Saturday, September 28, 2024
AZLE — The Azle High School mascot has been hitting the gym and soon even the football team may start asking for tips. Buzzy unveiled a strong new look at a Sept. 20 pep rally and home game. The new suit is equipped with more muscle and attitude than its predecessor and has multiple physical upgrades, really letting Buzzy show off his dance skills. In order to fully embody the identity of Buzzy, the suit’s wearer has chosen to remain anonymous until he graduates and will be referred to as Buzzy for the purpose of the story.
Buzzy believes the prior design had been in use since at least the mid-1990s. In an April 14 board of trustees meeting, Azle ISD Superintendent Todd Smith said the costume itself was between 12 and 15 years old.
“The last couple of years they’ve even had challenges finding students to be Buzzy,” Smith said. “You can only imagine, we clean it a lot, but that suit is pretty stinky. It's not the most comfortable suit on a September ball game when it's 105 degrees and mascots have changed… (The new suit will be) a mirror of the Buzzy that we have on the gym and everywhere else and it'll allow the mascot to be more involved in the cheers.”
Buzzy thinks the new look will help build school spirit and was introduced alongside the prior costume and a re-created retro Buzzy. Azle ISD unveiled the original “apple head” design in 1966. On social media, @buzzy_the_hornet, Buzzy has showcased the new look and recreated old photos using the old school costume. He plans to continue bringing back the old costumes for future skits. AHS Principal Nate Driver also thinks it will be a great way for the school to honor its past.
“I'm super proud of our mascot, super proud of Buzzy,” Driver said. “We're grateful for the man behind the mask, the man behind the suit, and he cares tremendously. We're excited about the things that he's going to bring to the school and to the community and just the Hornet Pride that he'll help us with.”
Buzzy played a big role in his own design, bringing the idea up to former athletic director Becky Spurlock. He’d later wow Assistant Superintendent Matt Adams and current athletic director Michael Sain with a PowerPoint presentation on the merits of his reimagined Buzzy. With everyone on board, and Buzzy having done his research, the school chose to contact Alinco Costumes Incorporated for the custom costume and the rest is history.
Along with being more breathable and allowing a greater range of motion, Buzzy thinks his new logo-accurate look will help set him apart from other mascots.
“The old Buzzy is used by a bunch of other schools,” he said. “I think Boyd (High School) has the same costume just a different color, but they look the exact same. No one else has this. This is custom for Azle… Buzzy is not anyone but himself. So Buzzy has his walk, kind of the same dance moves, gestures, everything like that. It's kind of like Mickey Mouse at Disney World. Mickey Mouse has to look the same every single time.”
The student’s favorite thing about maintaining the mantle is Buzzy’s celebrity status and how everyone knows the character. Buzzy hopes to expand outside the world of Friday night football and better represent school spirit at more sporting events and the community in general. Going forward, he hopes to attend every sport at least once in the school year and feature in more videos to help build hype among Azle staff, students and fans.
“I would like buzzy to be more daring,” he said. “During every quarter or like a timeout, Buzzy could go on the field and do a dance or something.”
Two students who stick with Buzzy through thick or thin commented on the value that he has for the student body and Azle youths. Senior Hanna Goodrich and junior Carly Cooper, “Buzzy’s bodyguards,” said they keep Buzzy from being mauled, torn or otherwise damaged by little kids, they also keep him well-stocked in water and ensure that he is at his best while performing.
“It's cool to see how much he impacts the little kids, and just the audience in general, the hype he brings up,” Goodrich said. “A lot of times in games, not only is he taking pictures, but he's with our student section, and it kind of shows a lot of, I know it's cliche, but a lot of the school spirit that goes into it. So, it's cool to see the impact that he brings to our environment.”
Cooper agreed and expanded on the reaction that small children usually have to Buzzy.
“Just for them to see him is exciting for them,” Cooper said. “They freak out. We had the minicamp game last week, and we were almost encouraging them, like, ‘oh, well, if you do really good, you'll get to go see Buzzy.’ They get so excited.”
Buzzy hopes to show off his improved look for the community and continue the school’s great season at Brewer and then at the homecoming game against Birdville ISD on Friday.
