Battle of Mascots in 2005 FedEx Orange Bowl

MIAMI, Fla. -- They stood on their sidelines Monday, poked their heads toward the stands and slowly walked across turf on which the national championship will be decided.

Oh, and they nibbled a little painted grass.

Perhaps the most recognizable stars of the Southern California and Oklahoma football programs aren't players -- they're the equine mascots, Oklahoma's two-horse-powered Sooner Schooner and USC's Andalusian named Traveler.

The Schooner is a covered wagon pulled by two small horses, always named Boomer and Sooner. Traveler, the seventh horse to carry that name and serve as USC's mascot, is ridden by someone wearing a Trojan warrior costume.

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Both mascots -- always white -- venture across the field after touchdowns, helping frenzy the crowd. Their teams hope to keep them busy Tuesday night in the Orange Bowl.

"When they see us, it gives them a sense of 'The Schooner's here, we're here, and we're ready to rock and roll," said Gerald Buchanan, 21, president of the Ruf/Neks -- the Oklahoma student pep group. "It's one of those things that definitely defines us."

The Schooner depicts part of Oklahoma's state history. It goes back to the land rush of 1889, where the rule was that settlers seeking to claim a plot of their own had to wait for the boom of a cannon before leaving a designated starting area. They were called "Boomers"; those who left early, "Sooners."

Traveler's role with USC, fittingly, had a Hollywood beginning.

A student saw the original owner, Richard Saukko, riding his horse in the 1961 Rose Parade and got him to ride the Los Angeles Coliseum sidelines during home games. Saukko started out, in fact, wearing the actual costume Charlton Heston used in "Ben Hur."

And Traveler's job before that? He was the first 'Silver' ridden by the Lone Ranger.

"I get butterflies in my stomach before every game, especially games like this," said Chuck O'Donnell, Saukko's stepson and one of two "Tommy Trojan" characters who ride Traveler; he'll be in the saddle on Tuesday night.

"Bowl games are very important. Being in a different situation makes it very hectic."

Traveler -- the name is close to Gen. Robert E. Lee's Traveller, but merely coincidental -- has never been to the Orange Bowl. The horse isn't really much of a traveler, and this marks the first occasion where any Traveler ventured east of the Cotton Bowl for a game.

When the Sooners last appeared in the Orange Bowl four years ago, a matchup against Florida State that also decided the national title, the Schooner's primary handler, Bill Warden, drove a horse trailer 26 hours from Oklahoma to South Florida.

One problem: Orange Bowl officials said "neigh" and wouldn't let the Schooner on the field.

Then there was the infamous incident in the 1985 Orange Bowl against Washington where the Schooner drew a 15-yard penalty for galloping onto the field after an apparent field goal was nullified by a penalty.

"Unhorsemanlike conduct," then-Sooners coach Barry Switzer called it. Oklahoma returned to the Orange Bowl the following year to play Penn State; the Schooner stayed home.

Among the many memorable past college mascot incidents:

-- In the 2001 Sugar Bowl, the Miami mascot, Sebastian the Ibis, was penalized for running onto the field after a clinching score.

-- John Routh, who used to dress as the Ibis, was hit by a stray bullet on Bourbon Street before the 1992 Sugar Bowl. He was in uniform the next night. "It's going to take a hell of a lot more than a bullet hole in the head to keep me from this game," Routh said.

-- At the 1996 NCAA women's basketball championship game between Tennessee and Georgia, the Vols' mascot was ejected for destroying a stuffed Bulldog, causing a 15-minute cleanup delay.

"We take it seriously and we have a lot of fun," Buchanan said, "but we have rules that we'll follow."

These mascots are almost unflappable. They're constantly stopped by well-wishers who want to pet them or have someone snap a picture; it's not uncommon for fans to arrive unannounced at the horses' offseason homes and ask for a quick visit.

"They live a very luxurious life," said Warden, who's worked with the Schooner for seven years. "There's been more pictures taken of those ponies than any other mascot in the world."

Traveler VII is two-time national champion show horse who's now looking for two straight college football titles -- he took over on the USC sidelines before last season.

"We really feel like we're part of the USC family," said Traveler VII's owner and trainer, Joanne Asman, who keeps the 13-year-old horse at her home in the San Fernando Valley. "Traveler has a huge fan club. The fans come give him good-luck kisses and talk to him and pet him. It's really amazing."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Battle of Mascots in 2005 FedEx Orange Bowl

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