|
ST MIRREN'S
MASCOT SACKED
(10TH OCT 2003)
Controversial St Mirren mascot Paisley the
Panda (called by rival fans the Temazepanda) has been given the sack
after he pretended to use a rival teams jersey (Falkirk) as toilet
paper on the pitch. This was seen as the last straw for the club who
believed that the mascot performer Chris Kelso had crossed the line on
his latest misdemeanour which resulted in reprimand from the
Strathclyde police. St Mirren's commercial Manager Campbell Kennedy
announced :
"Following several complaints from
Falkirk fans at yesterday's First Division match at St Mirren Park, the
club have accepted the resignation of Chris Kelso, who acted as club
mascot Paisley Panda."
Paisley Panda has been in trouble before
for:
*Gesturing to Queen of the
South fans with an inflatable sheep
*Taunting Falkirk fans about
their lack of a stadium.
* Last season
brandishing a poster at Falkirk fans, which read: "C U Next
Season", a reference to the club's disappointment at being barred
from promotion.
*Dancing in front of Morton
fans with a banjo and playing the theme from Deliverance, the 1970s film
featuring hillbilly villains.
* In Front of Morton away
fans coming out with a bar of soap and a long-handled black brush and
'washing' in front of the visiting fans.
*Placing
a giant "pine tree" air freshener behind the Caledonia Stand
goals, again when Morton were the visitors.
* Joining in and
disrupting the opposition pre-match (Morton's) warm-up. Scoring from the
penalty spot then doing a Klinsmann dive into a puddle on the track.
* Whirling panda
cub, Junior P around as an aircraft.
* Doing a
cops & robbers type performance to The Professionals soundtrack
before St Mirren take to the field against Morton
* Upsetting Henrik
Larsson of Celtic in a pre season friendly by using an old hot water
bottle as a tongue in a cheeky impersonation of his typical goal
celebration
On some of these earlier occasions he had
been given warnings from Strathclyde police. Chris said of these earlier
incidents:
"When the police spoke to me after the
sheep exploits, I was pretty nervous and worried that I might lose the
slot as the panda. I was surprised when I heard the cops wanted to talk
to me.
The
officers explained they knew I had a job to do but I had to drop the
sheep gimmick. I was pretty gutted and taken aback. But the show must go
on.... I am at the cutting edge of football mascotry and I have a duty
to entertain my fans. If pleasing the fans by adopting risque routines
means I will be labelled the black sheep of the mascot world, then so be
it."
However, his
entertainment was too much for St Mirren who have axed him and
commercial manager Campbell Kennedy said last night:
``We have replaced
him and now have a new Paisley Panda...He will make his debut at our
next home game, which is against Raith Rovers on November 1...
The club would like to thank
Chris for his services to the club over the last couple of
seasons."
|
