Imagine yourself in a crowd. Each and every eye closely following the same movement. It’s almost as if everyone is in a trance. Everyone is holding their breath, anticipating the shift, the crucial moment. And then it happens. The crowd erupts, a rising howl, a cacophony of noise that approves and at the same time condemns the same action. You are watching a sports match, and there is no other thing in the world like it. All the while a costumed character is dancing on the ground, a representation of the team, their symbol of luck and a welcome source of entertainment.
This is the costume mascot, and it’s hard to imagine modern sports without it.
The history of the mascot costume can be traced back to a dialect used in the South Western province of France called Provence and Gascony. It was used to describe something that brought luck to a household. It was suggested that the word mascot has been derived from the word masque (which means masked or concealed), where it was used in the French provinces for a child born with a caul, the thin membrane that covers most mammals when born. It is an allusion to the supposed luck or destiny of children born as such.
On the other hand, others have claimed it all started when a French composer named Edmond Audran had written a comical operatta entitled La Mascotte which became really popular in 1880s. But then again, the word has been in use as well in France as a slang word among gamblers that meant witch or witchcraft, sorcery or spell. Perhaps this has been adopted from the Portuguese word mascotto (which also means withcraft) or from the Occitan word masco or mascoto (which also meaned spell).
In any case, Audran’s operatta became so popular that demand for it reached overseas. This resulted in the operatta being translated into many different languages including English and was consequently morphed in the title: The Mascot. For some reason, the English translation meant something or anything, a person, an object or animal that brought good luck to you. From here, the word was again adopted into other languages but the meaning stuck as something that brought you good luck, although it mostly retained the original French spelling which was mascotte.
In the modern setting cartoon mascots are a common sight in most sports matches. During the heyday of the great Michael Jordan, most if not everyone will recognize the man in the character costume of a bull, from the team Chicago Bulls. Actually, there arecharacter costumes for every team in the National Basketball Association and each one is instantly recognizable as they are proudly wearing the same colors and are cheering for their team all throughout the game.
The mascot is a credit to sports. It makes it more entertaining, more fun, as a distraction from the seriousness that comes with supporting your team. Let us hope they continue to bring luck to their respective teams and sports in general so we can continue enjoying this great human past