I love mascots. I always have and I always will. They’re cute, humorous and they help us experience a “good time” at events. In a lot of ways, they bring the team’s brand or company to life and represent a persona to associate with the team. Yet, very few stand the test of time and endure the long-term beyond a cultural trend or significant re-branding effort from ownership. On the other hand, there’s another persona that is honoring of outliers who have proven to transcend eras and commonly held boundaries. More on them in a moment, but I would first like to take you on a short trip back in time. The year was 2006. My wife and I attended the Triple-A All-Star baseball game and Fan Fest in Toledo, Ohio. Joined with our eldest (our only daughter at the time), we enjoyed dozens of activities, batting cages, speed pitch booths, instructional clinics and more. There were also a lot of mascots.

I LOVE, love, love mascots!

Mascots are an often overlooked and under appreciated facet of sporting events and teams. But I’m not just talking about furry bobble-headed buffoons who play the fool. There are also individuals who dress up to represent and portray certain characters. For instance, at this event, there were individuals portraying legendary baseball figures, like one guy walking around in an old New York Yankees uniform while lugging a big baseball bat - obviously portraying Babe Ruth. I put that guy - and mascots of similar vein - into a slightly different category. Mascots are fun, animated, lively and intended to help us enjoy events even when the team has no hope of sending their fan’s home with a victory. Mascots help fans ENJOY the game. On the other hand, impersonators are meant to CONNECT fans to the game.

Rubbing shoulders with Greatness

Impersonators represent individuals who have achieved a degree of fame - in some cases becoming idols of sorts. Their presence gives people the opportunity to have their picture taken with them as an unofficial connection to the individual. But they represent so much more than the person they mimic. They serve as ambassadors to other eras, cultures and values. For that reason, I call them Personifiers. The best impersonators generally personify an entire sport or era. In similar fashion, aside from the Great Bambino, there were two young ladies at the Fan Fest who were dressed in replica uniforms of the Rockford Peaches from the All American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The league existed in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, formed out of the possibility that baseball interest would suffer during the war while many of the game’s stars were off serving their country. Though the league had a true business motive, the advantage of time has shown the league to represent much more. Many are familiar with the movie A League Of Their Own, which starred Tom Hanks, Madonna, Gena Davis, Lori Petty and others. The movie was the result of Kelly Candaele’s documentary of the same name, propelling the league and the women who played in it to a whole new level of public awareness and recognition.

Greatness Exists with the Barrier Breakers

While they played the game, I am sure most of the girls had little idea that they were making history. However, the idea that a woman leave the home and do something else – let alone professional sports – was preposterous to most of the nation. The girls did it anyway. And they did it well. Today, they are proclaimed as innovators, barrier breakers and truly unique representatives of America’s National Pastime. It was because of this, I made sure my daughter had her picture taken with the girls. Though she does not remember posing for this pic, as she has grown and matured from “daddy’s little girl” into the bright “little lady” she is today, I’m hopeful she’s well aware that she is connected to such figures through more than a random photograph. I have attempted to teach her and help her understand that she (and her two younger sisters that have come along since that time) can go out into this world and be an innovator. They can go on to do great things. They have potential to - and so do you and I!

We can design and experience lives that thrive!

so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. ~ Hebrews 6:12

Yes. We can design and experience lives that thrive (and you can tweet that!) We've been given not just “an” example, but “the” example in Christ. Through our spiritual walk, we experience ups and downs. We endure hardships and celebrate triumphs. We have moments of doubt and we have moments of complete and ensured confidence. And it is all for our shaping and molding for which we receive both the good and the bad. Our response to it is our opportunity to display our personification of greatness. Of Christ-like character. Let your actions speak louder than your words. Not only shall those around us see the light of God’s great glory, but our children and our children's children will as well. And THAT is what it means to personify greatness.