REGINA PATS MASCOT - ROLLIE BOURASSA Julie Folk: for the Regina Leader-Post Published: Thursday, September 18, 2008 “It all started back in the year 1978,” stated Rollie Bourassa, Regina Pats Mascot. “The name of the mascot has changed names several times.” Bourassa, a commercial artist at the time, was asked to design a mascot for the Pats that would also reflect Labatt (Breweries), their sponsor. The original K-9 (meaning dog, as in canine), was called Big Blue. The color reflected the team and Labatt, and pop culture at the time, with the movie Big Blue and the country western song My Dog Blue, dictated the choice of animal and the nickname. (Photo: Kevin Shaw - Collection) I did K-9 for a couple of games to see it worked OK. Whatever I was doing, they thought it was OK, and they asked, would you keep doing it until we find somebody? Thirty some years later, theyre still trying to find some one! said Bourassa. But it was fun, and my wife (Bea) and I were hockey fans anyway, so we were going to games. She still comes to the games and sits in the stands. After Bourassas a while, Rollie soon realized he needed smaller feet for going up and down the stairs. But his designs to see through the nose and the chin (to see his feet) have been major assets in the Brandt Centre, while he runs, bounces, skates and slides down railings. The Pats arent the only team K-9s been a part of. At the start of the 1980s, the Canadian Olympic team needed a mascot while playing across Canada. K-9 changed jerseys, and Bourassa hopped on flights to get around the country on weekends. (Photo: Regina Leader Post - Roy Antal) Over the years, sponsorship changed and another brewery became a major sponsor of the WHL. Blue was out, and for awhile it seemed as if K-9 would be put to sleep. But then Bourassa got a call asking if K-9 could be made a different color, so K-9 became red, and showed up again at the start of the season. Despite the fact the change came about 20 years ago, Bourassa said he still hears calls from people at Big Blue. K-9s antics have changed a bit over time. At one time, rinks had organists to play music throughout the arena. The organist would watch for me, and if he couldnt find me, hed start playing, Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone? said Bourassa. And when the referee made a bad call hes start playing Smoke gets in your eyes, and Id be out there wiping my eyes. But pretty soon we were told we couldnt ridicule anyone and the music changed. What has stayed the same is Bourassas spirit and energy while bounding through the arena, giving high fives and hugs, playing the drums, and raising the spirit of fans. At 72, Bourassa said he still feels like a kid, and K-9 is probably a large reason for that. When people ask when hes going to retire, Bourassa replies, When I cant do it anymore. (Photo: Roy Antal, Regina Leader Post
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 05:34:00 +0000
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