Spanish soccer team sports one talented bear of a mascot

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Sports is no stranger to live animal mascots roaming the sidelines. In college athletics you’ll see bulldogs (University of Georgia boasts Uga), horses (USC struts out Traveler after each touchdown), tigers (LSU has Mike), goats (Navy’s is named Renegade), falcons (Army), wild boars (Arkansas has Tusk), and even Longhorn steers (University of Texas has Bevo).

And while the sidelines have seen their fair share of bears (Baylor has both Lady and Joy), it’s safe to say that no one has seen a team mascot like the one that visited Spain’s Real Valladolid soccer team last weekend.

This huge animal can toot a horn, perform perfect somersaults and even pose with the star players without chomping their nervous heads off. And did they teach him how to perform an obscene gesture to react to bad officiating?

Perhaps the Chicago Bears will see this video and recruit this beautifully talented big guy. If they don’t want him as a mascot, they sure could use a healthy middle linebacker.

-- Tony Pierce