mascots at much bigger schools will never come close to reaching. Besides the adoring fans of Missoula, many others took notice of the special talent that Barry possessed. Around 2005, the Chicago Bulls hired him to become the next Benny the Bull.

For the past seven or so years, Barry has kicked butt in the Windy City serving as the mascot of the Bulls. He has reinvented the character of Benny much to the delight of everyone associated with the organization. Just like Monte, the Bulls mascot is not limited to athletic contests but rather a wide array of other events, functions, and commercials. But while Monte usually completes his numerous appearances around the state of Montana, Barry completes his around the world. Because he works for such a prominent sports organization, because his job is so important, and because his duties and travels seem to never end, Barry has his own assistant that is assigned to him…pretty cool, huh?

With all this going for him, most people would probably assume that after seven years of sharing the court with some of the best athletes in the world and receiving more time on national television than the Vice-President, Barry would probably have little need or desire to return west to the much slower and less-populated life of Montana. What is that saying people use to describe what happens when people assume?…

Each football season, Barry Anderson makes one return trip to Missoula to hang out with his old friends and to perform for one half during a Montana Grizzlies football game. It is always a highlight of the season for our fans as well as a big surprise as no one knows that Benny the Bull is at the game until the moment of the much anticipated mascot entrance (well it is a big surprise for everybody except the roughly 5,429 friends that Barry still has in the city). Once it is revealed that Benny the Bull is in the house the place goes nuts and an extra burst of energy is pumped throughout Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

I opened up this post by mentioning that I am the mascot coordinator. Because of this, I have the privilege of working with Barry when he comes back for his annual homecoming. This man is simply just different than your normal specimen. When you meet Barry, you will immediately notice three things: First, his sense of humor. Barry is as witty, sarcastic, and funny as they come. Even if he is making jokes at your expense you can’t help but laugh and marvel at his cleverness. Secondly, you will quickly become aware of his professionalism. He takes every aspect of his job with the utmost seriousness (I will soon elaborate more). Thirdly, you will realize the amazing talent that he possesses. I will never forget last year when he surprised the crowd by zooming out onto the field on a Harley. I watched in awe as he flung his arms up and down rallying everyone in the stands as he sped around on the field. He owned that crowd. I told myself up in the press box at that exact moment that this guy is much more than a talented mascot…he is a first-class, good-as-they-come performer.

Because I help deal with the planning of the mascot entrance, I get a high dose of the number two thing you will notice about Barry, his professionalism. I love it when Barry comes back but I also know that I better be ready. He runs a tight ship and expects perfection. Do the things he asks and you will be fine, miss out on a detail and be ready to hear it from him. But that is what makes Barry such a pro. He has everything so far planned out in his head with exact precision that even the slightest deviation from the plan can dramatically detract from the masterpiece he is about ready to lay out. People like to laugh at mascots for their unplanned rough luck, awkwardness, and mistakes. Barry eliminates all of these common mascot ailments because he is just so well prepared. On Friday night when we rehearsed the mascot entrance inside the stadium, I sat back and watched as Barry conducted the scene on the field. Directing the two Montes, Mo, the limo driver, and the dance team, we went through the whole skit over and over. Funny and specific in his demeanor, he got what he wanted out of everyone involved. Leadership and professionalism at its finest.

Despite the loss our football team suffered, this past Saturday went great. The entrance went very well and our fans were once again treated to a wonderful performance by Benny the Bull. During a timeout I played “I Gotta Feeling” and I watched Barry jump from the sidelines up onto the top of the railing of the student section and lead a couple hundred of those kids in a fist pumping frenzy. It was the exact same thing as my memory from him on the Harley last year…that inexplicable generation of energy that so few can bring out. As with the prior year, the same thought went through my head….”This guy is the real deal.”

While Barry is demanding, he is also very gracious. As we exchanged e-mails on Monday he expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to take part in Saturday’s game. He also thanked me for helping out with the rehearsal/gameday components. It always feels good to be appreciated by someone so established and highly regarded. Thank you Barry for sharing your talents with us once again. You are one of a kind. Go Griz and Go Bulls. Don’t Blink.

Don't Blink

By Brent Reser

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