CREDIT TK One Size Fits Sweltering The fuzzy onesie that is the beaver’s body gets very, very warm. Wearers get so sweaty so fast that OSU Athletics requires suits to be dry-cleaned after every use — even if the use just involves hamming it up for the Oregon Stater cameras. Beaver Kicks Some older versions of Benny wore oversized spongy booties to visually balance a once-enormous head. (See if you can spot bigheaded Benny on the cover.) These days Benny and Bernice’s heads aren’t quite so large, so they wear less slippery Nikes in school colors. It’s best for these to be stored in the mascot locker room — as one current Benny realized when his excited roommate stumbled upon the pair of Nikes marked “BENNY BEAVR” in his closet. 36 OregonStater.org Signature Moves It’s hard to sign your autograph when you’re wearing big beaver hands. The unifying flourish all Bennys use is a hashmark in the name’s final “y” to symbolize his paddlelike tail. Bernice also adds a heart to hers. Subtlety Not Included “Certain things follow us out of the suit,” one current Benny told the Stater. Chief among them is a tendency to make gestures big. “When I’m taking photos with my mom, she’s like, ‘Stop craning your neck!’ And if I don’t know how to answer a question, I’m like….” She gave an exaggerated shrug, hands turned upward. “Now my boyfriend and my roommate all do it, too!” Smells Like Team Spirit Slip on a balaclava to ensure anonymity and prevent friction, don the head — tightening the chin strap securely — and then prepare to breathe in the fragrance of all those who came before. Current Bennys and Bernices say not to worry. Eventually you get “nose blind.” Seeing Is Optional Whether dancing, dunking or pulling off a perfectly timed high-five, Benny and Bernice do it all while seeing the world through a roughly 5-inchdiameter nose portal. Many have stories of tumbling into bushes or getting stuck somewhere and having to call for help. “Sometimes people get offended if we don’t say hi to little kids,” a current Benny commented, “but we literally can’t see them!” BEING THE BEAVER Bernice makes it look easy. Trust us — it’s not. From nose blindness to limited sightlines, this is your insider’s guide to life inside the suit.
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