Chip was keeping it real at a recent U of Colorado game in Boulder. With his team down he found some other ways to pass the time.
Natural reactions like this, which might seem like the character is giving up, can actually be a positive. They give the character depth and relatability, since everyone in the building shares Chips dismay over the current state of affairs.
To take the example to the extremes, what is more relatable and authentic for the mascot during a blowout: Playing Solitaire or Trying to Start a Wave?
If Chip was up in the stands trying to work a slow clap he looks out of touch and loses the connection with his fans. Here he finds a way to relate to them in a memorable way.
Chip, CU’s buffalo character mascot, has appeared at games and university events since the 1980s. He dances, jokes and even brings along his family members to join the fun. Here are 10 fun facts about Chip the Buffalo, the life of every CU campus party.
- Chip can be found at CU football, basketball and volleyball games, as well as at other community, campus and charity events.
- To ensure that everyone who plays Chip performs similarly, the students attend a camp over the summer to train. While there, they do drills to practice walking, taking big steps and turning their heads.
- Chip is a part of the University of Colorado Spirit Program, which also includes the dance team and cheer team.
- In a normal year, Chip makes anywhere from 300 to 400 appearances.
- All of the students who perform as Chip must maintain anonymity to protect the character.
- Six to eight students per year split the duties as Chip.
- The head of the Chip costume is a hockey helmet with foam and steel added to create Chip’s likeness. It weighs somewhere between 7 and 8 pounds.
- Chip once conducted an orchestra at Macky Auditorium.
- Children who join the Chip Kid’s Club can get a special personalized note on their birthdays from the mascot himself.
- Chip has won three first-place Universal Cheerleaders Association National Championships. He took home back-to-back wins in 2009 and 2010, and he most recently won in 2020.
