LHS Lion chesty with pride, in spite of smelly costume

Johnny Brubaker doesn’t normally show his face at Lawrence High School football and basketball games, but that’s not because of a lack of school spirit. In fact, the LHS junior is one of the school’s most enthusiastic supporters – he represents LHS as Chesty the Lion.

“I just wanted to be involved with something to show my school spirit,” Brubaker said. “My brother played football, but I decided to try something a little different.”

This is Johnny’s first year to serve as Chesty, but he said the position was easy to learn. He said he didn’t practice his performance like some might expect; he simply follows the game and cheers or acts dejected when appropriate.

Johnny appears as Chesty at most home football and basketball games, and he’ll most likely attend Friday’s game at Free State High School, as that’s the Lions’ most heated rivalry.

“As much as there’s a rivalry – it can get violent at times – it’s great to have a crowd like that,” Johnny said. “People come to show their spirit for Lawrence, regardless of which team they’re rooting for.”

Johnny has people rooting for him, too, until he joins them in the stands after taking off the 35-pound costume.

“He sometimes comes and sits with us after running around in the costume,” said Joe Wessels, an LHS senior. “That thing can make you pretty sweaty, so he can smell by the time he’s done.”

Joe said it’s kind of weird to know that his friend is the mascot but that it’s cool Johnny represents the school as Chesty.

And representing the 60-year-old Chesty Lion is important at a school that takes tradition seriously.

According to the LHS Web site, the lion was first used as a school symbol in 1930. The school newspaper, The Budget, ran this story on Nov. 8, 1929:

“Lawrence High School has long needed a mascot, and the suggestion, growing out of the recent pep rally, to call ourselves the lions, has been wholeheartedly accepted. A mascot should symbolize the characteristics of the school, and no other animal expresses our strength of purpose better than the lion, the king of the beasts, his strength, bravery and aggressiveness which our competitors find we also have.”

The Chesty Lion symbol was drawn by Paul Coker in 1946. A Lawrence Memorial High School graduate, he is now a well-known cartoonist, according to the school agenda that LHS students use to keep track of assignments and events.

But those who aren’t aware of Chesty’s history can sometimes poke fun at the unique mascot.

“It’s kind of embarrassing because people take it out of context,” LHS senior Lindsey Kennedy said of the “chesty” in the mascot’s name. “Girls have T-shirts that just say ‘Chesty’ across them, and people don’t always get it. It’s kind of a dated term.”

The students’ agenda explains that the lion is chesty because he is proud of LHS and the ideals for which it stands, and Lindsey wouldn’t want to see that characteristic taken away.

“I wouldn’t want to change it because it’s tradition, and tradition is huge at LHS,” Lindsey says. “It’s all they talk about. It’s on T-shirts; they scream about it at pep rallies. You couldn’t just change it.”

Johnny wouldn’t want to see it change either. In fact, he may take on the role of Chesty again next year to make sure the tradition continues.

“It’s fun. I walk around everywhere and get mobbed by kids wanting high fives and pictures,” Johnny said. “I’ll probably do it again.”

LHS

Name: Johnny Brubaker (left)

Year: Junior

Years as mascot: One

Plans: Probably will be mascot during his senior year, but he doesn’t plan to be a mascot in college.

Favorite college mascot: Willie the Wildcat, because “he has a lot of energy.”

Firebird flaps up tradition at 9-year-old Free State

Free State High School’s Freddie the Firebird doesn’t have 60 years of traditions to carry on like its city rival, Chesty the Lion. Instead, the student behind the mascot is helping build traditions at the 9-year-old school that he hopes will take flight and carry on for years to come.

Jonathan Bowles, a junior who goes by Jono, says he believes he spreads school spirit whenever he shows up in the furry outfit sporting the school colors of green and silver.

“I think it is cool to represent the school and help cheer on the teams,” he said.

His supervisor, Jama Crady, head cheer coach and history teacher at FSHS, says Jono is “wonderful and one of the best mascots the school has had.” Which isn’t bad for someone who only has been the mascot since July.

Besides attending all of the football games and home basketball games, he likes to root on other sports, too. A couple of weeks ago, he showed up at a bowling match between Lawrence High School and FSHS. Freddie and Chesty rolled out the first balls, which were gutters, to mark the beginning of the match.

“I haven’t seen him before,” said Kirsten Price, whose son Tyler Kring was on the FSHS bowling team. “It’s nice to have him here.”

Freddie also has made community appearances – a tradition that Jono plans to continue by attending a cancer benefit.

Training for role

Being the mascot calls for self-discipline and hands-on training. Jono was hand-picked by his predecessor, Hamilton Lewis, who knew Jono through the film department at FSHS.

Lewis said he gave the Firebird some character and tradition during his three-year stint that he wanted to make sure continued after he graduated.

“When I first became the mascot, kids would yell ‘hey bird.’ They didn’t even know his name,” Lewis said.

Lewis said Kansas State University’s Willie the Wildcat mascot inspired him to alter his outfit.

“The full body suit was too restricting,” Lewis said. “I needed a way to express myself without tripping over those big toes and being weighed down in the suit.”

So he began to wear the furry head along with a jersey supplied by the team he was rooting for.

“By my senior year, I had a secret handshake and would throw candy at the kids,” he said. “I knew Jono would be a good mascot because he had a sense of devotion and spirit.”

Among the tips that Lewis, who is attending college in Sarasota, Fla., passed on: Don’t talk; exaggerate movements; be careful of other fans; be aware of what’s ahead because you can’t look straight down in the outfit; and have fun.

Lewis said the job may look easy, but simple tasks like looking through the beak (which makes items appear darker), walking up stairs and fitting through doors could be difficult. It also takes practice to make gestures such as covering the mascot’s eyes.

Jono said he could have used some advice on how to get into the football jersey for the first game. The 5-foot-5-inch student said he had never played football with pads, so just getting into the outfit proved difficult.

Once in uniform and starting to feel confident, he began giving high fives to fans. Then he tripped over a cheerleading bag, took a tumble and the mascot head fell off, revealing himself.

“It was humiliating,” he said of the incident which left Freddie’s beak scratched up.

He also learned a valuable lesson: Fasten the safety strap inside the mascot’s head.

Benefits behind bird

Jono is quick to say that being the school mascot has a lot more pros than cons.

The worst part, he said, is the smell. Jono has tried dry cleaning and Febreze fabric cleaner, but the head still smells like a “musty locker room.”

He also is on the receiving end of a lot of cuss words.

“I have been called everything that you can imagine,” he said. “You would expect it to come from Lawrence High School fans, but it’s not them. It’s kids. This one 6-year-old was vicious.”

But the laughs that he gets far outweigh the ridicules.

“I love getting the crowd pumped up and signing autographs for kids,” he said. “It is so fun. You can goof around and be somebody else for a while.”

FREE STATE

Name: Jonathan “Jono” Bowles (right)

Year: Junior

Plans: To be the mascot during his senior year, then try out for Baby Jay at Kansas University.

Favorite mascot: Jayhawks because “they really get involved in the games and with the crowd.”