A Look Behind the Mask

With the responsibility of pumping up the crowd and being a figurehead of the school, mascots play an important role at sports games.

However, senior Emily Lerdahl has taken her passion for mascotting a step further.

Alongside working as MN’s mascot, she also works as a mascot at Werner Park for the Omaha Storm Chasers.

“Emily is hard working, enthusiastic, and brings a level of creativity and professionalism to her work every day,” Omaha Storm Chasers Mascot Coordinator Taylor Edmonds said.

Lerdahl started mascotting for the Storm Chasers in 2015 when she applied for the position at the Werner Park job fair. Wanting to further her mascotting experience, Lerdahl was delighted to find out that she had gotten the job.

“I was interested in doing more than just football and basketball games for the school and I found that the Omaha Storm Chasers were hiring. They liked all my past experience and decided to hire me. I’ve been there ever since,” Lerdahl said.

However, not only is Lerdahl dedicated to her mascotting for the Omaha Storm Chasers, but she has worked incredibly hard for MN as well.

“Emily has been a great support to the mascot team. She is extremely eager, hard-working, and is one of the most dedicated people to ever work for me as a mascot.

She puts in 110 percent every time,” the MN Mascot Team Coordinator Janie Papp said.

Putting in her all into each game and event, Lerdahl feels passionately about mascotting and enjoys the many different aspects of being a mascot.

“I enjoy getting to be another character and being able to bring laughter and smiles to everyone in the crowd. It has made me be a little more outgoing and has helped me learn to have patience,” Lerdahl said.

Despite the good that comes from being the mascot for a team, there are quite the number of hardships as well.
There is a lot more to being a mascot than just being able to make the crowd laugh.

“Being a mascot is very difficult. We work weird hours on weekends in the off-season. Homestands at Werner Park can be long and grueling. The level of consumer service required is incredibly high. Working as a mascot takes a level of mental and physical fortitude that few teens have,” Edmonds said.

Mascotting is much harder work than it seems and Lerdahl is extremely passionate about this activity. Only with this mindset is mascotting possible.

“The dedication and willingness to endure the heat is extremely important, but the willingness to put yourself out there is crucial as well. It’s not as easy as it looks to be a mascot,” Papp said.

Lerdahl plans on going to the University of Nebraska-Kearney where she will become the mascot there as well.
She also hopes to become the mascot for a professional team in the future.