Have you ever wondered about the 10 foot inflatable Trojan that walks around at our football games and pep rallies? Terry the Trojan is Platteview high school’s mascot, and has been on and off the field for the last 7 years.
hiTerry the Trojan is an idea that has brought Platteview together for the past several years. However, getting people to “play” or become Terry has proven difficult. The costume was donated by the Booster Club, and has a heavy battery pack along with having little eye space and mobility.
Some of our Terry the Trojan alumni consist of Bella Mcatee, Tyler Tolliver, and Carter Shemeck.
Mcatee played Terry during the 2022-2023 school year. Bella started her junior year, “Because they were trying to bring back the role of Terry. At the time I had just come back to Platteview since I went somewhere else my sophomore year, and so I was jumping at any and every opportunity to be a part of the community again and make friends.
“Being Terry the Trojan was so fun and fulfilling for me. I am a big “people person,” but I admit sometimes I will be afraid of judgment in social situations regarding my high school peers that I considered to be “popular” (which looking back I realize was silly of me at times) so when I was being Terry I would engage with every student I saw and I could always guarantee it would be a positive interaction. This guarantee made me excited to go to the games as Terry, and made me feel more connected to Platteview, in general.”
Mcatee continued, “Being inside the costume itself was easy for me really since I had done lots of theater prior and so costuming restriction wasn’t new.”
Mcatee also explained playing Terry isn’t an easy job. “Since it’s an inflatable costume, you never feel stuffy or claustrophobic because there’s constant air circulation. For mobility sake, I always had a cheerleader or the cheer coach to assist me in walking. This was super helpful and also gave me friends on the cheer team who I don’t think I would’ve interacted with otherwise. Being Terry is generally time consuming since they want you at pep rallies and home games and events. Since I was also in sports and band and much more I was used to being insanely busy and knew I could handle schoolwork with it.”
If you are interested in becoming Terry, there are a few requirements. First you must sign up through the cheer website and fill out a document. Platteview does not receive a lot of applicants for Terry, so your chances of being chosen are very high. Some other qualifications that you will need include: maintain good grades, have a positive attitude, and portray good leadership.
