- Clarence the mascot tries to keep spirits up at a football game at Moorpark College Saturday Sept. 10, 2011. Photo: Jose Romero
It’s Saturday night football at Pierce.
He cheers the spectators on as he makes his way to the field.
“Hey fans! in the stands, put your horns up” he chants.
His energetic character encourages the fans to be free and full of spirit, he’s the Mascot, Clearance, the Brahma Bull,
Clarence the mascot, is 64 years of age, and he has been coming to Pierce College since the day one.
Like a spanish bull, he’s fearless, and puts the muscle and energy behind the athletic teams.
Before long the ASO founded the Athletic Department with the mascot uniform, Pierce College used to have a live bull, that was set free and ran around before the games.
But due to safety reasons, and because it was becoming really dangerous, the live bull idea was put to an end.
Now a days, the bull uniform, which is worn by an anonymous person, brings back the energy and wildness of the bull to the hard working teams.
“I was extremely lucky,” said Cheer Coach Jenny Ghiglia, he really a understood what he had to do.
On the Pierce College website there was a post about try outs for the mascot, in which required no experience and an standard GPA
The anonymous person phoned and went for a try out, “I had to pitch in for ideas,” and also had to “fit in the uniform and move freely with it.”
“I’m technically a cheerleader,” said the mascot person and “I love it,”
“I love it so much that sometimes, I wear different costumes and run around just to put a smile on people,” said the mascot’s person and, “because nobody knows who you are” he added.
“But sometimes when I’m on the field cheering up people, some fans get frustrated with me,” he said.
But he keeps doing his cheering acts and just “mimics them or goes with flow.”
He doesn’t get paid to be the mascot, but “I wish I got paid to cheer and terrorize people,” he said.
The mascot received an award in the Universal Cheerleading Association College Camp in Santa Barbara this year.
He receive a Superiority award from out of eight mascots that participate.
At the camp the mascot also learned how to communicate, he studied American Sign language (ASL), and how to integrate into the routine.
“He [the mascot] is the school spirit, and it’s everything that Pierce is,” said cheerleader Andrea Lightfoot, 25, Psychology.
A fellow athletic instructor, Mary Cox, PE assistant, said, He is the power, the force and determination of the Brahma bull. He never gives up, and keeps on going.”