Mascot spotlight: Ellsworth the Eagle

By Allison Kowalski
LIFESTYLES EDITOR

“Green and gold, let’s go green and gold,” yells the spirited school mascot, Ellsworth, the golden eagle at The College at Brockport. With a newly pressed Brockport Golden Eagles jersey and shiny, white tennis shoes with new green and gold laces, Ellsworth is ready to perform as The College at Brockport’s school mascot. His best friend, the albino squirrel, carefully trims and fluffs up his long, white feathers while Ellsworth shines his beak until it is a golden yellow. Ellsworth is now ready to promote school spirit during Brockport athletic events with enthusiastic hand motions and a strong, booming voice.

However, there is a whole other side of Ellsworth besides being a spirited school mascot. Like every individual, Ellsworth has a history, and his was filled with some great memories as well as some not-so-great ones.
Ellsworth was born in Sydney, Australia to his golden eagle parents and circus owners, Bob and Cathy. When he was just a baby golden eagle, Ellsworth participated in circus activities. However, because he was small and it was too dangerous for a baby golden eagle to perform hard tasks such as hanging on the swinging trapezes or taming the ferocious lion — his parents and other circus volunteers taught Ellsworth how to effectively swing his fluffy feathers to get the crowd excited.

One favorite thing about his early days at the circus was looking at the crowds.

“Every type of person came there wanting to enjoy the show,” Ellsworth said. “I would look at each face in the audience and wonder who they were, what they were escaping from. I noticed that every person came to the circus wanting to temporarily escape something they were running away from.”

Another favorite pastime at the circus was eating. Hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza and endless supplies of candy and popcorn were available for Ellsworth.

One time, Ellsworth had so much cotton candy that it turned his golden beak bright blue. He scrubbed and scrubbed but the cotton candy would not come off. He was supposed to perform at the circus in one hour, but he could not do that with a bright blue beak.

“I knew my parents would kill me if I performed with a bright blue beak,” Ellsworth said. “So, I took some bleach and tried to turn my beak back to golden yellow. To make a long story short, it did not work and my parents laughed at me. I really felt like an idiot.”

Besides performing circus duties, Ellsworth is also an avid surfer. His father taught him to surf as soon as he was able to walk.

“My dad would take me early in the morning when no one else was at the beach,” Ellsworth said. “It’s a good thing he took me when no one else was around because I was horrible in the beginning. Now, I can keep myself on the board and surf for a few minutes. A wave always knocks me off my balance though.”

Those fond beach memories were some of the last that Ellsworth would ever have with his father and his mother. When he was 14 years old, his parents died in an automobile accident. Ellsworth hoped that his uncle would take him in to raise him like a son, but his uncle sold Ellsworth and the circus to a local college.

At the local college, Ellsworth was stuck cleaning up the litter that the crowds left behind after every circus performance. He was no longer able to be a part of the performance, but rather was a backstage janitor. Despite this tragedy, Ellsworth still got to watch people, one of his favorite activities to this day, though he no longer was allowed to cheer with them.

After four years of grueling hard work, Ellsworth was finally his own eagle when he turned 18. His uncle wanted him to stay at the circus and be a janitor for the rest of his life, but Ellsworth had other plans. He was not sure what he wanted to do, yet he knew he couldn’t stay as an employee at his uncle’s circus.

“I was at a crossroads in my life,” Ellsworth said. “I had no money in my pocket. The only thing I could do was move forward. I never wanted to look backward again.”

So, that’s what Ellsworth did — he walked. He found work on a cruise ship as a singer. The ship was bound for the United States. After he found out he had a talent for singing, Ellsworth started to sing at local bars and clubs. He was always a big hit with the audience.

One day, Ellsworth was singing at The Smokehouse in Brockport, N.Y. The albino squirrel, a mischiveous prankster at The College at Brockport, admired how great Ellsworth’s stage presence was. After Ellsworth was done performing, he took him aside and said there was a vacancy for a school mascot to perform during athletic events.

Knowing that he did not have much money and wanted a stable job, Ellsworth auditioned for the role and got it. The College also offered Ellsworth a free education as long as he continued performing his mascot duties.

Ellsworth finally picked recreation & leisure studies as his major and business as a minor.

“Recreation and leisure studies is one of the best things I have done at Brockport,” Ellsworth said. “They are preparing me to open up my own hotel one day.”

The only thing that Ellsworth misses about Australia is the gnarly waves to surf on.

“I have had to resort to surfing on the canal,” Ellsworth said. “The waves are not as great and the water is not as blue.”

With a new job and a good education, we expect to see this golden eagle go far in life. Next time you see Ellsworth at a game or Brockport event, give him a huge wave.

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