What you probably don’t know is, the person underneath the fur was 19-year-old Northwest Missouri State University student Andrew Johnson.
Johnson made the drive up I-29 from Kansas City for the weekend with a couple of friends and he knew exactly what he needed to do after donning the Casey costume.
“You walk out there and you’re a source of entertainment,” Johnson said. “One of the neatest aspects for me when I put on a costume – my favorite is doing an appearance as KC Wolf because the [Kansas City] Chiefs have 50 plus years of tradition – and when I put that costume on, I’m the visual representation of the Kansas City Chiefs.
“So, when I walk out there as Casey, I’m representing a great organization here with the Omaha Royals. So, you’ve always got to be on your best behavior and do your best job and have fun. That’s one of my jobs – to keep people in their seats and make sure they’re still smiling.”
In addition to making appearances for the Chiefs, and filling in as Casey, he is a mascot assistant to Sluggerrr, the Kansas City Royals mascot, this summer – which means he helps Sluggerrr prepare for the game and he is the bug inside Sluggerrr’s ear during the game.
“I pick up the hot dogs [that Sluggerrr will be shooting and tossing into the crowd] and get all of his stuff ready for him,” Johnson said “Once we hit game time, I’m making sure he’s in the right spot at the right time. And he’s got a little USB that fits right in his ear,” Johnson said. “I’ve got a big headset and I’m picking up what my boss is telling me in my ear and relaying it to him.”
It wasn’t all that long ago that Johnson was watching Sluggerrr and KC Wolf from afar and dreaming about getting into the business one day. He grew up in the Kansas City area and seeing the mascots perform whet his appetite for the possibility of becoming a mascot one day.
“I watched those excellent characters in Kansas City and saw how much fun they were having,” Johnson said. “I started at my high school, developed that program over a three-year period, and learned that I absolutely loved it.
“During that time I worked with the major league soccer affiliate in Kansas City. There’s an independent baseball team in Kansas City called the T-Bones – I worked with them. And I worked with a bunch of random organizations around Kansas City.
“I either played mascot characters for the teams or if they brought in a random TV show character or something like that, I’d fill in.
“I’ve done a lot and I learned to love it. Over my time in high school, I performed with Sluggerrr and KC Wolf and during that time I got to know the guys, so whenever they needed someone, they would be able to call me.”
The calls came and Johnson is on the road to living his dream – although he probably never envisioned portraying a large blue lion who was surrounded by dogs.
That was the case on Saturday night at Rosenblatt Stadium when the Omaha Royals had a promotion called “Bark in the Park,” in which owners brought their dogs to the stadium and donated a dollar to the Nebraska Humane Society.
“Some of them get really scared, some of them like you, some of them don’t quite know [what to do] – they are kind of like babies,” Johnson said about the dogs. “You just don’t know how they are going to react.”
None of the dogs bit him, but the guy wearing the Herman the Nut costume wasn’t quite so fortunate. “The guy playing Herman said one of the dogs did bite the costume,” Johnson said. “Herman took the blow.”
Beyond all the fun and games, there can be a serious side to playing a mascot. Johnson tells the story about a fellow student at his high school who benefited from getting involved in the school mascot program.
“There was a boy who was in a lot of trouble,” Johnson said. “He was kind of one of those kids who everyone avoids. He had taken an extreme liking to me over the three years I was there. We held tryouts [for the mascot position] at the end of my senior year and he tried out with another boy. We chose the two of them thinking maybe this was what he needed to get out of trouble.
“Over this past year, he’s had fun with it, he’s enjoyed it, and it has kept him out of trouble. It’s been a good opportunity for him to step out of his boundaries and learn something new.”
Johnson’s ultimate goal after graduating from college is landing a full-time gig as a mascot for a professional team. There are a limited number of those positions available, but he’s put himself in a good position to make it happen.
“That’s definitely my dream – to either be in the NFL or Major League Baseball,” Johnson said. “I always tell people the NBA and NHL are a whole lot different, because number one, I can’t skate so that kind of throws that one out, and the NBA – I don’t know if you’ve seen that recent dunk by Bingo with the Milwaukee Bucks, but those guys do crazy stuff. They’re athletes.
“But that’s the goal. I just want to be a mascot.”
