Behind the mask, devoid of gratitude, Charlie Cardinal doesn't mind that his identity is kept a secret.
It's not a job, so there's no monetary gain, said a four-year veteran who must remain anonymous. Like other famous characters in disguise, Charlie Cardinal can never reveal his identity.
What he loves about being Charlie Cardinal is pumping up the fans and mimicking the little kids in the crowd until they start to giggle and people standing around start to notice.
"Everybody wants to interact with you," he said. "Everybody's got Charlie memories and Charlie stories."
Ball State Athletics is hoping to beef up the "Chirp Crew" by adding one or two members to the mascot team. An information meeting was held Monday, and tryouts will be at 7 p.m. tonight in Worthen Arena on the gym floor. Three students currently share the job, including a sophomore, junior and the veteran senior.
At the tryouts, students will be asked to perform a two-minute dance or skit to whatever music they provide. They'll also have to dance to the school fight song while wearing the cardinal costume. They'll be asked to run around the gymnasium at Worthen Arena wearing the heavy suit, and they'll need to show off their swagger as they walk "the Charlie walk." Students will also be asked to demonstrate how they would respond to a drunk fan or a crying infant — they'll have to do this while in costume and without speaking.
Kyle Ward, mascot coordinator and a graduate student working with Ball State Athletics, said candidates should be at least 5', 10" tall and in good physical shape. There aren't any restrictions barring that Charlie has to be a male, he said.
Adding more students to the mascot team should help disperse the amount of time they'll be stuck in the heavy, musty red suit. However, signing on as a member of the Chirp Crew means agreeing to be available during home games and events involving Ball State football, men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball.
Veteran Charlie said students won't have to do it more than twice a week, and usually they only need to be in costume for two or three hours at each event.
"Try to get the student section excited when you're with them," said the longtime student mascot. "You don't have to do much. Just point some fingers; clap your hands. They see you, and you're ready to go."
After such an adrenaline rush, it's weird to be out of costume, he said. It's weird to see the people you were just interacting with, knowing they'll never recognize you as Charlie.
"You want to be like ‘high-five,' and they look at you so strange because they don't know who you are," he said.
The Charlie vet started his gig as a freshman when he went to the call out meeting with one of his friends. What he'll really miss when the season's over, he said, is seeing all the little kids that look up to him.
"Kids would rather see you than watch a volleyball or football game," he said. "Mimicking their actions is my favorite thing to do. Eventually they get it and start giggling, and everyone around them starts to laugh."
One downside to his role is dealing with drunk or insensitive fans, he said, noting an incident last year when a student pretended to pose with him for a picture, and ended up punching him in the groin.
"I just stood there like, ‘Huh, that just happened?'" he said. "The guy's just running away with his little cousin, and I'm looking at him shaking my head."
The heat can also be an issue — one day last year, he lay in bed all afternoon with chills associated with heat exhaustion.
"There's no cooling system in the suit," he said. "You just take breaks, drink some water."
Besides being hot inside, the suit is expensive as well. Each year, one of three organizations buys a couple new costumes for student mascots. They each cost $4,000, and this year there are five Charlie costumes, Ward said. Cardinal Varsity Club, Alumni Association and the Ball State Athletics Department rotate in buying the suits.
There are several mascot heads in a locker room storage cabinet in the Human Performance Building, and Ward said he doesn't know what to do with them. Over time, the design and durability have improved, but Ward said he likes to look at how mean the older heads looked and how they've changed over time.
The veteran student mascot offers some words of advice to students before he and the panel of current mascots will help make a decision tomorrow night.
"Have a free spirit," he said. "Be goofy. If you're having fun in the suit, it comes through. We can see that you're having fun. That's what we're looking for."
Watch a DN|TV video about tryouts: http://vimeo.com/14912368
MORE INFORMATION
When: 7-8 p.m.
Where: Worthen Arena, gym floor
What to expect at tryouts
You'll be asked to perform a 2-minute dance/skit to music you provide
Be able to dance to the school fight song wearing the costume
Show off your swagger as you walk the "Charlie Walk"
Criteria for becoming a mascot
Must be a full time Ball State student
Must have at least a 2.0 GPA, or a high school equivalent if you're just starting at Ball State
Must be able to commit to games during football, men's and women's basketball and women's volleyball seasons
Charlie Cardinal's signature gestures
Chirp, chirp
High five
Exaggerated tear drop
Kissing a woman's hand
Shrug of the shoulders
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