By Juliana Vasquez | Staff Writer
Not everyone can say that their father was one of Baylor’s first mascots, and not everyone can say that their daughter was part of the team that brought another Baylor mascot alive. The Spencer family is no ordinary family; their legacies are closely intertwined with Baylor spirit.
The legacy began with Andy Spencer, Baylor Class of 1987, who stepped into the suit of Mr. Bear as a wide-eyed freshman at Baylor. Spencer had watched the Wendy’s Bear, a mascot sponsored by the restaurant, performing at a pep rally and decided that was something he was interested in. He took the Wendy’s Bear suit, added a Baylor double-zero jersey to it and transformed the mascot into Mr. Bear.
“I thought it looked like fun and ended up doing it for three years while I was there,” Spencer said. “I took it from being the Wendy’s bear to being the Baylor Bear.”
For Deanna Pratt, Baylor Class of 2019, following in her father’s footsteps toward the world of Baylor mascots was the last thing on her wish list.
“I never wanted to be a mascot,” Pratt said. “I was actually deathly afraid of mascots when I was little.”
Entering her freshman year of high school, her goal was to join the volleyball team, but fate took a turn when she wasn’t invited back for tryouts.
“That same afternoon, a note went out in the school newsletter that said they needed a mascot … and so I remember seeing that and praying, ‘God, if you’re there, please don’t let my dad see this,’” Pratt said.
But Spencer ultimately stumbled upon the newsletter and convinced Pratt to simply meet with the coach. Before she could decline the opportunity to be her school’s mascot, though, the coach introduced her to the team as the new mascot, and the rest was history.
By the summer of her senior year at Baylor, Pratt had played the role of Bruiser for three years and had just received a new coach. Bruiser was starting to be spread thin with community appearances and games, so her coach Kristen Hankins and co-captain Marie Stark got to designing a new Baylor mascot, Marigold.
“Marigold … she’s peppy, she takes quite a bit of energy, so I remember the first time I came out as Marigold at a football game, my adrenaline was pumping … and I got about halfway around the stadium doing that walk of hers and I was winded,” Pratt said.
Pratt said she felt honored to be a part of the team that helped create and debut Marigold, and still has fond memories of the fans that first season on the field.
“Just seeing all of the little girls that are just in awe of [finding] someone that they can look up to in Marigold has been one of my favorite parts,” Pratt said.
Watching Pratt pave her own path in Baylor mascot history filled Spencer with pride.
On the flip side, Spencer knew all too well the struggles his daughter faced as a mascot, particularly while wearing a full-body, poorly-insulated, fluffy suit in the Texas heat. Although the games were hot, the pair mentioned that the heat was worth it when they saw the impact their performance had on the fans in the stadium.
“It’s hot right up until the moment you see someone in the crowd that’s obviously looking at you as the mascot, and they’re having a fun time, laughing or yelling, and they want to come give you a high-five … and at that moment you really don’t feel the heat,” Spencer said.
The pair has found a special place in their hearts for mascot-ing and is already preparing for the next generation of Baylor mascots to join the legacy, starting with Pratt’s 18-month-old son. In the meantime, they reminisce on the memories and experiences they’ve had the opportunity to share as mascots.
“It’s something that has connected us on a level that’s very unique,” Pratt said. “Not a lot of people can say that they’ve been a mascot, and for sure not a lot of people can say they’ve been a mascot for the same program.”
