Mask-to-Mask

Nebraska mascots a mixture of old school and new school

- Other Mascots - Mascot Preview Penn State's Nittany Lion Notre Dame's Leprechaun Georgia Tech's Buzz Tennessee's Smokey Stanford's Tree Virginia Tech's Hokie Bird Michigan State's Sparty Marshall's Marco Alabama's Big Al Georgia's Hairy Dawg Nebraska's Herbie and Lil' Red Oregon State's Benny Auburn's Aubie Boston College's Eagle

In this space each week CNNSI.com will feature an exclusive one-on-one interview with some of college football's most famous mascots. Purdue Pete, the legendary athletic mascot from Purdue University, recently chatted with Herbie from the University of Nebraska for this hard-hitting, mask-to-mask interview.

Purdue Pete: Hi Herbie. Welcome to CNNSI.com.

Herbie: Howdy, Pete. It's good to be here.

Purdue Pete: I feel bad. I can't believe I have gone almost the whole the season without interviewing a mascot from the Big 12.

Herbie: No problem, better late than never.

Purdue Pete: A lot of the mascots I've interviewed are named after something having to do with their school or state. Tennessee's Smokey is named after the Smokey Mountains. Big Al is short for Alabama. So where does the name Herbie come from?

Herbie: There is not really a story like that. It was just the name I was given when I was born.

Herbie: Most people don't know what my name is. So they don't know enough to make fun of me. Most people just call me The Husker or Harry The Husker. You know, back in the day before I was born, we were called the Bug Eaters instead of the Huskers. So, it is a big step up.

Purdue Pete: That is a big step up. So, fans from other schools don't make fun of you because of your name?

Herbie: No. They just make fun of me for my silly grin and big floppy hat. They may also make fun of me because I'm starting to get a little large around the waistline. But I don't mind. My fans love me. That's all that matters.

Purdue Pete: I have to admit, when I think about Nebraska, the first mascot that comes to mind is one of those giant inflatable mascots I always see on TV.

Herbie: You're referring to Lil' Red.

Purdue Pete: He seems to be getting a lot of fame. What's the relationship between you two? I mean, in my opinion you're getting upstaged by an oversized balloon.

Herbie: We get along fine. He's younger and more adorable. I'm getting older and more tired. So I let him go out and do more events. At first I was a little jealous. But let's face it, the guy is cute.

Purdue Pete: Are you even a little worried you're going to be replaced?

Herbie: Oh, no. He shows up to a lot of sports on campus. But I will always be true to football. And I'm the official mascot. Like I said, he is really good at ...

At that moment there is a knock at the door of the room where we were conducting the interview and in walks Lil' Red.

Herbie: Speak of the devil.

Herbie (left) and Lil' Red (right) work as a team to get the Nebraska crowd into the game.

Purdue Pete: Hey, Lil' Red. We were just talking about you.

Lil' Red: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt.

Purdue Pete: No problem. Do you have a few minutes to answer some questions?

Lil' Red: Sure.

Purdue Pete: This is a treat. Well, a lot of the other mascots I've talked with this season are not too thrilled with the recent popularity of these inflatable mascots. What do you have to say about this discriminatory attitude?

Lil' Red: It's an injustice. We're mascots, too. I think other mascots just don't understand us. And maybe they're a little intimidated by the tricks we can do. But until you get know me and see what I can do, I wish people would hold their opinions. But I must say, I have yet to see one who looks as good as me.

Purdue Pete: Have you met quite a few?

Lil' Red: Not too many. At least not from other schools. I see a lot promotional mascots. Like from radio stations or something like that. I'm just a little worried that it is turning into a fad. I'm not a fad. I'm here to stay. It is important to note that there are two types. The 10-foot mascots and the eight-foot mascots. I'm one of the eight-foot mascots. I'm still very agile and quick. Some of the 10-foot mascots are just too big and goofy looking. Texas just got one of those 10-foot mascots. It is this enormous bull wearing silly chaps. He looks silly. Some have it and some don't - he doesn't.

