New mascot, old tradition
by Beka Rutledge, editorial assistant
It has been about five years since Terrible Tex has stepped
foot onto the Texan Dome floor.
However, this coming basketball season
he, or she as it turns out, will make an appearance once
again. Wearing a brand new suit and portraying the
personality of South Plains College’s mascot is going to be
freshman Stacie Wirmel.
She was a mascot for her high school in
Iowa Park, Texas for two years. She says she enjoyed it so
much that she decided she would try for a college position.
Wirmel says that she came to SPC and talked to the cheer
director, Linda McCulloch, about becoming the mascot and was
told that she could indeed have the assignment.
During the summer, Wirmel spent her
time at SPC working as a mascot instructor. She worked with
junior high and high school kids during camps to help them
become good mascots by using their unique personality traits
to be entertaining and animated. She taught them a mascot
dance and how to inspire excitement and energy. Wirmel
says that she is looking forward to going to a few of the
local elementary schools and promoting SPC athletics. She
also plans to help with a few more day camps, because she
loves working with children. Her favorite part about being a
mascot is to “see the kid’s faces light up when you go over
to them and give them your attention.”
The only downside to being a mascot,
Wirmel says, is the heat inside the suit. She explained that
it can get up to 120 degrees inside of a mascot uniform.
During her experiences in high school, she had to wear ice
packs inside of her suit to keep from getting too toasted.
She also had to make sure to drink plenty of water to
prevent dehydration.
Nevertheless, these tough conditions
don’t have any affect on her desire to be an outstanding
mascot. Wirmel says that she loves being a mascot and “would
do it over anything.” She is very keyed up about being able
to help cheer on such good basketball teams. She says she
thinks it is really neat to able to be the first mascot in
five years, especially since this year is SPC’s 50th
anniversary.
McCulloch expressed her enthusiasm
about having Wirmel as the mascot by saying, “I am very
excited. Stacie brings lots of talent to the table.”
Wirmel says that she is dedicated to
representing SPC as Terrible Tex for the next two years and
can’t wait to begin the season.
