Birstall Terrier: Mascot Mania

In our minds we are all expert football pundits and we can pass many a happy hour on trying to outwit each other.

But I realised the other day that I may be taking this banter too far.

Me and a fan of a different club started to bicker over who has the best club mascot.

He said that his mascot can do somersaults and I replied that our mascot has got better dance moves than his.

This rather silly exchange set me off thinking about our club mascots and the varied creations you see.

At Huddersfield Town we have Terry the Terrier. Up until fairly recently Terry used to have a cute, furry round face, but he has obviously succumbed to the modern day craze of having cosmetic surgery, as he now sports a leaner face which is rather fox-like.

It took a little while to get used to his new look but it has grown on me now. I still feel that the surgery was unnecessary though.

Most of the time Terry the Terrier is out on the pitch on his own doing a fine job.

Occasionally though he is joined by a second mascot we have at Huddersfield, a rather bizarre creature whose looks were modelled on the Town legend that is Andy Booth. Judgement reserved on that one.

Although I obviously think Town’s mascot is the best but for cuteness alone - nothing to do with the club- I like Donny the Dog, the mascot for Doncaster Rovers. Terry and Donny are my top dogs.

I think the mascots are a fun part of a football club and of course the children love them.

Not only children though, I sometimes feel slightly embarrassed that as someone in middle age, I find the sight of a mascot throwing some dance shapes on the pitch amusing.

And when our Terry walks around the perimeter of the pitch waving at the crowd, I don’t mind admitting that I seem to be the only adult waving back.

Long live Terry the Terrier and all the other weird and wonderful club mascots out there. You do a great job.