The annual Charlie Cardinal mascot tryouts were held Tuesday night at Ball State University. To preserve the secret identity of Charlie, contestants in the running for the spot asked to remain anonymous. One Charlie hopeful talked with The Ball State Daily News about the experience during the tryouts.
Daily News: How did you hear about the tryouts?
Ball State sent out a mass e-mail to students last week advertising the upcoming tryouts. Although she didn't have any previous experience as a mascot, the contestant said she was intrigued. "The more I thought about it, the more I was like, 'Dang, I was born to do this,'" she said. "Flopping around in a Charlie suit, you know, inspiring school spirit; everyone's pumped up at the football game, but you are doing the pumping up of the fans."
Walking into the tryouts, the Charlie hopeful said she didn't know what to expect."I didn't know if it was going to be me versus two other people or me versus 200 other people," she said. "I didn't know how many people wanted to be Charlie."
DN: What about the competition?
When the candidate walked into the auditions, she said she was trying to size-up her competition."I'm looking at my competition, and everyone looks pretty fit" she said. "But, I mean, how do you judge competition to be a mascot? I don't know what the qualities of a mascot are."Eight Ball State students competed to be Charlie this year. Usually two to three students are chosen to be a part of the "Chirp Crew." The contestant said typically the Charlies are boys. But this year, three girls and five boys tried out.
DN: Who judged the tryouts?
The judges were the three Charlies, also known as the "Chirp Crew."
DN: What was the tryout process like?
The contestant said each one picked numbers from a hat to determine the order they would perform. "I was like, please don't be number one, please don't be number one," she said. "I pick my number and I'm number eight, which sounds like a good idea...but, no. The suit was so sweaty by the time it got to me."But, she said, watching the other students perform gave her an advantage over the competition. "I got to watch my competition go and get an idea of what they were thinking and what their mindset was," she said.
The contestant said she was surprised by the camaraderie among the group. All eight competitors stayed in the gymnasium during each audition, watching each Charlie "waltz out while they're playing rap music." The potential Charlie described her performance dancing to Chris Brown's song "Forever.""You flop around in the suit, just busting a move, which sounds easy, but you've got this hockey-helmet headgear and these feet three times the size of your face you're trying not to trip over," she said. "So it's dancing, but it's like, I don't know how to describe it. It was busting a move as best you could dressed as a seven-foot bird."
After the dance portion, the judges put on the Ball State Fight Song and watched as each Charlie tried to "pump up the crowd," she said.
Each contestant also had to role-play in several different scenarios, like dealing with drunk fans or timid kids at sporting events. The candidate said this was one of the most challenging parts of the tryout. "The whole time you're in a seven-foot, hundred pound bird suit," she said. "If I was just acting as me, I would use my words and talk it out. But as Charlie, it's all body language."
Through the audition, the potential Charlie said she focused on not taking the process too seriously."I was nervous, but once I got out there I was like, I look ridiculous and I'm having such a good time," she said. "You pretty much can't mess up. If you know how to laugh at yourself, I think you could be Charlie. If you love Ball State and know how to have a good time, you are Charlie. You could be Charlie."
The contestant also had to run two laps around the gym to see if she was physically able to do the job. "The most challenging part of the tryout was that it was just physically exhausting. The suit's heavy, it's really hot and, you know, it's awkward because you're not used to it."Her tryout lasted about six minutes. "It sounds like a brief time, but when you're sweating in that suit, I was exhausted after six minutes," she said.
DN: What was the most embarrassing moment of the tryouts?
The contestant said one candidate lost his bird feet during his performance. "He's walking around with backwards giant Cardinal feet, trying not to fall over," she said. "I think he ended up falling on his feet."
DN: What are you most looking forward to if you become Charlie?
The contestant said if she becomes part of the Chirp Crew, she can't wait to high-five her friends at games without them knowing who she is."I think it would be awesome to put your arm around a student and take a picture with them, and then on campus see them the next day and have a secret smirk on your face," she said. "Don't get me wrong, I love who I am, but you're just somebody else. You're just a part of Ball State when you do it."If the candidate gets the job of Charlie, it will be a pretty big time commitment, she said. The position isn't a paid one, but she said that doesn't matter to her."I would be proud, at the end when I don't have to be anonymous anymore, to tell everyone, 'Hey look what I did,'" she said. "This was different than any other tryout before just because it was a blast. If I didn't make it, yes, I'd be disappointed. But I had so much fun."
The candidates will find out who will be named Charlie later this week.
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