You could have been the next Eggy

By Emma Prestwich

You had the chance this winter to spend three hours of your week dancing around silently in a sweaty costume, and you likely didn’t take it.

Early this week, the job of Eggy the Mascot was posted on the Ryerson work study job board, but the position had already been filled when The Eyeopener spoke with Nancy Chorley, manager of academic success in the athletics department on Monday, who said she forgot to take it down.

Posting the job to the Ryerson website is standard practice when hiring a new mascot, she said.

New Eggys work three hours a week, according to the posting, for $12 an hour.

Chorley said it has typically been difficult to find students for this job, which she calls an “extra thing on the side” because of the number of hours the mascot is paid.

Eggy is usually seen dancing at varsity games, high-fiving and hugging members of the audience. One mascot was known to kick over full garbage cans in the gym during games.

For that reason, Chorley said those that do apply are often more outgoing “theatre types”.

“To be honest, it’s not that attractive to too many people… [many students] look at it as embarrassing themselves in front of other people.”

According to the posting, Ryerson athletics was seeking a student who is “energetic and good with children”, as well as able to “interact with fans on a one-on-one basis without the ability to use verbal communication”.

The student also has to be between 5’5 and 6’3 to fit in the costume.

Eggy’s identity has historically been a secret. Chorley said she worked in the department for several years before discovering the face behind the costume.

“In the world of Eggy, no one knows who Eggy is or how many there are,” she said.

Although the posting has been taken down, the department regularly hires new mascots. Five or six are paid at a time because the job requires a lot of weekend work. Students also have unpredictable schedules and get sick, said Chorley.

Eggy has been a costumed mascot since 1991, when the school decided to do away with the real live ram due to pressure from the Humane Society. One neglected Eggy spent a weekend locked in a fashion department bathroom as part of a prank back in the 1980s.

Some radio and television arts students tried to resurrect the live Eggy in 2010, with little response.

His costume was revamped in 2012, when the athletics department changed their logo and branding. Eggy’s new smile is wider and more fierce, presumably part of the plan to rebrand the Rams as tougher. We say he resembles one of those creepy clowns from the fair.

Be sure to check theeyeopener.com next week for a training video with one of the new mascots.

Also, The Eyeopener would like to express its sorrow about the lack of recent tweets from @EvilEggy.