SUNBURY — Crazy, quirky and sometimes silly, the Valley’s high school and college mascots are larger-than-life characters under their costumes, working the sidelines and stands to provide comic relief and get the crowd roaring at football games.

And to most sports fans, Bucknell University’s “Bucky the Bison;” the Milton Area High School Black Panther; “Victor,” the Line Mountain High School Eagle; and the Shikellamy High School Brave are part of the fun and magic surrounding their teams.   

Mascots have long added an identity to a team, one created by those who don the suits.

There is no formal training for mascots at area schools; their antics may look easy, but the people behind the masks all say they had to learn to perform while on the job.

And tonight — the opening night of high school football season — is showtime.

Brian McCarthy, an accounting senior at Bucknell, is one of Bucky the Bison’s three alter egos, and he had no performing experience when he first donned the costume three years ago.

“When I first arrived at Bucknell, we were sent an e-mail asking if anyone wanted to be the mascot,” McCarthy said.

“I figured, why not? I’m from the Philadelphia area, and a big Phillies fan. They have one of the best performing mascots, the Philly Phanatic. I’m a normal, run-of-the-mill guy. Outgoing. Friendly. I enjoy people and kids so it seemed like something fun to do. I never had the opportunity before.”

McCarthy’s Bison has allowed him to express his inner clown.

“It’s too much fun,” he’s said.

McCarthy said he enjoys interacting with students at the games, and with youngsters.

“Just seeing the crowd fires me up, and it’s fun putting smiles on kids’ faces,” he said.

You can see McCarthy at most home Bucknell football and basketball games.

Line Mountain’s “Victor the Eagle” is really Denise Harris, 40, of Fishers Ferry.

“Most people who watch Victor, a male eagle, think there is a man inside the costume, so they’ll be surprised to find out I’ve been doing this for a year now,” she said, laughing.

Before Denise, a man had played the character for years.

“I volunteered to take over when he wanted to retire his act,” she said.

As herself, Harris is quiet and shy. As Victor, she can be a totally different person. Do things she would never do in real life.

She practiced at home in front of her son. The hardest thing to learn was to walk in Victor’s large feet.

“I had to figure out how to walk and not trip over myself,” she joked.

In her first year as Victor, Harris learned her own groove.

“My job is to excite the crowd, entertain them in the stands,” she said. “Victor likes to be a little nutty. Dance in front of the crowd. It’s something I would never do in my real life.”

Meanwhile, the two students who portray Milton’s Black Panther and Shikellamy’s Brave are born entertainers and love the spotlight.

At Shikellamy High, junior Ty Noll wants to re-create the team’s mascot and make it “cool.”

Noll, on the cheerleading squad, was asked by his coach this year to wear the Brave’s head and entertain fans.

“I’ve done some acting, so performing in front of an audience doesn’t intimidate me at all,” he said. “I have a great time in front of crowds.”

Noll promises to improvise his routine, beginning tonight.

“I’m not sure what I’m going to do right now,” he said Thursday afternoon. “But it will be fun for the crowd, and for me.”

Milton Area High School has a new mascot, the Black Panther, played by sophomore Bradley Dennis.

Like the Shikellamy Brave, the Black Panther will make its debut tonight.

“There had been mascots before me, but I want to take the character to a whole new level,” Dennis said.

An experienced actor with local theater groups, Dennis described himself as outgoing, and “not very shy. Inside or outside the suit, I am the same person.”

When he was first approached this year to play the mascot, “I watched some college games, focusing in on their mascots, and that was interesting. But I decided to do this my way, off the top of my head.”  

At Susquehanna University, there is no one person who serves as “The Caped Crusader,” the school’s mascot. It’s done on a volunteer basis, as needed.

“The Crusader is a tiger in a mask and a cape,” said Jennifer Botchie, head cheerleading coach at Susquehanna.

“The Caped Crusader doesn’t appear regularly at football games,” she said. “The mascot is just not part of the show.”

So unless some group specifically requests the Susquehanna University mascot to show up, you’re not likely to see the Crusader at many public events.

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