The identity of the contestants is kept hidden by newspapers that have been put up over the windows on the doors. If for any reason someone is able to look into the room, they are corralled behind a wall of blue mats almost like a horse pen. Secrecy is key when it comes to Charlie Cardinal.
The secrecy is part of tradition, and it helps make Charlie into the mascot it is.
"When we go out there, we're a completely different person," said Ted Anderson, who's in his third year as one of the Charlie Cardinals (names have been changed to protect students' identities). "It's easier if nobody knows who we are."
It's Wednesday night and Charlie Cardinal tryouts are in progress. Behind the blue wall of mats sits 11 students — nine men and two women. During tryouts, there are mixed feelings of nervousness and anticipation as they put on the uniform of Ball State's mascot. At the beginning of the year, there were three students moonlighting as Charlie Cardinal. On Friday, two more are added to the group.
It seems like a game show as Charlie hopefuls, numbered 1-11, suit up in pairs and performe one at a time in the center of the room for the five judges, three of which are members of the Chirp Crew.
The tryouts consist of a minute of random dancing, as well as an interrogation-like sequence of questions concerning aspects of the Charlie character, such as where its eyes are located, where it lives and whether Charlie is a boy or a girl. There is the fight song dance, learning to do the Charlie strut, an agility test and two scenarios dealing with kids and drunk college students.
The scenarios are played out in a manner that makes even the members of the Chirp Crew laugh. As funny as they are though, they do actually happen.
"The craziest thing that's happened to me was that I got mugged at Toledo," Anderson said, a small smile coming to his face at the memory. "I was walking across the top of the stadium — Toledo's football stadium is a bowl shape with a walk around above the bleachers — and this guy who was very inebriated started haggling me."
After a couple of minutes of dealing with the fan, Anderson started to walk away, only to be punched from behind in the kidney.
"He hit me in the one spot where there's no padding," he said. "There's just this one layer of fur and then me."
Before making it to a police officer, Anderson was punched by the same guy in the back of the head. That was when he was forced to break his silence once he saw a police officer.
"I kind of broke the rule," Anderson said. "You can't charade that."
Anderson said the assault was rare, and inebriated fans just look for entertainment.
"With the drunk fans, you just want to give a firm handshake to let them know that there's someone inside [the suit] that might be bigger than them," he said.
During the tryouts, each contestant is given the same set of scenarios, and each one handles it differently.
"I had somewhat of a chicken walk down pat," Brian Cooper said about preparing for the tryouts. "It is a cardinal, I don't know how they act, so I mimicked a chicken."
Cooper Jennings, another Charlie hopeful, said the transition to become Ball State's mascot was easier than he thought.
"I was nervous to see how I'd perform, but once I put the costume on, I wasn't even myself," he said. "I was just being Charlie Cardinal. It wasn't that hard when I was doing it."
After each audition, the contestants walk back behind the wall and take off the suit.
INSIDE THE SUIT
While the people who went into the suit were excited and hyper, the people who come out of the suit are dripping with sweat and visibly worn out.
"Gosh, it's a sauna for sure," Jennings said. "You get in and you instantly start sweating."
During the tryouts, the current mascots make comments about past experiences, such as doing running events, when the tiredness of the contestants shows through.
"If you're not in good shape, imagine going into a sauna and doing high caliber aerobics for however long you have to be in there," Anderson said. "I don't think we've ever measured it, but if you had to guess, it'd probably be over 110 degrees after a few minutes or so. It's almost unbearable. It's the adrenaline rush that keeps you going."
There's also the added challenge of not being able to talk once the costume goes on.
"That wasn't that hard actually," Jennings said. "When I was thinking about it, I thought it would be but it wasn't. It was a lot harder to stop panting because I was breathing so hard."
But the most challenging part of the job is keeping the secret of who's in the suit. The Charlies have to keep the same standard as Ball State athletes by maintaining a 2.5 or higher GPA, and they cannot get in trouble with the law. There's also the problem of friends inviting them to events.
"It happens all the time," Anderson said. "People will ask you if you want to go to the game, it's kind of tough. You just have to come up with this big book of excuses like ‘I can't tonight, I have homework' or something. Little do they know you're right there beside them at the game.
"After three years of doing it you run out of excuses. I don't know if people have started to question if my excuses are good enough."
MAINTAINING STANDARDS
The people behind the mask also face the same challenges as athletes in keeping up good morals on and off the field. Anderson mentioned members of the Chirp Crew who had gotten in trouble because of comments posted online or because they went to certain protests.
While, it could be said that being Charlie Cardinal can isolate them from people at times, the mascots have social connections with other secretive people, including mascots at other schools.
"Before the game you're usually hanging out in the same locker room so you can talk things over like staging a fight in front of the student section," Anderson said.
He said if someone ever sees the fights, they shouldn't be surprised if the home mascot wins — it's the basic rule of the game. While Charlie mentions the myriad YouTube videos of mascot fights that have gotten out of control, he said there's no huge rivalry in the Mid-American Conference that would lead to that happening during a Ball State game.
Despite the negatives of the job — the heat, the occasional feisty fan and the lack of celebrity — Anderson said the people who do the job do it because they want to.
"Charlie doesn't get paid," he said. "It's not a scholarship position. We don't get anything out of it. We're there because we want to be, not because we have to be. So, just be nice to Charlie, give him a hug or a high five if he comes over, because there is a person under there and that's what we're there for.
"We're there to make your day better."
*All names have been changed
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