Hot, smelly and makes small children cry: reporter dresses as giant bear for North Sydney’s crunch game against Newtown

IMAGINE copping constant abuse and being attacked by hordes of toddlers while sweltering inside an enormous bear costume which makes dogs bark. That’s what reporter Ben Graham did.

Mosman Daily reporter Ben Graham prepares to enter the arena. Picture: Danny Aarons

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IMAGINE copping constant abuse and being attacked by hordes of toddlers while sweltering inside an enormous bear costume which makes babies cry and dogs bark everywhere you go.

These are just part of your average day as a giant furry sports mascot, as I found out when I dressed up for the North Sydney Bears NSW Cup rugby league game against Newtown Jets on Saturday.

I have a new-found admiration for the everyday heroes who pump up crowds for sports teams across the world with their questionable dance moves and exaggerated body movements. It’s nowhere near as easy as it looks.

Ben leads the team out of the Henson Park dressing rooms for the clash against the Newtown Jets.

However, there are certainly perks to the gig. Sports enthusiasts of all ages clamoured to hug, shake hands, high five and take selfies with me everywhere I went. I’d never been so popular, I could hang in the dressing room with the players and I even got a free muffin for my efforts.

The first challenge was to climb inside the costume, which weighed the best part of a tonne and smelled as you would expect a bear suit worn by various men to smell.

There is no love lost between the rival mascots.

Then there was the visual impairment. Looking through the beast’s mouth, I could make out a grainy image of the ground by tilting my head back — which presents challenges when you have armies of children surrounding your feet.

Bears manager Greg Florimo gave me a rundown of my duties which included greeting fans as they walked in, leading the team out with air punches and flying kicks and doing a lap of honour once the match started.

Fans queued to have their pictures taken with the friendly Bear.

“Easy enough,” I thought, arrogantly before attempting to jog. The massive wobbly head almost flew off with any sudden movements and the intense heat quickly became a problem.

“Get a real job!” and various expletive-leaden insults came my way as I sauntered around the pitch. But, this was remedied by the love shown by home and away fans who just wanted to say ‘hi’ or take a picture.

Even a fan of Norths’ arch enemies, the Manly Sea Eagles, was happy to see the giant Bear.

It’s a surreal experience to look like a bear, because many children are convinced you’re a real animal. Toddlers would erupt into tears at the sight of me. I tried to apologise to their parents, but I was forbidden to speak so I had to offer a sympathetic growl instead.

Despite the challenges, I must have done something right because the Bears held on for a 16-12 win. And it was rewarding to see the joy a bear brings to so many.