WorldWideWolfie.co.uk » Mascotspotting

Mascotspotting: Sunderland AFC – Samson and Delilah

World Wide Wolfie — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 20:06:08 +0000

The Black Cat’s logically chose cats – who are black – for the mascots, resulting in the mythically unattractive Samson and Delilah.

Name: Samson and Delilah

DoB: unknown

Pun Value: 0

Charm: 4

Machismo: 4

Weirdness factor: 8

Overall mascotspotter rating: 4

Trivia: The mascots are (not obviously, even when you look close up) black cats, to reflect Sunderland’s nickname – apparently derived from the occasion when one of the aforementioned creatures wandered into the dressing room before a 3-1 victory over Bury in 1909. Honestly, other than that, I can’t find any information about these elusive creatures so if you have any amusing S&D stories, please do share.

Mascotspotting: Arsenal – Gunnersaurus Rex

World Wide Wolfie — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 22:32:31 +0000

Arsenal’s mascot is a long-necked dinosaur, not unreminiscent of our own Stefan Maierhofer. For all his weirdness, he has a certain quirky charm.

Name: Gunnersaurus Rex

DoB: August 1993

Pun Value: 5

Charm: 5

Machismo: 6

Weirdness factor: 9

Overall mascotspotter rating: 6

Trivia: Gunnersaurus Rex is a well documented but disturbingly squeaky clean mascot. I can find nothing interesting to say about him. I do believe there is some nice footage of Wenger ranting during the West Ham game, apparently right at the hapless mascot, but as no documentary evidence survives online, even this little nugget of interest comes to nothing. According the the Arsenal website, he is ‘Gunner is one of the most respected mascots in football’. I do not know how a mascot gains ‘respect’, but GR must have that in spades.

Mascotspotting: Fulham – Billy the Badger

World Wide Wolfie — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 08:46:48 +0000

There’s nothing I like more than while researching my ‘Mascotspotting’ spot, than to run across the headline ‘Club Mascot Controversy’ in Wikipedia. Billy, it seems, has almost as chequered a past as my own, probably to make up for his averageness in every other way. Fulham are a team who seem to have struggled with their mascot, previous incumbents of the hallowed role being reported as ‘Sir Craven of Cottage’ and ‘Terry Bytes’. Billy was finally arrived at through a fan competition. The reason a badger was chosen is unreported, so we’ll assume that with no obvious puns offering, they picked the fluffiest entry out the hat.

Name: Billy the Badger

DoB: Unknown

Pun Value: 0

Charm: 6

Machismo: 7

Weirdness factor: 1

Overall mascotspotter rating: 3

Trivia: According to Wikipedia, Billy was first involved in controversy when he tried to cheer up Chelsea manager Avram Grant during a home match in front of the television cameras. He topped this performance in February 2008 when he was caught on camera being sent off during the home game against Aston Villa for breakdancing in the corner of the pitch after the referee had commenced the game. The incident is captured here:

Mascotspotting: Stoke City – Pottermus & Pottermiss

World Wide Wolfie — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 22:01:46 +0000

In the first of my soon-to-be-regular profiles of the inferior mascots of our opponents, let me introduce Stoke City’s Odd Couple.

Names: Pottermus and Pottermiss

DoB: Him: 1997, Her: 2002

Pun Value: 8.5

Charm: 5

Machismo: 2

Weirdness factor: 6 (yeah, they’re weird, but I sense there are further depths to plumb)

Overall mascotspotter rating: 5.5

Trivia: Both Pottermus and Pottermiss are available for hire for £60 for forty-five minutes (see Stoke City website to secure this once in a lifetime offer). It is unclear exactly what services they can provide, however this clip of the pair in action may offer a clue: