Exclusive: T-Bone
In a Lethbridge Sports exclusive, our reporters had the opportunity to sit down with the Bulls’ most veteran team member, T-Bone the mascot! T Bone joined the club back in 1999, and recently turned 4 in Bull years. T-Bone was very excited to hear that the Bulls had clinched their playoff spot for the 2021 season, and talked to us about some of his experiences since joining the club.
T-Bone started out as a normal bull, grazing and acting cool, trying to impress his friends out on the farm. He and the other bulls on the farm would play ball and T-Bone hoped to grow up to a bigger future than as a steak dinner. “I met a baseball scout”, T-Bone tells us, “he liked the way I was throwing the ball and getting the cows and bulls excited and he said ‘hey I have a job for you! How would you like to be a mascot”’ I said hey that sounds great.” Since that fateful day, T-Bone has been resigning as an unrestricted free agent with the club over the last 22 seasons.
T-Bone’s ballpark antics and calm demeanor make him a favorite around Spitz Stadium. Whether throwing merchandise to fans, getting kids to spin around bats until they’re good and dizzy, or hitting his bull-sized baseball with giant bat, T-Bone is one of the Bulls’ favorite team members. When he gets his break during the games, T-Bone admits that his favorite food is ballpark hot dogs. Hi favorite color is blue, although most people guess it would be red, because blue makes him happy. That’s a good thing, since blue is one of the dominant colors’ in the Bulls’ logo.
When he’s not at the ballpark, T-Bone likes to spend time in air conditioning. “It gets hot outside!” He says, looking back on a summer in Lethbridge where the average gametime temperature has been over 30 degrees celcius for the 2021 season. “I love to kick up my feet in the AC and watch some sports on TV.” When we put him on the spot, T-Bone says his favorite sport is baseball. “I’m also getting into pickleball as it’s an up and coming sport.” T-Bone says. He is hoping to one day fulfill his dream to play baseball competitively, maybe for one of the WCBL’s farm teams? His favorite position to play are pitcher and he likes to play out in right field.
During the average game, T-Bone loves hanging out with fans, especially kids. “Bulls have the best fans.” T-Bone tells us. “Kids are always there dancing and fist bumping with me. We really have the best fans in the league.” We asked T-Bone is he had anything to say to all the kids that come up to him during games, and his message is: “Never stop dancing.”
T-Bone is bullish on the Bulls’ chances going into the playoffs. As long as they can keep their bats going, and not get bullied by the new pitchers coming into the bullpen, T-Bone says the team should have their bullseye set on a long playoff run. One way or another, the Bulls will try and put the bull-rush to the Sylvan Lake Gulls down the stretch as they try to bulldoze their way into a first place finish in the Canadian division going into the playoffs. The Spitz fans would give home field advantage an extra shot in the arm, and that’s no bull.