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It has been whispered that Gus, the Pittsburg State University mascot, may not be a real gorilla, just a man in a furry suit. If so, his identity is a bigger secret than Osama bin Laden’s cell phone number.
On the other hand, just about everybody knows that Patrick Johnson is the guy inside the Pittsburg High School purple dragon suit.
“At the high school level it’s hard to keep something like this unknown, because everybody knows everybody,” he said.
This is his third year as the PHS mascot.
“Since I’m a senior, it’s also my last year,” Johnson said.
He assumed the dragon role during his sophomore year.
“For some reason, the person who was supposed to be doing it wasn’t able to, so Chris Garzone, the assistant principal, asked me if I’d like to do it,” Johnson said. “I had to try out for it in my junior and senior year, but actually there wasn’t any competition.”
The dragon appears only at football games.
“I do cheers with the cheerleaders, walk around the stands and sit with the crowd,” he said. “I play with the little kids, but I’m not allowed to talk with anybody. I only talk to the cheerleaders.”
He admitted it sometimes gets pretty hot inside the dragon suit.
“There are three places I can see through — the neck, the mouth and the eyes,” Johnson said.
He said the worse part is the long bus ride to out-of-town games.
“I ride on the bus with the cheer squad and have to get ready on the bus before I get out,” he said. “I wear the dragon costume over my regular clothes, but I take along an extra pair of shorts and a shirt because the ones I have on will be completely soaked in sweat by the end of the game.”
Nevertheless, he said he’s having a lot of fun playing the dragon.
When he’s not doing that, Johnson, son of Sarah Johnson, is an aid in the PHS counselor’s office and also helps with the Youth Friends program. He also does cross country and track, and is manager for the basketball team.
“I think it’s a lot of fun to stay involved in athletics and activities,” he said. “You get to meet a lot of people.”
Johnson hopes to run cross country and track in college, and might even try to continue being a sports mascot. His ultimate goal, however, is far different.
“I want to be a math teacher to middle school students,” Johnson said.
It has been whispered that Gus, the Pittsburg State University mascot, may not be a real gorilla, just a man in a furry suit. If so, his identity is a bigger secret than Osama bin Laden’s cell phone number.
On the other hand, just about everybody knows that Patrick Johnson is the guy inside the Pittsburg High School purple dragon suit.
“At the high school level it’s hard to keep something like this unknown, because everybody knows everybody,” he said.
This is his third year as the PHS mascot.
“Since I’m a senior, it’s also my last year,” Johnson said.
He assumed the dragon role during his sophomore year.
“For some reason, the person who was supposed to be doing it wasn’t able to, so Chris Garzone, the assistant principal, asked me if I’d like to do it,” Johnson said. “I had to try out for it in my junior and senior year, but actually there wasn’t any competition.”
The dragon appears only at football games.
“I do cheers with the cheerleaders, walk around the stands and sit with the crowd,” he said. “I play with the little kids, but I’m not allowed to talk with anybody. I only talk to the cheerleaders.”
He admitted it sometimes gets pretty hot inside the dragon suit.
“There are three places I can see through — the neck, the mouth and the eyes,” Johnson said.
He said the worse part is the long bus ride to out-of-town games.
“I ride on the bus with the cheer squad and have to get ready on the bus before I get out,” he said. “I wear the dragon costume over my regular clothes, but I take along an extra pair of shorts and a shirt because the ones I have on will be completely soaked in sweat by the end of the game.”
Nevertheless, he said he’s having a lot of fun playing the dragon.
When he’s not doing that, Johnson, son of Sarah Johnson, is an aid in the PHS counselor’s office and also helps with the Youth Friends program. He also does cross country and track, and is manager for the basketball team.
“I think it’s a lot of fun to stay involved in athletics and activities,” he said. “You get to meet a lot of people.”
Johnson hopes to run cross country and track in college, and might even try to continue being a sports mascot. His ultimate goal, however, is far different.
“I want to be a math teacher to middle school students,” Johnson said.
