It’s rare that we post job openings here at TOC but this one…this was too good to pass up.
The Frontier League’s Normal CornBelters are seeking a few good men – and women – to fill the role of Corny, their official mascot. According to his bio on the official team website:
“He was born on August 7th of 2009 at 10:00 AM right here in Normal. Corny will be at every CornBelters game this summer getting the fans pumped up and rooting CornBelters to victory.”
I’m not exactly sure what Corny is supposed to be other than the stuff of small children’s nightmares, but best I can tell from the photo above he is what would happen if Barney the Dinosaur and Gumby had a lovechild. Next to a radioactive cornfield.
But I digress. So what does it take for an applicant to become the next Corny?
Per the official job posting:
• Very outgoing personality!
• Positive attitude & friendly character
• Attention to detail and fans’ experiences with mascot
• Ability to work as an individual and as a team member
• Availability during normal business hours as well as weekends and evenings
• Ability to handle very warm temperatures inside the mascot costume & weight of the costume
Having been a professional mascot myself (3 years as a Brewers’ racing sausage and 2 in the Arena League), I can assure you the first and last ones are perhaps the most important qualifications. Nobody likes a mascot that just stands there doing nothing, you may as well be a cat at that point. Also, those costumes do in fact get ungodly hot during games and appearances. Most tend to weigh about 15-20 pounds at least, and the ventilation system inside those things is never very good.
Of course there’s more to being Corny CornBelter than merely being an extrovert who doesn’t mind sweating buckets. And you’re going to have to do more than just submit a resume to be considered for this prestigious position.
Yep, you’re going to have to answer a couple of questions first. Again, per the official job posting:
1. Do you have previous experience as a mascot?
2. Why do you think you’d be an excellent mascot performer for the Normal CornBelters?
Previous experience as a mascot isn’t necessarily necessary, however the team stresses that “local applicants are best”, so if you’re a New Yorker or a Californian reading this and you REALLY want to be Corny…well the good news is, apartment rentals in the Normal metropolitan area are fairly cheap.
There’s no word on how much (or even if) the position pays but given that it’s independent league baseball, you’d likely be doing it more for the love of the job than to get rich. Which, depending on your perspective, might be worthwhile because if nothing else, you’ll always have the ultimate conversation starter when meeting complete strangers.
