By: Lindsay Simpson

For many, the mascot is an accessory to the game, there for crowd amusement and an occasional cannon for sending team promotional gear into the crowd.  For some, the mascot is an achievement and something worthy of a line on their resume.

 

Testudo, the mascot for the University of Maryland Terrapins, is a big, fuzzy turtle.  Think cuddly, like tortoise in the hare, and not a tough Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.  While often the butt of opponents’ jokes about velocity, or lack thereof, Testudo has carved a national presence in the media.  Certainly a niche presence, but being a turtle certainly sets him apart from the rest of the many mascots around the country.  He has made appearances on SportsCenter commercials, Capital One commercials and the like.

 

Testudo never misses a football or basketball game and frequents other sporting events around campus.  And while fans laugh when he impersonates Mark Turgeon while standing directly behind him, or body surfs the student crowd after a big win against Duke, most do not realize the amount of work that goes into preparing for those appearances.

 

Most on campus do not know is that Testudo is a two-time region champion and currently ranked No. 1 in the country.  He will be competing for a national title this spring at the National Cheerleaders Association competition.

 

What makes Testudo a great mascot is the cohesiveness and consistency of his character, said the mascot coach, whose name will remain anonymous and we will call Peter out of respect to the tradition of the mascot.

 

The identity of Testudo is never to be revealed to give the sense that Testudo is Testudo, a being, and not just a person in a suit.

 

The mascot team has strict rules in order to maintain the notion that Testudo is a being and not a costume.  There cannot be two Testudos on campus at the same time within one mile of each other.  Testudo also carefully choreographs games and appearances where multiple people will be wearing the suit to make sure there are never two Testudos in the room at the same time.  If Testudo has to make back-to-back appearances in different venues, the team members will communicate with one another to coordinate when one Testudo leaves one room so the other Testudo can enter the next room.

 

But more important than timing Testudo’s appearances is portraying his character.  “Testudo is fun, flirty and goofy,” said one of the mascot team members who we will call Stacy.

 

“Know who your mascot is and act the character -be consistent, have a plan and plan out your moves,” Peter said.

 

Students are invited to participate in tryouts every spring.  The first round of tryouts consists of submitting a video.  The applicants have to make a mascot from items found in their house and give a 30 second summary of three movies without talking.  If the judges can correctly guess the movies and were entertained in the process, the applicant moves to the next round of tryouts.   The final round of tryouts tests tumbling skills for basic agility, creativity of expression, and ability to fit into the suit.

 

Despite the heat, heavy suits and long hours, “when you walk into Comcast and 20,000 people are cheering and lights go down and you’re right there in center court pumping everyone up…it’s just really cool,” Peter said.