Sports teams play a big role in North Penn life and we have become accustomed to winning championships. With this desire to win comes a massive degree of school support. However, whenever there are sporting events, something always seems to be missing. But what exactly does North Penn need to raise its spirit to the next level?

The term “mascot” does not simply mean a picture of a knight or a small suit of armor.  People think North Penn has a mascot but it is purely a logo. A 2-D shape doesn’t get anyone pumped up for a big game. However, a living breathing, mascot gets people excited.

Of course the cheerleaders do get the crowd excited at games. And while cheerleaders are central to a stadium atmosphere, we do not need to stop there.  A mascot would be the perfect addition to this equation. Imagine a Friday night, as the football team rushes out onto Crawford’s stadium field, a knight on a majestic white stallion (well… stallion optional) leads the charge. The fans would go wild.

The mascot could do anything that came to mind. Of course, the possibility of Mr. Hynes being okay with someone jumping through a ring of fire alla Will Ferrell in Old School would be debatable. However, the mascot would be able to interact with students in a more motivating way. While a fence separates the fans from the cheerleaders, this separation would disappear with a mascot. If a giant knight was running around dancing in the bleachers next to students, who would be able to resist cheering on the Knights just that much more?

Sporting events are only a small aspect of what a mascot’s full potential could be.  At fundraising events, the knight could be there to boost workers morale. Just the mascot’s presence alone might even produce a higher turn out rate for volunteers. Even class meetings could be improved with an energetic entrance from a mascot. I do not know about most people, but personally being fired bullets of information for forty -five minutes has never been particularly interesting; however, I would assume it would be more interesting after a motivational start.

Integrating a mascot into student activities would definitely increase school spirit. Most great sports teams have mascots. The Phillies have the Phanatic. The Eagles have Swoop. Both teams have loyal and dedicated fans, who love not only the team but also the mascots. With North Penn already fanatical about its sports teams, more than likely students would love and appreciate their own mascot.