Post by rainman on Mar 11, 2009 8:08:33 GMT -5
‘Mascot blood in me’
Natalie Tennant, 19 years ago, trailblazer as female Mountaineer
By Misty Poe
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT — If Natalie Tennant’s Mountaineer costume didn’t quite fit at first, she certainly filled it with pride for her school.
Tennant, who was named the first female West Virginia University Mountaineer in 1990, inherited the position from a bearded man who was 10 inches taller than she was. Until she had a custom-made costume from a company out of Wood County, she had to roll up her sleeves, cinch her belt and roll the waist of the pants down to accommodate her 5-4 frame.
Tennant was a trailblazer for women to serve as the WVU mascot; it’s taken 19 years for another woman to walk in her footsteps.
On Saturday night, Point Pleasant native Rebecca Durst was handed the musket and the rights to the buckskin costume when she won a cheer-off during the WVU-Louisville game. Durst, a sophomore pre-nursing major, will make her grand appearance as the Mountaineer in April during the Gold-Blue game.
“I’ve been getting ready for this role my entire life,” Durst said. “I’ve been learning about the state and getting involved in school activities.”
That was also the path of Tennant, who currently serves as the West Virginia secretary of state. In fact, she can trace the start of her journey on the field of North Marion High School, where she donned the costume of “Super Dog” in 1985.
“I had mascot blood in me and that same enthusiasm and that same confidence,” Tennant said.
It might have been that confidence that saved her from some tough times when she first put on the costume. Tennant said some fans just could not embrace a female mascot. Hurtful things were said to her, comments were made in the school newspaper, garbage was thrown at her from the stands, and she was spit on.
She fought it with humor.
The WVU football team she represented didn't have that great of a season, either, and finished with a 4-7 record.
“It was because of that female Mountaineer. ... Didn’t you read that letter to the editor?” she said with a laugh.
But she calls them all “character-building moments.”
“I would do it again — I would take her spot right now,” Tennant said. “There’s just this feeling when you put on the outfit and hold the gun.”
But the gun always made her nervous. Not the act of shooting it, but worries always plagued her that the gun would not fire at the right time — like when she was supposed to lead the Mountaineer team onto the field with the shot of a musket. During the homecoming parade, a steady downpour made everything pretty soggy, including her musket.
As for Durst, whom the secretary of state had the pleasure to meet earlier this week, Tennant said she has ”so much to anticipate — excitement, adventure, challenges.”
“If she just stays strong and she’s doing it for the right reasons — to represent the university and the state — then she will do well,” Tennant said. “It’s bigger than the university.”
(related photo on Forum Announcements)
Natalie Tennant, 19 years ago, trailblazer as female Mountaineer
By Misty Poe
Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT — If Natalie Tennant’s Mountaineer costume didn’t quite fit at first, she certainly filled it with pride for her school.
Tennant, who was named the first female West Virginia University Mountaineer in 1990, inherited the position from a bearded man who was 10 inches taller than she was. Until she had a custom-made costume from a company out of Wood County, she had to roll up her sleeves, cinch her belt and roll the waist of the pants down to accommodate her 5-4 frame.
Tennant was a trailblazer for women to serve as the WVU mascot; it’s taken 19 years for another woman to walk in her footsteps.
On Saturday night, Point Pleasant native Rebecca Durst was handed the musket and the rights to the buckskin costume when she won a cheer-off during the WVU-Louisville game. Durst, a sophomore pre-nursing major, will make her grand appearance as the Mountaineer in April during the Gold-Blue game.
“I’ve been getting ready for this role my entire life,” Durst said. “I’ve been learning about the state and getting involved in school activities.”
That was also the path of Tennant, who currently serves as the West Virginia secretary of state. In fact, she can trace the start of her journey on the field of North Marion High School, where she donned the costume of “Super Dog” in 1985.
“I had mascot blood in me and that same enthusiasm and that same confidence,” Tennant said.
It might have been that confidence that saved her from some tough times when she first put on the costume. Tennant said some fans just could not embrace a female mascot. Hurtful things were said to her, comments were made in the school newspaper, garbage was thrown at her from the stands, and she was spit on.
She fought it with humor.
The WVU football team she represented didn't have that great of a season, either, and finished with a 4-7 record.
“It was because of that female Mountaineer. ... Didn’t you read that letter to the editor?” she said with a laugh.
But she calls them all “character-building moments.”
“I would do it again — I would take her spot right now,” Tennant said. “There’s just this feeling when you put on the outfit and hold the gun.”
But the gun always made her nervous. Not the act of shooting it, but worries always plagued her that the gun would not fire at the right time — like when she was supposed to lead the Mountaineer team onto the field with the shot of a musket. During the homecoming parade, a steady downpour made everything pretty soggy, including her musket.
As for Durst, whom the secretary of state had the pleasure to meet earlier this week, Tennant said she has ”so much to anticipate — excitement, adventure, challenges.”
“If she just stays strong and she’s doing it for the right reasons — to represent the university and the state — then she will do well,” Tennant said. “It’s bigger than the university.”
(related photo on Forum Announcements)