Purdue Pete: Didn't you win the national title last year?

Lil' Red: Yes I did. I won the National Cheerleading Association (NCA) title last year.

Purdue Pete: Are you the first inflatable mascot to win a national title?

Lil' Red: I believe so.

Purdue Pete: What did you do?

Lil' Red: I just did some tricks. One of my favorites was squirting milk out of my eye. Like that guy does on the David Letterman show from time-to-time. Then I road a go-ped and jumped over four cars. I walked on stage without my head and made it appear after I found it in this box.

Purdue Pete: Sounds a little morbid.

Lil' Red: It was a little.

Purdue Pete: But it must have been entertaining enough to win the national title. Where do you go from here?

Lil' Red: I'm going after the other national mascot title, with the Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA). That's where the big boys are. Big Al, Aubie from Auburn and my friend Smokey. They fight for the title each year. I'm going to throw my hat into the ring.

Purdue Pete: We asked Herbie about how he got along with you. How do you get along with Herbie?

The two generations of mascots never stop the action-packed entertainment for crowds around the Big 12.

Lil' Red: He's been a great mentor. He's taught me everything I know.

Purdue Pete: Even how to squirt milk from your eye?

Lil' Red: OK, maybe not everything. But he's been great. He's like my Yoda.

Purdue Pete: Maybe Herbie can teach me the Jedi mind trick so I can use it on Bucky the Badger this weekend. Herbie what do you say?

Herbie: We'll have to talk after the interview about that. It sounds like you want to use it for evil. But I will say that Lil' Red has been a great student. You know, he started out just doing volleyball matches and the people just loved him. So he started going to women's basketball games and eventually men's basketball and football games. He goes to a bunch of events now. Like I said before, it's easier on me.

Purdue Pete: Sounds like you guys are a good team. Have you ever worked together?

Herbie: All the time. Last year Lil' Red and I were going against some dragon mascot at a football game. He came after me, so we started dueling with swords. When he wasn't looking, Lil' Red came by and hid behind him. I backed the dragon toward Lil' Red so the dragon would fall backwards over Lil' Red. When he was on the ground, I finhed him off. The crowd loved it.

Purdue Pete: Lil' Red, do you ever battle other mascots on your own?

Lil' Red: Sure. I went against Truman the Tiger from Missouri in Missouri one year. That was interesting.

Purdue Pete: I bet, I heard that is a tough place to play.

Lil' Red: It is. Well, we're getting ready to fight and he pulls out this giant needle - my Achilles' heal. Well, there was nothing I could do. He popped me and I just deflated right there on the field. Luckily our cheerleaders were there to bring me back to life. It was a very traumatic experience.

Purdue Pete: So, is it always that crazy to play at Missouri?

Lil' Red: Oh, it's horrible. They cart people out of that place in groups, because they are so out of control. I got attacked up there by a group of fraternity guys. They tried to yank me into the stands. Their security guards stopped the whole thing. I guess they are bitter about how we stole a game from them a couple of years ago. It was one of those last-plays-of-the-game type of things. There's still some bad blood.

Purdue Pete: I remember that game. The Missouri fans had rushed the field because they thought they had won the game. But they had to be cleared because there was still time on the clock. And you guys ended up scoring to win the game. Then you went on to win the national title.

Lil' Red: That's the one.

Purdue Pete: That was crazy. I can see why they would be upset. But they shouldn't try to pull you into the stands. Well, I hate to end this on a sour story, but I have to get going. Herbie, thanks a lot for talking with us.

Herbie: My pleasure.

Purdue Pete: And Lil' Red, I'm glad you came by. It was a real treat.

Lil' Red: It was fun. Oh, and I heard you what you said about me being an oversized balloon.

Purdue Pete: Oops, sorry about that.

Lil' Red: That's OK. Go Huskers!