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National Mascot Day celebrated at Angelo State University

The main purpose is to spread school spirit and get crowds energized.

SAN ANGELO, Texas — June 17 marks National Mascot Day. Yes, there’s a holiday for just about anything in 2021.

Mascots represent game days for sporting events, projecting life filled with positive energy. Children in early ages build their first memories with a favorite team. At Angelo State University, Rams are its mascot and it provides a lot of tradition.

“The main purpose is to spread school spirit and really get the crowd energized at our basketball games, football games and volleyball games," Angelo State cheer and mascot program graduate assistant Lauren Ortiz said. "We make a lot of community events appearances. We go all throughout San Angelo and we actually do a lot of parades and stuff throughout different towns.”

Ortiz said the Ram mascot provides a unity within the ASU population. This will be her first year in coaching cheer and she’s looking forward to making an impact.

“We coach the mascots here," Ortiz said. "We give them guidance on how to talk without actually talking, obviously mascots can say words. We show them how to be in the suit and show that they're happy and excited to do things.”

Ortiz said her favorite thing about coaching cheer is the smile she puts on children’s faces. The cheerleading team competes in the USA Collegiate National Champions, and they placed second in the past couple of years.

“We love giving the mascots the opportunity to come up with their own skits and their own routines for that collegiate national championship," Ortiz said. "It's really something to be proud of when they come out second and something that they've created that they've come up with. I am always looking for new energetic and fun people to join our team.”

Ortiz said there’s still an open spot on the cheerleading team. For those interested, more information can be found at the Angelo State website.

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