Once upon a time, not so very long ago, strange noises were heard coming from Moor Park, across the road from Deepdale in Preston. I think it was ‘quack, quack barmy army’. On closer inspection the noise seemed to be coming from a very strange breed of Duck indeed. There waddling around on the park was a 6 foot duck in full Preston North End kit with Nora Batty stockings and the largest pair of Puma boots you ever saw. The manager of Preston liked what he saw and Deepdale Duck was the best signing he made that summer.


Deepdale Duck made his first team debut in 1996.After an initial chorus of what the ******* *** is that he soon became one of North Ends’ greatest players, despite not scoring a goal. However, the local paper credited him with an assist in a pre - season friendly tournament final, The Manx Cup. The Ducks’ fooling about had caught the linesman’s attention. The linesman, as a result, didn’t notice Gary Bennett was offside. Gary went on to score.

The opposition players feared our new WINGer. He nicked there spot on the subs bench and they had to be cautious of a furry beak up the bum when they warmed up. His speciality was stretching his wings with the substitutes, copying their every move with hilarious consequences. He entertained when the footy was dull and that, watching Preston, was often. He was harmless and could do no wrong .Not everyone felt like that.

Everton a few seasons ago banned the Duck from Goodison Park saying he would incite the crowd to riot! Deepdale got his own back. The nations media were alerted to the story, Everton apologised and Deepdale got to go to the match in a stretch limousine.

Fur flew when Deepdale manage to rattle the cage of Tim Flowers (the then Blackburn Rovers keeper) by leaning on his post in a cup match. We had lost 6-0 in the first leg and the tie was beyond us. In Deepdales own words he ‘ had the b***er rattled’. Nort
h End went onto score, Flowers protested to the linesman to remove Deepdale from the pitch. We won that match 1-0.He made an official complaint, Deepdale got his wings clipped.

Bertie Bee, the Burnley mascot challenged the Duck to a ‘friendly’ duel, an army assault course before kick-off a few seasons back. The bee came out to the ‘Eye of the Tiger’, fight like a ninja sting like a bee (ooh awful puns) held aloft on a plank by army blokes from one end, Deepdale waddled on from the other. They started the assault course Duck couldn’t get over the first hurdle and the bee was so far ahead. The duck decided to skip half the course and met the duck at the nets. Tussles followed. Duck pulled out bee; bee pulled out Duck and so on. Bee won the assault course and Deepdale Duck won the penalty shoot-out. Honours even, though rumour has it that the bee used to have the personality of Stan Ternent (Burnley manager) on a bad day!

Deepdale Duck is Preston’s North End’s mascot. He isn’t real. I’ve seen him naked, without his fur, with his beer gut and it’s not a pretty site. He embodies that costume, adds life and just for a moment you suspend your disbelief. I first met him when I had won a competition to take part in a penalty shoot out competition in front of the old Kop. Tepi was late arriving before the match, so we had to take them against the Duck. I stepped up, completely missed the ball and was left to dwell on my inept ability against a bloke in a 6foot-fur costume.


I wanted to find out what about the man under the fur, what made him tick and gave him life and apparently that’s beer. In 1997 I had to do a 10-minute film for a media course on a subject of my choice. I chose Deepdale Duck. I wanted to know what his daily life consisted of. (Perhaps being a mascot should be in the Campus category my experience section?) Well, this is what he does, or did.


Arriv
e two hours before the kick-off and deposit duck in executive box. Have a drink. Find helper. Have a drink. Talk to supporters. Have a drink. Get changed 20 minutes before kick-off. Have a drink. Walk around the pitch after leaving the players out. Go to the bar. Remove hot and steamy head. Have a drink. You get the picture.


I filmed him getting changed into the costume; I still have the X-rated video of his strip tease, including the steamy scenes. This is when he took his head off in the cold air of night at the back of the stadium when, yes you guessed it he was having a drink and a fag. Steam poured off the sweaty, furry head. My attempt to film him warming up on the touchlines, press- ups and stretches got me removed from the ground (oh I wish it was that easy now) despite having permission to film him. I never finished the film. I quit the course; my life changed that week in the presence of the furry wonder. That week I realised I was never going to be a female Spielberg. The Duck, however, was going to be a superstar. Actually he already though he was one as he had Deepdale Duck Superstar written on his ground pass!

