Confessions of a College Mascot
I think I can do that, I could be really good at that.
The mascot is the roleplayer of the gameday experience. Whether it is taking pictures with kids, pumping up the crowd, or some shenanigans during breaks in the action, mascots keep the positive energy going no matter what happens in the game. This time around, it’s a Moonlight mascot family affair with aunt Jenny Harestad and cousin Clare Flattery in the studio to share about their time as Cy and TC the Cat.
Jenny was a senior at ISU in 1999-2000 when she tried out and Clare was a junior at UNI when she auditioned 2 years ago. Jenny and Clare saw advertisements for mascot tryouts and gave it a shot even though they had never been a mascot before. With the help of MC Hammer and some improv skills, Jenny and Clare wowed at their respective auditions.
How bad does that suit smell?
Once earning the mantle of mascot, or rather the giant head, there is a mascot code of conduct they had to abide by. Clare couldn’t even reveal her secret identity until wearing the paw-feet at her UNI graduation. They had to attend games and community events in character and in the sweatiest suit you can imagine. Clare and Jenny have tons of hilarious stories from their time in costume, including a hockey game against the Culver’s ice cream cone. There is so much more to being a mascot than what you see on the big screen at games.
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As the Des Moines area gears up to host the production of the new Field of Dreams show, Tim and Neil discuss the next era of the film's saga.
We are still riding high from the Field of Dreams game. This week, Tim sits down with NBC Chicago’s Alyssa Bergamini who covers the Chicago White Sox to get an insider’s look at how the players felt about the field, Iowa, and the amazing finish to the game itself. Also in this episode is an update on the Quest for Costner and the upcoming Field of Dreams streaming TV series.
This week the dream comes true. As the White Sox and Yankees pack up and head for home, Tim and Neil get to reflect on one of the most amazing sporting events to ever take place in Iowa. The Field of Dreams movie site went through a roughly 2-year transformation to become the home of a major league-caliber baseball field. Tim and Neil spent the day with 8,000 of their new best friends taking in the sights, sounds, and tastes of something Ray Kinsella could’ve only dreamed of.
It is Field of Dreams week here in Iowa. Major League Baseball is following in the footsteps of the ghost players and will be walking out onto a diamond carved out of a corn field in eastern Iowa. Before the Yankees and White Sox take the field, the Moonlight Graham Show sits down with Moonlighter Tommy Birch and talks about the long road to bring the big league to Dyersville and the Barstool Barn Burner game. This is a huge week in baseball as all eyes turn to Iowa and 30 years after the movie came out, we are ready.
Everyone knows about his short-lived Major League career, but Archibald Graham has so much more to his story. In this episode, Tim and resident historian Tom take a deep dive into Archibald Moonlight Graham’s legacy. We know of Moonlight Graham because author W.P. Kinsella came across a random entry in a baseball encyclopedia, but the good people of Chisolm, MN celebrate Doc ‘Moonlight’ Graham Days each year to celebrate so much more than baseball.
This week’s Moonlighter is the Director of Operations at the Field of Dreams Movie Site. In addition to the rest of his duties, Roman Weinberg has played a critical role in one of the biggest sporting events in Iowa history that hasn’t even happened yet. The New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox are supposed to face off on a field carved out of an Iowa cornfield, just like Ray Kinsella built. However, with COVID-19 and the entire MLB season up in the air, even if they build it, they might not come.
In this interview, Tim and Dwier explore the behind-the-scenes notes and insights that make Field of Dreams so special. Everything from working with the cast, the cast and crew bowling team, filming in Dyersville, and nearly 30 years of hindsight on one of the greatest sports movies of all time.
This year, Tim and Neil were not able to attend the big game in Dyersville, so they had to bring in a reliever. Who better to serve as the Moonlight Graham Show’s first unofficial correspondent than one of Iowa’s favorite role players, Moonlighter Nick Collison?