Rhody the Ram celebrates 85 years at URI

03/07/08 - The University of Rhode Island men's basketball game is sure to draw a crowd of all ages tomorrow, and Rhody the Ram will be the most active senior citizen in the room. The URI mascot will be 85 years old on March 8, and the university is hosting a birthday party in the Ryan Center before the game. Deputy Director of Athletics Gregg Burke said there will be a brief ceremony and the crowd will be encouraged to sing "happy birthday" to Rhody. The ram will also be available for photographs an hour before the 7 p.m. game.

Burke said that Rhody's birthday party is part of an overall effort to include special events at basketball games, such as famous guests and ceremonies to honor student achievement.

"It's a way to really showcase the great things going on on campus, and Rhody's a part of that," he said.

Burke said Rhody has always been a valuable URI tradition and representative of the university. "Rhody in so many ways should be our public face," he said.

Rhody has been representing the university since March 8, 1923 when he was selected as the official mascot of the university, then called Rhode Island State College.

Starting in 1929, a live animal named Battering Ram was brought to sporting events at the college, especially football games. Since URI began its life as a land-grant agricultural college, there were many live animals on campus.

Battering Ram was renamed Ramses and he began attending games with regularity. His horns were painted blue for games and school spirit events. In a time when live college mascots were common, Ramses was able to meet with other mascots, such as the University of Connecticut husky, Jonathan. And like other college mascots, he was regularly kidnapped by students from rival schools - but always returned.

In the 1960s, Ramses' job was taken by a student in a costume, a tradition that still continues today.

There are five different students who portray Rhody the Ram at about 40 different events each year, said Gina Simonelli, the assistant director of alumni relations. These include sports matches, centennial days, alumni events and fundraisers. University groups and members of the public can formally request Rhody's presence at their functions through the Alumni Association.

There is an application process each fall to find new Rhodies. Simonelli said that a potential Rhody needs to be "someone with a lot of school spirit who believes in tradition."

Students receive a small stipend for their work, which is part of an endowed scholarship created in 2003. But Simonelli said the size of the stipend makes being Rhody essentially a volunteer job. "It's a small proportion of how much they work," she said.

However, for the students who put on the Ram suit, it's not about being paid.

"It's so much fun, you want to tell people all about it, but at the same time you can't," Rhody said in an exclusive phone interview. "You're just biting your tongue."

According to tradition, the identity of the students portraying Rhody is never revealed. This sometimes forces the squadron of Rhodies to lead a sort of double-life. They have to worry about keeping their identity secret, explaining their whereabouts to suspicious friends and arranging for a different Rhody to be available at events for groups that they are involved in.

Then there are the difficulties of wearing the suit. It has small eyeholes in the mouth and nose, and the student inside can only squint out of one set at a time. It is also very hot.

"I wouldn't put someone in that thing who didn't want to pump up their cardio-vascular endurance," Rhody said. "If you're really amped up in the game, you could come out dripping wet."

Being high-spirited is a requirement since Rhody's mission is to keep the crowd excited.

"You keep spirits high even if we missed that foul shot or that three pointer," Rhody said.

The mascot pays special attention to children in the crowd, but they sometimes present minor problems. They occasionally show fear when meeting the large ram, which Rhody tries to alleviate by acting bashful.

One child tried to find out Rhody's gender, but Rhody was not allowed to answer since speaking is forbidden while portraying the mascot. Finally, the child asked, "Do you stand up or do you sit down to pee?"

"[The kids] make you laugh," Rhody said about that incident. "They're so innocent. They don't know there's a person in there."

Rhody said it expects to meet a lot of children tomorrow and is looking forward to the event. "I'm so excited to be 85, alive, and going strong," Rhody said. "I'm happy that I get to share my birthday with all the fans!