My Introduction To Mascotting

Welcome to my first blog of what will hopefully be a fairly consistent series. I intend primarily to blog about my various exploits as a football mascot over the last 13 or so years, as well as discuss some of the issues surrounding Lincoln City as well. I will have to be careful though as I don’t want to cross subject with my Sky Sports blog.

So I thought maybe to open I’d tell you about my introduction to the mad world of Football Mascots. I often get asked ‘what made you become the mascot’, and I’ve rehearsed the answer so many times now it rolls off the tongue like the GMVC winning side of 1988:(Batch, Casey, Clarke, Matthewson, Bressington, Cummings, Mossman, Smith, McGinley, Brown, Sertori) (and I’m sure some people will say I’ve missed people or whatever but that was MY XI from 1988. Anyways….).

It was June of 1998 and a youthful Gary Hutchinson was pondering his next move in life. I’d left school halfway through my A Levels and disposed of a lifetime of promise for an X Reg Escort and a 9-5 job paying £85.10 a week. I’d got myself one of them ‘girlfriends’ people seem to like so much who frankly was a bit of a pain. I needed rid but didn’t have the cahooners to do it myself. Then I saw the Echo ad: Mascot wanted.

She hated Lincoln City, and certainly didn’t want me giving up my free time to do a voluntary position at the club so naturally I applied. In addition to registering my interest I also prepared a portfolio on other mascots, what they did and how I would implement their idea in with my own to create a unique and vibrant matchday character. I was interviewed by Jerry Lonsdale and Alan Long, and both told me they were impressed with my attitude. Wasn’t long before I recieved the phone call from Jerry to tell me I’d be the new Poacher The Imp.

Much to my dismay the significant other thought it was a great idea, and so in July of 1998 she accompanied me to Sincil Bank for the annual open day. That was the first day I saw the suit, and tried it on. It was also the first day I was let loose on the public! I remember going into what was then Jerry and Kerry Frances offices and being greeted by the suit. My other half wasn’t allowed up as she didn’t have a regulation pass! The idea of me needing a pass now is a bit ludicrus, on a par with Alan Long being forced to have one I suppose!

I can’t recall much of the day itself. I was helped on the day by a player called Graham Lewis, a YTS lad who made the odd first team appearance back in the day. I’d love to have some tasty anecdote about my amusing antics, but the truth is the first time you wear a mascot suit your focus is on breathing and trying to work out where you are going. I’ll save some of my ‘lack of mobility’ stories for another time.

This chapter does have a happy ending though. Eventually the girlfriend did get annoyed at the amount of time I spent away on a Saturday, and eventually we did part ways. You’d have thought that once my plan was complete maybe I’d chuck in the fur and spend my Saturdays away from the Bank. Alas, no. I am addicted now to being Poacher and the only way I’ll ever give the job up is if they carry me out of Sincil Bank in a six by one and a half foot box.

So there we go, a fairly laugh free opening to my blog. I’ll be sticking pictures and the like on here as well, mainly of Poacher but as a litle aside I’ll throw a couple of others on that I’ve taken in my role as a novice photographer. As I don’t really have anything of Poacher worth putting on just yet, here’s this mornings sunrise over Snarford.