Despite his fondness for drink he has stayed relatively injury free, despite being rugby tackled and nearly decapitated at his furry head joint by a half-time lottery winner! He also had to contend with being jumped on by North End players, and gassed by Kurt Nogan’s curry breath in a goal celebration when we went 2-0 up against Arsenal in a cup match a few seasons ago. Come rain, missed chances and dodgy refs the duck has been a consistent performer. He has even led the team hobbling on crutches. I have my doubts as to whether he was actually injured at the time because we had a lot of injuries and I thought he did that in sympathy with them! He actually sustained knee ligament damage from saving penalties taken by children at half time flying through the air, drink assisted, to tip the ball over the bar.



Mascots have had their fair share of abuse by fans and discomfort (wearing huge furry costumes) that it has accumulated in what is known as mascot rage. The following are some of Deepdales partners in crime: -


Cyril the Swan He is the mascot of Swansea City F.C. This guy has a more protruding neck than Deidre ‘in a court room drama’ Rachid. Cyril has stuck his beak in controversy throughout his career. He became the first mascot to be sent off following a goal celebration with his team- mates and no it wasn’t a rude gesticulation with his wing. Rumour has it he was removed from the short list for the Welsh Sports Personality Award a few years back. Recently Cyril was in trouble again after a tussle at half time during a penalty shoot out with Millwall mascot Zampa the Lion. Cyril, the stronger of the two, grabbed Zampa’s head, and drop kicked it into the crowd. He is also said to have thrown food at away fans, disrupted a lottery draw and had a tussle with Norwich City’s director of fooball Brian Hamilton.

How’s this for referee’s being blind?

Chaddy the Owl, Oldham’s mascot, was sent off at Boundary Park after the linesman in the 2000-2001 season. The linesman repeatedly flagged Carlo Corrazin, the Peterborough player, for offside when he blatantly wasn’t. Conversation followed between the linesman and the referee and it was found that the linesman had mistook Chaddy the Owl for Carlo and the mascot was the one who was offside. He then proceeded to show the Owl a red card! Chaddy was sent for an early bath. Oldham lost that game 4-1, obviously affected by the loss of their star player.

Wolfie is the mascot of Wolverhampton Wanderers who has a wife called Wendy, who is his partner in crime in real life too. He gained notoriety a few seasons ago when he had a ‘handbags at ten paces’ scrap with the Bristol City pigs


In a pub in 1999 Huntingdon R
acecourse Manager Jim Allen decided it would be a good idea to get their mascot the Huntingdon Hound to invite other mascots from the sporting world to take part in a sprint race on the grass. Huntingdon is a jump course so they decided to include six fences. Fence five is ‘Hugo’s Brook’, the mascot equivalent of Beecher’s Brook in the main horse national. The first winner was Beau Brummie Bulldog (Birmingham City F.C.) who won by a large furry head. Deepdale, kind sole that he was apparently helped up a fellow contestant who later repaid his kind by bringing down Deepdale Duck to the ground. The fall was spectacular. Duck remounted but he was too out of puff to finish well!

Last year it was a close run contest between Cyril the Swan (Swansea F.C.) and Harry the Hornet (Watford F.C.). Cyril was apparently winning by a neck, but Harry stormed through to stinging victory.

The event is an annual fixture. It takes place this year on Sunday September 30th 2001 at Huntingdon racecourse in Cambridgeshire at 3.40 PM, furry heads permitting.
For more information you can visit the site: -

http://www.mascot-grand-national.com/

If you want to have a bet you can go to: -

http://www.bet365.com


Apparently £5,000 was taken from bookmakers last year! This year there is even a ‘Mascot of the Year’ online competition. I would have voted for Deepdale, but he is a pale shadow of his former self. The ‘original’ Duck was worthy of that praise, but sadly he is no longer round sunning himself no doubt in a Duck pond somewhere and his replacement isn’t fit to wear his feathers. He changed guises last season, I had my suspicions and Granddad (bloke with a fondness for Werther’s Original sweets) kept shouting ‘Are you the real duck?’ and ‘Our duck’s taller than that, are you a Wolves fan in disguise? They brought a code of conduct in for these so c
alled naughty mascots. They aren’t allowed to encroach on pitch or go anywhere near the away fans.

Rumour has it the original had his wings clipped too often and got the sack (or should that be pillow of duck feathers).

This op is in memory of the original Deepdale Duck.