Back in 1999, when I was a Ph.D. student at the University of Washington, my then sports-fanatic boyfriend got us tickets to the NCAA tournament’s first-round games in Seattle. I hadn’t really followed college basketball; I’d never filled out a bracket or understood what the “madness” was all about. I’d grown up in more of an NFL house. So, I was just going for the experience, not rooting for any team in particular—which is probably why I became so enthralled with the mascots.
My research at the time was focused on small mammals, like rodents, and so I got super excited when I saw one of the teams playing was Minnesota, nicknamed the Golden Gophers. A college team whose mascot was a rodent! Suddenly, Minnesota was going to be the highlight of my tournament. And at the start of that game, this big, golden furry thing comes marching out, riling up the crowd.
Then it turned around, and I could see its backside. And that’s when the disappointment set in.
