'The Quaker' excites teams, fans alike with mascot antics

Gary Byala enjoys playing "The Quaker," one of the few maskless mascots in NCAA Division I sports and the only one if the Ivy League. With his long-tailed, button-down coat, maroon knickers, lace cuffs and streaming 40-pound flag, Gary Byala looks straight out of the 18th century. Until, that is, you see the large "P" emblazoned on his back, white sport socks and loafers. He may not look entirely traditional, but Byala loves being "The Quaker" -- the University's uniquely maskless mascot. "When the crowd gets into it, it's intense -- really intense," the Wharton and Engineering senior said. But while Byala loves the attention, last year's mascot, Tina Lopez, found her lack of anonymity frustrating. "You're not the Quaker, you're Tina Lopez dressed as the Quaker," the College senior and 34th Street writer said. "The kids don't like you because you're not a fuzzy animal." The Quaker is the only maskless mascot in the Ivy League, Byala said. He estimated there are fewer than a dozen human-faced mascots in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. Lopez, who was the Quaker during the 1995-96 basketball season, tried out for the unpaid position on a dare. "I just made an ass out of myself in front of the cheerleaders and I got it," she said. Part of her alienation as the Quaker stemmed from the distance she felt between herself and the cheerleading squad, which selects the mascot each year. But she felt even greater frustration towards the Athletic Department Sports Information Office, explaining that while fans wanted "props" like candy, the office would not reimburse her. Then fans complained because her candy wasn't "good quality." "In general the fans are mean," Lopez said. The Athletic Department soon prohibited her from distributing anything in the Palestra, she said. "It seems like every effort you made to be entertaining" was restricted, Lopez said. "But the school still wants you to be entertaining." She said the only people friendly to her were "a couple of big fat old alumni" who gave her overly enthusiastic "winks, hugs [and] kisses." At the end of the season, Lopez became excited at the prospect of travelling to the NCAA tournament. But the cheerleaders chose their senior squad member to replace her as the Quaker. But while Byala's enthusiasm about his job contrasts with Lopez's bitterness, his behavior as mascot is relatively low-key. At Friday's basketball game against Harvard for example, Byala spent most timeouts clapping to the band while the cheerleaders completed their routines. Later he spent 15 minutes talking to a friend in one of the top rows of the Palestra bleachers. Aside from his costume and the two or three times he ran around the court with his large "Penn" flag, one could have mistaken him for an especially devoted fan. "Some of [the fans] are critical because I don't do as many things as some of the [mascots] have done in the past," Byala said. But he does have his moments. In December, Byala got into a "brawl" with the Villanova Wildcat, landing him on cable and network television. Byala said a low-profile Quaker better fits his personality, explaining that "I have stage fright big time." He decided to become the Quaker after being "furious" that there was no mascot at Penn's first football game last semester. The cheerleaders rubber-stamped his bid -- he is friends with most of the cheerleaders, and there were no other candidates -- and he quickly gained confidence. Byala's routine at Franklin Field included candy throwing -- which he says is prohibited at the Palestra for good reason -- and "knocking out" the band leader in order to conduct the band himself. Byala waxes sentimental about his time as the Quaker. "I always wanted to stand out at Penn," he said. "This is what I want to take home with me? This is something I can tell my grandkids about."