The magic of mascots in sports

 Serena Kanji-Ramji, Photo Editor

Team mascots are a beloved tradition in the sports community. They bring the hype and get crowds on their feet. 

Mascots become the faces and ambassadors of their team, with their likeness being plastered on t-shirts, jerseys, and even the occasional tattoo. These seemingly silly physical representations of a sports organisation carry much more weight than they are given credit for. They have become the centre of fan spirit and pride. 

And this fun tradition has its roots at home in Calgary.  

Cowtown’s favourite canine

The Calgary Flames were the first team in National Hockey League (NHL) history to have a mascot, with the introduction of “Harvey the Hound” in 1983. For the past 43 years, the hound has been a cornerstone in Flames fandom. 

Harvey is beloved in the halls of the Saddledome, but it can’t be said that he’s adored far and wide. In a survey done in 2021, 2,000 fans from both Canada and the United States were asked to rank all of the NHL’s mascots on a scale of one to five

When the results rolled in, Harvey placed 29th out of 30 total mascots. While it was an unfortunate result, the survey did not take away from his icon status at home. 

Harvey has had some memorable moments over the years, the most talked about being his tiff with former Edmonton Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish. 

In 2002, during a game in the Battles of Alberta, the Oilers were fighting for a playoff spot, while the Flames had been eliminated from playoff contention earlier in the season—the score was a miraculous 4-0 in favour of the Flames.  

To add a little extra stress to the game, good boy Harvey leaned over the glass to taunt MacTavish, who seemingly wasn’t in the mood for any chirping, especially from a mascot. This whole encounter led to MacTavish ripping out Harvey’s tongue mid-game. 

Harvey isn’t the only mascot running the mean Canadian streets. Ace, the Toronto Blue Jays mascot, has also become a local fixture for baseball fans across the country. 

However, Ace does outpace Harvey in the mascot popularity contest, with him coming in 7th overall out of all the MLB mascots.

Everyone’s favourite cougar

At Mount Royal University (MRU), it’s Calvin the Cougar keeping fans in good spirits during all the events on campus. From supporting the volleyball and basketball teams at Kenyon Court to roaming the halls during MRU Carnival, Calvin is nothing short of a local legend. But he hasn’t always been the face of the Cougars. 

When MRU was still a college, there was no set name for the athletic teams, so different teams went by different names. 

The women’s basketball team dubbed themselves the Dolphins, while men’s basketball went by the Monarchs and eventually the Blues. But it was the men’s football team in 1960 that chose to go by the Cougars, not knowing at the time they’d be cementing the school’s legacy.

The credit for MRU’s mascot goes to alumnus Grant Kelba. 

Kelba originally introduced the concept of Calvin the Cougar in 1983, adapting the character from the Western Canada Summer Games mascot Westy the Wildcat. 

At the time, Kelba was working as both Westy and Ralph the Dog, the Calgary Stampeders mascot. Being a well-respected name in the mascot community, he saw a gap in MRU’s sports culture. 

As a solution, Kelba suggested turning Westy the Wildcat into Calvin the Cougar. By fall 1983, Calvin was introduced as the official mascot of the school’s athletic program. 

For a while, Calvin wasn’t the only Cougar in MRU territory. From 1990 to the mid-2000s, Calvin’s cousin Clyde was the Students’ Association of Mount Royal University’s official mascot. 

Clyde was often seen interacting with students, showing up to events such as the club expo, campus parties and sports events. This cougar was known for giving students such tight hugs that their faces would disappear into his mouth.  

Unfortunately, shortly after Mount Royal transitioned from a college to a university, Clyde slowly stopped appearing in public until one day he was just gone. 

It is thought that he retired from his public life to rejoin fellow cougars in the wild, while his domesticated cousin Calvin stayed behind to continue the magic for Mount Royal students. 

While mascots can be dismissed as a meaningless tradition, there is no denying that they bring joy and excitement into whatever space they’re in.