Sue Small-Kreider – Staff Writer
Mascots embody the spirit of a school or team. They are popular with professional and collegiate teams. And generally, the people who portray them are not identified until they retire from the mascot position.
Daytona State College’s mascot, Freddie Falcon is no different. The student who was chosen from among seven people who tried out for the position in June of 2018 is not to be named. He was selected by the Falcon Spirit Scholarship committee, made up of Student Life Coordinator Lori Lemoine, Student Life Director Bruce Cook and Suzette Cameron, Director of Alumni Engagement & Special Events at the DSC Foundation.
They were looking for an individual who wanted to become part of the school’s tradition and who would boost school spirit. The title of mascot comes with a $1,000 scholarship and a list of events that the mascot must attend.
“The size of the person selected didn’t matter. We would alter the suit to fit,” said Cameron, explaining that the although the size of the mascot uniform plays factor in the choice , it isn’t the overriding consideration.
According to Freddie Falcon’s Facebook page, he is a self-employed administrator at the college, born Nov. 5, 1957. In Google searches, he has less hits than the Atlanta Falcons professional football team’s mascot, also named Freddie Falcon.
But in person, Freddie is many people in many positions.
Like most celebrities, Freddie has his own publicist — Alison Ryan of DSC Marketing Office Manager. She manages his Facebook account, from which she ensures that Freddie shares upcoming events and important college messages, such as during Hurricane Matthew, he let everyone know the status of the college and when it would reopen.
While Freddie is seen mostly at college sporting events, he has been noticed at Homecoming playing cornhole and racing with other mascots. The Student Life Coordinator manages all of Freddie’s appearances and that of the less frequently seen mascot, Frannie Falcon, distinguished from Freddie by the bow on her head piece. Frannie joined Freddie in 2013 when a new mascot uniform was obtained.
“Freddie and Frannie were seen together at the last groundbreaking ceremony and at the sports kick-off for soccer,” said Lemoine, stoking rumors of a possible romance.
Some of Freddie’s “people” do have insider knowledge about him. Jessica Pandy, a DSC student, is one of those insiders who helped Freddie come alive last spring for a baseball game. She describes Freddie as a fun-loving bird who loves interacting with the crowd, especially kids. She also said that Freddie, like most mascots, does not speak out loud, but rather makes gestures with his wings to communicate.
“Once you are in the mascot uniform, you are not human any more. You are the character,” Pandy said.
Taking care of the mascot uniforms are a lot of work, according to Lemoine. Each of the two uniforms must be deodorized and brushed after every wearing. The head piece needs special attention to be disinfected because it has a fan in it.
Depending on whether Freddie is at an indoor or outdoor event, a cooling vest is added to the uniform. Especially at outdoor events, Freddie must limit his appearance time to an hour so that he does not become overheated. A handler accompanies Freddie at all events to help him navigate the terrain and make sure his tail does not get crushed.
Although Freddie Falcon has been dubbed the first official mascot of Daytona State College… technically that’s not so.
The history of the college’s mascots is documented in a 1993-94 Sportsbook, along with the college’s name changes. In 1960, when the college was three years old and called Daytona Beach Junior College, the Student Government Association decided to adopt a Scottish theme because the college campus was in the section of Daytona Beach known as the Highlands.
At that time the mascot was a man dressed as a highlander in kilt and bagpipes. The SGA chose the Napier clan, whose tartan plaid was blue and grey, to honor the 16th century inventor of mathematical logarithms, John Napier. The college’s athletic teams were called the Scots. In 1971 the college changed its name to Daytona Beach Community College and by 1992, the mascot had become a cartoon character named Scotty.
“When I came to the College in 1998, we were not the Falcons,” said Women’s Golf Head Coach Laura Brown. “It was not long after I started that we became the Falcons and had to change all our logos.”
The first mention of DBCC teams being called the Falcons is in the Spring 2000 Sportsbook. A black and white picture of a Victor Falcon was printed in the Nov./Dec. 2004 issue of Waves, an internal newsletter for faculty and staff at DBCC. The photo caption said that Victor was making his first public appearance at the Basketball Tip-off Classic. While the photograph of Victor Falcon bears a remarkable likeness to Freddie Falcon, neither Lemoine or Ryan would confirm that Victor and Freddie are indeed the same falcon or if they are two separate birds.
Whether posing for selfies with alumni, high-fiving with a child at a ballgame or taking part in a photography session with college officials, Freddie Falcon provides a tangible sense of DSC school spirit. He is the wind beneath our wings.