Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.
Issue link: https://loumag.epubxp.com/i/827364
26 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 6.17 WHY LOUISVILLE? Photo by Chris Witzke The Louisville League of Mascots during the Walk to Defeat ALS at Slugger Field. Pictured: Subman, Buddy Bat and Sky Guy, the mascot for a J-town indoor trampoline park called Sky Zone. In 2012, former Papa John's marketer Karl La Greca had a promotional idea unrelated to pizza: the Louisville League of Mascots. If there's another group like it in America, La Gre- ca hasn't heard of it. "The way I present- ed it to (the mascots) was, 'You already get invitations to go to some charity events. If we make it easier for them to find us, you'll get more invitations. We'll put the information together and you'll know where to park. You'll know where to change (clothes),'" he says. The group, which does about 100 events a year, now has 75 members, including Louie the Cardinal Bird, the Frisch's Big Boy and a personal check with hands and feet called Mr. Big Check (for Jackson Hewitt Tax Service). A googly-eyed Thornton's cup is named Phil Up (get it?). For what La Greca describes as a knighting ceremony, new mascot members take a knee. The 65-year-old wears a musketeer outfit and everything, uses a rapier to tap their shoulders. "The code is that we always are very professional and honor the image of the mascot," he says. "We don't change or talk in front of people. "When you see mascots, you think of kids," La Greca says. "But adults can be kids too." He pauses. "You'd be surprised at how many parents want to take pic- tures with the mascots." — Thomas Elmallakh