There is a revitalized confidence among Contra Costa students and faculty that having a school Mascot dressed up as a Comet will bring an unprecedented amount of school spirit to the campus.

“Having a physical mascot running up and down the field might make us want to play harder, because we see the Comet cheering us on,” second year football running back Corey Juarez said. Juarez said that it might turn the team up a little bit and make them want to practice harder for games.

Student Life Coordinator Joel Nickelson-Shanks said that they have spent $4,500 on the Comet outfit, but they’re just waiting for the manufacturer, Carol Fleming Design, to complete the body portion of it. He said that they would like to have everything done soon so the school can bring the mascot out during the homecoming game on October 28th. Nickelson-Shanks said the Associated Student Union hasn’t decided whether or not the Comet Mascot would go to just home games, or both home and away games.

Some students don’t feel like they would go to the sports games just for the simple fact of being a spectator at a sporting event.

So the question is how do we get enough students motivated to go to sports games, but also how do you market the mascot?

Chemistry major Josh Castro said if the bookstore sold stickers with a person dressed up as a Comet, that would get more people enthusiastic about seeing a physical mascot. He said that if they see stickers on people’s backpacks and binders that might get people more motivated to go to a game.

“Mascots are fascinating because they bring more energy, excitement and overall interaction to the stands, but it all depends on the person inside the costume. The Comet is something I can symbolize with. It would motivate the players and the crowd and when the kids see a cartoon character it pumps them up,” math major Barnabas Jime said.

Jime said when you have a mascot running up and down the field after a touchdown, that’s a mechanism of allegiance that gets the crowd hyped up during game time.

If Contra Costa College can get someone to suit up in the Comet costume, they might be able to revive a time similar to when the Comets had a group called the Comet Crazies. “There were a group of football players that went out to support the women’s basketball team from 1999 to 2004, and it fired everyone up,” former Contra Costa College Women’s Basketball Coach Paul DeBolt said. DeBolt said they used to get real loud and even brought noisemakers to the games.

Nickelson-Shanks said that they will hold a competition in order to pick the mascot. “The hard part is making sure that the Comet is going to fit the standards of Contra Costa College, and it has to go through an approval process before it’s done,” Nickelson-Shanks said.

Avid sports fan Dennis Elliott said it’s important to have a mascot at the Community College level, because it goes a long way for the young athletes.

“If some of these people go on to play for a four-year school they might remember moments at Contra Costa where the school mascot came to the game and supported them,” Elliott said.

When you think about it, mascots make sporting events more interesting. If you hear the sports announcer say the mighty gauchos scored a touchdown on the yellowjackets, while a person dressed up as an Argentinian cowboy runs down the field, that gets the crowd more fired up than just saying El Cerrito scored against Berkeley High. “Mascots go with sports, so it’s exciting and it’s what makes the sport more entertaining,” Athletic Director John Wade said.