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The 'Bear' Necessities of a Mascot

June 18, 2003 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Ohio Valley Greyhounds News Release


Players do it. Coaches do it. Referees and front office employees also do it. It is the dream that just about everybody involved in basketball has.

Making it to the NBA.

So why should it be any different for a CBA mascot? Well, it's not.

Take ‘The Bear', from the NBA's Utah Jazz, for example. For ten years he has been exciting the fans in Salt Lake City's Delta Center with his crazy antics. And for ten years he has been considered one of the best mascots in the NBA. But like many star players in the NBA, The Bear got his start in the CBA, as the mascot ‘Thunder' with the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

"Before Sioux Falls, I never really thought of it as a gig or a job," remarked The Bear, from the Jazz offices in Salt Lake. "Then, when I hit Sioux Falls, I thought, ‘Well maybe I will give it a shot in the NBA.'"

NBA scouts attend CBA games nightly to look at players who might get a call-up, but they're not there to look at the team's mascot. So how does the NBA become aware of a furry, caped, or cartoon-like creature?

"Basically, I put together a tape of all my highlights that I did in Sioux Falls, like my repelling, zip-line, dunking, skits, stunts, etc," said The Bear. "Then I put together a bunch of pictures and references from coaches and general managers. I sent out tapes to every team in the NBA and got three teams to look at me, one of them being the Utah Jazz."

The Jazz must have seen something special in him, as they relocated ‘Thunder' to Salt Lake prior to the 1993-94 season. Once he was settled in with the Jazz, he became ‘The Bear'.

Since then, things have never been the same at Jazz games. Throughout the Delta Center, you'll find The Bear riding motorcycles through the arena, repelling from the ceiling, dunking through hoops of fire, and of course, sledding, biking or skiing down the aisle from the top row of seats to courtside, a stunt that really put the daring mascot on the map.

Kind of like a shooting guard always looking to improve his jump shot, The Bear has always been looking for ways to improve his stunts.

"I don't know how to explain it," he stated. "You just kind of sit around and you think ‘What can I do different? What is one step more than just a regular dunk? Well, there is a flip dunk. Okay, well I've done the flip dunk. What is one more step that is cool that I can do?' You progress to the fire-hoop dunk, and then it turned in to the rotating fire-hoop and then it turned in to the double fire-hoop, which turned into the double rotating fire-hoop. It is just all kind of one-upping yourself."

Looking back, The Bear laughs when he ponders his early beginnings and the worry he placed on nervous arena workers. In fact, one arena and team decided that the mascot's antics were a little over the top.

"Fargo, back in the Fargo Fever days (of the CBA), they fired me," he chuckled. "They thought I was a liability, so they got rid of me. I had some hard feelings, because I was actually just starting to enjoy it. When they got rid of me I was like, ‘You know, I don't plan on suing anybody if I hurt myself,' but they were just really worried about that."

"That was back when I started sledding and they were freaking out."

Maybe they saw something that The Bear didn't. When asked if he's ever been hurt while entertaining, The Bear replied, "Where do you want me to start?"

"I blew out my knee a year ago and had ACL, MCL, and meniscus damage. I've had two bad shoulders where I've had shots in both of them. I've torn the tendon in my pinky and in my thumb. I've broken both bursas, had stitches in my head, I've sprained both ankles and pulled both groins. I've been knocked out, and came to and got up and walked off. I just try not to show that I've been hurt."

"But there is not a mascot around, that you could call, that would not be able to give you a list of injuries."

Despite the injuries, The Bear continues to put himself on the line night in and night out as the love of entertaining drives him everyday. Whether it is in front of 20,000 fans in the NBA, or traveling back to CBA cities, which he does every year, and performing in front of 5,000 fans, the lovable mascot lives to show off his talent and skills. In fact, when asked which league he would rather entertain in, minus the money issue, The Bear hurriedly answered, "the CBA".

"The CBA teams are so much fun because, when you go there, the rules and restrictions are a lot different so you can get away with a lot more. The CBA officials and fans are more willing to be part of the entertainment. They are there to have fun and be entertained and not to think, ‘Look at me sitting in the front row.' When you are in the CBA, you can be more intimate with your fans."

That's why The Bear continues to claim the CBA as his breeding ground, and why he will continue to visit Sioux Falls and other CBA cities year after year, though the Skyforce hold a special place in his heart.

"Even with any road team I visited, Sioux Falls just seemed to set the standard."

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