 "Photo: N/A")
After Saturday’s football game, fans seemed untroubled by her unconventional portrayal of the icon. West Virginia University’s newest Mountaineer, Rebecca Durst, is only the second female to don the mascot’s buckskins.
Durst said she did not see any resistance or experience negative feedback during the first home football game of the season. Similarly, Cassie Werner, director of the Mountaineer Maniacs, said Durst was well-received by the student section.
Kasey Jagger, a freshman pre-forensics major, said she was hesitant to support Durst in the position at first because of her gender, but was impressed by her performance.
"She was cheering and doing everything I thought the Mountaineer should be doing," Jagger said. "I thought she did good and went out there and did her best, even though some people were a little put off by the fact that she didn’t have a beard."
Jagger was happy the student body seems to accept Durst in the position, citing their positive reaction at Saturday’s game as proof.
Ryan Eaton, a freshman pre-elementary education major, echoed Jagger’s sentiment, applauding Durst for attaining the position and the fans for supporting her.
He noted, however, that he had "always grown-up looking at the guy Mountaineer with the beard, the coonskin hat and all that."
Adam Hough, a freshman pre-sports management major, said his judgement of Durst will always be clouded because she does not fit his image of the mascot. He added, though, that Durst exceeded his expectations on game day.
"Before I thought, ‘you know, we’re the Mountaineers not the Mountainettes,’ but she did okay considering everyone is against her," he said. "She could have done worse, and she definitely could have done better, but I think for being in her position that she did ok."
Several students complained that Durst did not wear the traditional coonskin hat at Saturday’s game, and some criticized her push-ups. Some said they were indifferent to Durst’s appearance during the game.
"Mascots don’t really play an important role in my sport-watching," said Adam Batty, a junior civil engineering major. "It doesn’t make a difference whether it’s a guy or a girl for me."
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