A mascot marriage might sound like a headline for a halftime show, but this union was no stunt.
Emily K. Blaine (née Schenck), who has portrayed the University of Dayton’s Rudy Flyer for almost three years, and Sam R. Blaine, the man who plays Wright State University’s Rowdy Raider, were married June 12. No costumes, cheering squads, or basketball teams were involved.
“It’s like a fairy tale,” says Beverly A. Schenck, mother of the bride and a good friend of the groom’s mother for more than 25 years. “They’re made for each other.”
Their mothers’ friendship brought Emily and Sam together as childhood friends and as hoops fans.
“It’s amazing,” says Ms. Blaine. “Sam and I used to go to basketball games when we were kids with our moms.”
The two started dating in high school, right after joining the Green Team, the entertainment squad of the Dayton Dragons, a minor-league affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Emily had heard about the Green Team tryouts from a friend, and brought Sam along. They both got the job.
“It kind of just was in my blood to be at sporting events and be out and about, representing the team, and cheering them on,” says Mr. Blaine.
When it came time for college, Emily went to the University of Dayton on an academic scholarship, and Sam chose Wright State, where he had already been selected to play Rowdy. It was a good fit for the extroverted student. “You are the complete center of attention, everybody knows who you are, everybody loves you, you get to entertain people, have fun, and be at the game,” he says.
Seeing how much fun Sam was having, Emily tried out for and won the role of Rudy during her second year at Dayton.
The two shared tips and watched each other perform, which they agreed had made them both better mascots. Their colleges never played each other during Sam and Emily’s time, but the two mascots did get to perform together once, at a broomball game in Cincinnati. They were on the same team.
Ms. Blaine, who graduated this spring, plans to teach elementary school. Her mascot experience, she says, taught her the power of body language.
“I do think that it helps me to reach out to children in another way,” she says.
Mr. Blaine will graduate in the winter of 2011 and plans to pursue a job in public relations. He’s not sure he’ll keep up with his mascot career after graduation, but if an employer is ever looking for a mascot, he says he probably won’t turn down the opportunity.
There is one part of being a mascot neither will miss.
“It’s crazy hot,” Mr. Blaine says. “It’s the hottest thing you can imagine.”