Guv honors Bear for Hall induction

There was nothing special about Thursday's declaration signing by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. — except that the ceremony was held to honor a man in a bear suit and left the governor's office covered in several thousand feet of silly string.

The honoree, of course, was the Utah Jazz's Bear, who earned the recognition by being voted into the Mascot Hall of Fame along with a half-dozen professional and college team mascots.

As would be expected of a mascot that never speaks, Bear stood silently as Huntsman and team officials praised his 13 years performing at Jazz games and serving the community through a variety of activities, including visiting local children's hospitals.

But the ink wasn't even dry on the document declaring Thursday "Jazz Bear Day" when the governor and Bear started shooting the string from aerosol cans that left them both covered in a gooey pink and white web.

While Huntsman said that was the first such incident in his office, the performance was just another day at work for a mascot that can be counted on to coat at least a couple of Delta Center fans with the spray-on stuff during a game.

"You've got to give him credit," said Chris Bruce, vice chairman for the Delaware-based Mascot Hall of Fame's executive committee, describing the Bear's antics as "impressive, entertaining and fun."

Bear's stunts, such as roaring into the arena on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle or hurtling through a flaming ring to slam-dunk a basketball, really set him apart from other mascots nominated for a place in the year-old Mascot Hall of Fame, Bruce said.

So far, the Hall of Fame exists only in cyberspace, at www.mascothalloffame.com, started in 2005 with just three well-known mascots, the Phoenix Gorilla, the former San Diego Chicken and the Phillie Phanatic.

Besides Bear, this year's inductees are the Houston Rockets' Clutch the Bear, the Kansas City Chiefs' KC Wolf, Auburn University's Aubie tiger, the University of Delaware's YoUDee Fightin' Chicken, and the University of Wisconsin's Bucky badger.

All earned their spot by winning the votes of some 500 people in the mascot industry as well as on-line voters, and are expected to appear next week at a special ceremony in Philadelphia.

Only the Phoenix Gorilla has stayed in the business longer than the never-named man who plays Bear, according to Grant Harrison, Jazz vice president for promoting, game operations and event coordinations.

Harrison should know — he came up with the idea for a bear mascot in 1993, with the help of the Phoenix Gorilla, after rejecting bees, seagulls and a few other animals associated with Utah.

"We wanted something that would demand respect," Harrison said, without frightening young fans. That meant abandoning the cuddly teddy-type bear for the same tough type of bear found in the wild.

While Bear's wife and three daughters watched the declaration ceremony, everyone avoided identifying the mascot. "It's huge," his wife said of the honor. "Honestly, he's a big-hearted charitable guy. That's why I think he's so deserving of the Mascot Hall of Fame."

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