Excerpt From Character References Newsletter
By Maureen Stroulger

Tampa Bay Lightning and Tampa Bay Storm mascot, ThunderBug, is used to squaring off against the teams who play on his turf in Tampa Bay, Florida. But competing in a European steeplechase for sport mascots was a new gig for this popular bug, which makes more than 350 appearances a year.

"It was quite the experience," says Jason Franke, Entertainment and Marketing manager for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Franke, along with Street Characters' president Glenn Street, escorted ThunderBug to the British Mascot Grand National, which took place on the Huntingdon Racecourse, just outside of Cambridge, England, this past summer. (Street Characters sponsored ThunderBug to attend the race.)

More than 100 sport mascots from around the world participated in the event, with ThunderBug being the first-ever of the North American sport mascots to compete. And he did us all proud by claiming ninth spot overall in what Franke says was a difficult race for the over-sized bug. The mascots had to run a 200-metre-long course, complete with six hurdles, all in their full costumes.

By the end of the race ThunderBug was tired, admits Franke, but he somehow found the energy to also take part in a London Knights mascot hockey game. The game, adds Franke, was "absolutely crazy."

"ThunderBug just did what he does here, but he actually got one of the players kicked out of the game. The fans were chanting "ThunderBug, ThunderBug," I guess they'd never had their sport mascots be so interactive with the crowd."

Franke adds that some fans even threatened to kidnap ThunderBug and keep him for their own. There was no word from Mighty Knight, the Knights' mascot, as to what he thought about this.

The event boasted hosted mascots from around the world, displaying a variety of colorful and elaborate costumes. While the costumes were not judged, there were clearly fan favorites and ThunderBug's bright yellow exterior was one of the most popular costumes at the event.

While Franke admits the sport mascots in Europe are like "night and day" compared to the mascots here, he says ThunderBug wouldn't hesitate to go back to England-to visit. "Every mascot we met was a class act," says Franke. "There were great people and wonderful costumes, fantastic mascots all around." And for Thunderbug, it was a chance to see the sights and take a few well-earned days off.

Character References is published twice annually by Street Characters Inc., the mascot solutions company.
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Glenn Street, Publisher