You’re standing in front of a crowd of thousands of spectators, and it’s your job to get them excited about the event they are attending. You make them feel one with the glory of the team they have come to see. Sound like a bit too much pressure? This was the task of senior Andy Rodriguez, Sacramento State�s former Herky the Hornet.

And who, you may ask, is Herky the Hornet? He’s the giant hornet mascot seen dancing, greeting and entertaining fans at many of Sac State’s sports games and various other events. In December 1947, while still sharing a campus with Sacramento Junior College, Sac State chose the hornet as its mascot over the elk, “which was considered not aggressive enough,” according to the Sac State website. The hornet was given the name Herky, but there is still a great deal of mystery as to why. Many think it is simply short for Hercules. However, there are some who believe it was named for a former teacher at C.K. McClatchy High School by the name of Mr. Herkenrath, who played the mascot in his youth.

Rodriguez was a mascot at North Salinas High School and was first drawn to Herky when he attended a Sac State game his senior year, he said. In Fall 2003, his third semester at Sac State, Rodriguez learned that there was an opening for Herky and competed against 10 other students to fill the position.

“I love being a mascot,” Rodriguez said. “It’s crazy to be something or someone else for a couple of hours and no one knows it’s you.”

Besides his love of being the mascot, Rodriguez said a big draw for him was the fact that Herky was a scholarship position, paying partial tuition.

“It was kind of like a job,” Rodriguez said. “That really pushed me to do it.”

Rodriguez was chosen and played Herky for the next three years. As part of his role as mascot, he was in charge of providing his own music and developing his own dance routines. Although Rodriguez had no background in dance, he enjoyed creating new moves and said his extroverted personality was the basis of his performances.

“I’m pretty outgoing,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t dance as crazy in real life. It is an extension of me, but it is a little over the top. I don’t think somebody who is shy would want to do this. You have to perform in front of thousands of people. You have to give yourself to the character and not care what people are thinking.”

As much of the music played at sporting events is that of the classical marching band, the main goal of his performances was to bring in new music the younger audience members would want to hear, Rodriguez said.

“I would watch music videos and put some moves together,” he said.

During this time, he became deeply connected to the fans, athletes and spirit of sports events, Rodriguez said.

“You get to interact with all the students and their crazy families and the athletes,” Rodriguez said. “It’s kind of like you�re on a team for a while and then you win or lose. It’s pretty emotional sometimes.”As Herky, Rodriguez’s happiest memories come from his interactions with spectators, he said. During one game, he was up in the bleachers and tripped over his costume’s feet. He fell down the entire staircase, receiving minor injuries, but the fans thought it was another part of the routine; so he brushed it off and kept going. Providing entertainment and making people laugh was what being Herky was all about, Rodriguez said.

The fact that Herky’s real identity remains unknown to fans also led to some interesting experiences, he said.

“I could do anything,” Rodriguez said. “If there was a couple I could go and hug (the girl) or sit in her lap, and it wouldn’t matter. But people really want to know who you are. Someone offered me $45 to take off my head in a crowd, but I didn’t think it was worth it.”

However, being Herky wasn’t always fun, Rodriguez said. At away games he wasn’t usually provided a room to change in and would often have to change in bathroom stalls, recruiting the help of strangers to put on his costume’s head. During highly competitive events, such as those at UC Davis, Rodriguez would often get kidnapping threats from athletes and fans of the opposing team and sometimes had to have a bodyguard, he said.

The pressure at home could also be extreme, Rodriguez said, explaining that fans grew accustomed to his routines and expected a new show each time, promoting a higher level of demand at every event. During his first year as the mascot, Rodriguez had a stand-in who would give him breaks when needed. Fans were disappointed with the changes in her routine and continuously asked for the other Herky, Rodriguez said.

“She ended up quitting because of it,” he said.

Random glitches in performances also posed problems, but he was usually able to work his way out of them, Rodriguez said.

“There was times when they would play (my) music, and the CD would be scratched,” Rodriguez said. “I would have to come up with an impromptu performance. It wasn’t too hard though, because it’s not like I had to coordinate a bunch of people.”

In the summer of 2006, after three years of being Herky, Rodriguez retired.

“I wanted to just enjoy a game normally, and it’s really time consuming,” Rodriguez said. “I had to do all the sports (games) and show up to random events. I just want to focus on schoolwork and finish up here.”

Rodriguez said his last game was a particularly memorable one.

“My family and friends came from all over,” he said. “It was really nice to see everybody that’s been through this whole process in the crowd.”

So is there any future in the mascot field for the man who was Herky?

“I’m not trying to be a mascot ‘to one day become Mickey Mouse;’ it’s just fun,” Rodriguez said.

“But I wouldn’t mind one day being the Kings’ mascot,” he said with a laugh. “That’s my next goal.”

Bridget Jones can be reached at [email protected]