AP VIDEO
That's not obscene. Mr. Wuf only has four fingers. (AP Photo/HO/Tanner Leggett)
Tanner Leggett, a national champ in Mr. Wuf's clothing. (AP Photo/HO/Tanner Leggett)
Hungry like the Mr. Wuf. (AP Photo/HO/North Carolina State University/Roger W. Winstead)
He came. He howled. He conquered. Why doesn't anyone care?
Amid the flurry of pom-poms and short skirts, Mr. Wuf from North Carolina State University was at the top of the mascot pack at the annual Chick-fil-A Collegiate Cheer and Dance National Championships. He beat a shark, chicken, bee and bulldog to take home first prize in the mascot division.
Think Westminster meets the Olympics.
But the win didn't make the papers. It was mocked on an NC State fan message board at PackPride.com. And when the cheerleading competition was broadcast on Fox Sports Net on Saturday, Mr. Wuf's trophy-winning performance was left on the cutting room floor.
"Sometimes I think we're overlooked at how hard we work," says senior Tanner Leggett, a.k.a. Mr. Wuf. "But the majority of the fans and the cheerleaders who know what you're doing inside that outfit respect you."
When it comes to the sport of cheerleading -- yes, it's a sport -- all that rah-rah-siss-boom-bahing isn't for the men and women sweating under those big stuffed heads.
In these video clips, go behind the wolf costume to find out how the national champ feels about the lack of mascot love.
Ready? OK!
2006 MASCOT SCORECARD
What's the matter with you?! Were you raised by a pack of wolves?! (AP Photo/HO/North Carolina State University/Brandon Yopp)
Mr. Wuf, North Carolina State University
Buzz, Georgia Tech University
Mac the Bulldog, Gardner-Webb University
Cocky, University of South Carolina
Sharky the Sea Warrior, Hawaii Pacific University
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If asap reporter Derrik J. Lang was a mascot, he'd be a tiger.
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