ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, November 24, 1996 TAG: 9611250038
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-12 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
Curtis Dvorak graduated from Virginia Tech last spring and at once met his destiny and answered his professional calling.
His job description could be stated as follows:
The employee must be clever, athletic and loyal. Must be able to communicate without speaking.
Must be prepared to wear a company-authorized uniform. Must not complain that said uniform weighs 60 pounds - 80 should an unexpected rain storm soak it.
Must be able to be passed hand to hand through a large crowd while wearing said uniform. While crowd surfing thusly, must show no outward signs of fear at the prospect of being dropped like a bad habit by a beer-sodden audience member who has lost his grip.
Must be prepared to be viciously assaulted by children posing as pint-sized sadists. Must at all costs resist impulse to throttle said youngsters until they turn several shades of indigo.
Must not fear being crushed by behemoths of near superhuman proportions who routinely stray, often in an out-of-control fashion, into his personal work space.
Must be willing to trade own identity for that of a creature with a pot belly, oversized sneakers, a tent of a football jersey, and orange fur adorned with aqua spots.
The National Football League's Jacksonville Jaguars aren't all that keen on you knowing this, but Dvorak, 22, is the man inside the suit of their fuzzball of a team mascot.
Dvorak (pronounced ``De-vore-ak'') has been wearing the new duds since the beginning of the current season, having earned his way into the occasionally hazardous environs of an NFL sideline spotlight by beating out 40 or so contenders from all over the country.
He won't say what he makes for his work other than it is a salary that is very good for a recent college graduate.
Dvorak's credentials included an award-winning stint as the Virginia Tech mascot, a mostly maroon and gold ersatz turkey gobbler commonly referred to as the Hokie Bird.
Dvorak gobbled and goofed his way through a routine that won him the National Cheerleading Association's national championship for college mascots last spring.
``It's something I'll remember for the rest of my life,'' said the New Jersey native who majored in communications at Virginia Tech.
Perhaps the same may be said for the audience and judges. Dvorak's routine included a skit in which the love-starved bird woos an inflatable doll, tastefully and deceitfully (we come to find out) attired as a lovely lady. The bird and the crowd discover the true identity of his romantic target when it is discovered the she is a he. This is confirmed when a jock strap is produced.
This routine may have struck some as straining the boundaries of good taste. There are killjoys in every crowd. Danny Monk, an associate athletic director at Tech whose duties include supervision of the cheerleaders, isn't among them.
``He was absolutely great that day,'' said Monk, who accompanied Dvorak to nationals.
Monk and Dvorak have had their ups and downs. Monk even had to suspend Dvorak for a game once - for what Monk would not say other than it involved minor insubordination. It was not the last time Monk would have to ruffle Hokie Bird feathers. He suspended the current man in the maroon and orange suit for decking the University of Miami mascot this past week.
Nuttiness apparently comes naturally to Dvorak, who came to Tech from New Jersey and majored in communications.
``I remember when he jumped off the high dive of the pool at War Memorial Gym wearing the bird suit,'' said Brad Grigg, a friend of Dvorak's and one of this year's cheerleading co-captains at Tech. ``He said the suit got awfully heavy when it was wet.''
Soggy mascot suits are a hazard of the trade. The one Dvorak wears for the Jaguars (to whom he is known as Jaxson de Ville) weighs in the neighborhood of 60 pounds. That's before he begins his antics. In the early season heat and humidity of north Florida, temperatures on the field are close to 100 degrees and inside the suit many degrees higher than that. At a lean 150 pounds, Dvorak has lost as many as 20 pounds during a game.
``I can gain it back pretty quickly because it's all water weight,'' he said. ``It's part of my contract that I have to stay in shape.'' That means working out hard most days right next to the team members and maintaining a strict, low-fat diet. He maxes out on pasta and other carbohydrates and drinks water by the gallon before, during and after games.
It is nothing any other cheerleader wouldn't do, he said. ``The Tech cheerleaders are some of the best athletes at the school, but I don't think most people know that.''
Often, Dvorak comes home from work at Jaguars games exhausted and black and blue with bruises, just like one of his football-playing colleagues.
Jaxson de Ville relies on lots of sight gags, so there are elaborate tripping and spills involved. Then there is the crowd surfing, where he is passed through the audience like a lint-covered loaf of bread. He knows to avoid seating sections that have empty seats: Too easy to be dropped while crossing the void.
``Our mascot has been extremely well-received,'' said Ann Carroll, director of special events and promotions for the Jaguars. ``He's pretty much on his own coming up with routines. As long as it's not risky, as far as safety is concerned. That's our biggest concern.''
As with any creative talent, Dvorak occasionally suffers from writer's block.
``A lot of times, I'll get close to time for a skit and have nothing,'' he said. ``Then something just pops into my head. It always happens.''
Typical fodder for routines: current events and pop culture.
Dvorak averages 10 to 20 appearances per week as Jaxson de Ville. Surprisingly, one of his biggest hazards is overzealous children who take a notion to tackle, punch, or stage a full-fledged attack on the mascot.
``That's OK,'' Dvorak said. ``It's not the kids' fault. They have this big stuffed animal in front of them and they want to play. The worst are the kids from fifth to seventh grade. They want to beat [stuffings] out of you.''
One of the tricks of the trade when under attack is to shake hands with a child then give him a death grip to get his attention. Also, always travel with a backup for crowd control purposes.
Dvorak can see himself staying with the job for 15 years or so, or as long as he can stay in shape and keep coming up with fresh material.
``You have to have a sick head to do this,'' he said. ``You have to be a little bit crazy.''
LENGTH: Long : 127 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. LORA GORDON\Special to The Roanoke Times. Jaxson deby CNBVille hobnobs with the other mascots in attendance at the Tech-Pitt
football game. 2. Jaxson de Ville does a little crowd surfing during
the recent Tech-Pitt game. 3. Curtis Dvorak talks with the Hokie
Bird on the sidelines. 4. Jaxson de Ville and the Hokie Bird ham it
up for Tech football fans (ran on NRV-1). 5. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS.
Jaxson, a.k.a. Curtis Dvorak, clowns during the pregame show at his
first regular season game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. color.