Soccer Club Mascots, the growth in this kind of ‘twee’ commercialism comes originally from the USA whereby because of the long periods of inactivity during an American football game some other forms of entertainment were incorporated, hence PomPom girls and it is no coincidence that mascots arrived en masse at the same time as the formation of the Premier league and introduction of pay per view TV. They’re part of the shift away from football as a working class, working man's game in favour of the more affluent middle classes, part of the changing the nature of the game to a mass family appeal.Without the middle classes willing to pay ever higher ticket prices and viewing packages clubs could not afford players from all around the World, their transfer fees, their wages. Now as you well know, I am no socialist, I’m staunch Conservative (I know which side my bread is buttered on). However, I’m Conservative to the point of being a traditionalist, I don’t wish to see distractions to a game, I preferred a time when you went to a ground to stand side by side with your fellow man and every man jack in that crowd understood the offside rule. In my opinion mascots infantalise the game (although PomPom girls are OK, just so long they keep out of the way during the actual game itself).THE REAL DANGERS OF CLUB MASCOTINGThere is real and compelling evidence of the physcological damage of club mascoting. Dr Eugene Gregarious of the University of Oregon did a fascinating study back in the 1980’s of mascots involved in the USA. Men he found, would often retreat into their altar ego’s, many wearing the costumes at home for longer and longer periods, some wanted their wives to have sex with them whilst still attired. They would crave the limelight and actually scout out opportunities to appear as the mascot, volunteering for even the smallest of events, kids birthday parties and the like. His most famous case was one Larry Huffbagle who as a devoted Seattle fan took on his role of Sandy the loveable chipmunk to extremes, eventually living as a human chipmunk, he began sleeping up a tree in a local wood adjacent to his teams ground. He became ever more wild, eating only nuts, berries and the occasional bird chick. Finally he was incarcerated in a mental hospital after biting the hand of a young child as she was feeding real chipmunks in the park. Surely this study is another good reason why maybe the football league should think again about this menace within the game

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.