By Carol Kim
Former Cosmos gathered together to celebrate the 50th birthday of the BYU mascot at a banquet Saturday, Feb. 21, 2004.
The Varsity room at the LaVell Edwards football stadium filled with nostalgia as these veterans reminisced about their fun filled days as Cosmo the Cougar.
They shared stories about wild rides on motorcycles, dunking, jumping off trampolines, breaking bones and knocking rival mascots out of consciousness.
Cosmo is something that is part of these people''s lives. Bret Pope, Cosmo from 1989 to 1990, even named his fourth child, Cougar.
Tami Mahnken who was Cosmo from 1958 to 1959, was one of the two known female Cosmos.
Mahnken said she never tried out to be the school mascot. Two boys she knew took her to a parking lot and asked her to be Cosmo, but she had no idea why they picked her.
She said she was surprised to find that she was one of the few female Cosmos.
'I had no idea I was just one of two,' she said. 'That was a long time ago. She was a year before me. I think there should be more female Cosmos.'
Ray Pope, the oldest living Cosmo (1955-1956) said he never tried out, but that has all changed.
Rich Summers, the director of Team Cosmo, said the judges look at creativity, crowd mannerisms, gymnastics, dunks, trampoline skills, personality and anything else people can offer when considering Cosmo candidates.
Bret Pope said he was nervous during his tryouts, but he handled it successfully.
Summers said it is important to keep the identity of Cosmo a secret.
'The identity of a Cosmo should be like the identity of a Mickey Mouse,' Summers said. 'Mickey Mouse is the same throughout the year just like Cosmo is the same.'
Summers said when Cosmo does his crazy stunts from year to year, people will never be able to distinguish if it is a new person or if he has been doing it for several years.
Bret Pope said when he was Cosmo, it was hard to keep his identity a secret, especially from his roommates.
'You''re always gone, and they have to know something,' he said. 'You have the Cosmo up in your house, so they did know. You just hope that they''d be quiet themselves.'
Summers said the tryouts for this year will last until March.
For those who are interested in being the next Cosmo, contact Rich Summers by March 3, 2004 at 378-7613 or e-mail him at cosmo@byucougars.com