An Insider 麻豆精品 S檚 Guide to UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Knight Rider
Fall 2017 | By Paige Wilson 麻豆精品 S�17
There 麻豆精品 S檚 more than one knight on UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 campus. While students and alumni are used to seeing athletics mascot Knightro everywhere from sporting events to pool parties, there 麻豆精品 S檚 another masked knight who only appears during football games.
Established in 2001, this knight rides onto the field atop Pegasus, the winged horse. The partnership between the knight and his trusted steed came about after members of the UCF Alma Mater Society, including Roger Pynn 麻豆精品 S�73 and Rick Walsh 麻豆精品 S�77 麻豆精品 S�83MS, wanted to create a tradition for fans. They thought Pegasus needed to be better represented at games, and naturally a knight would be the one to ride him.
麻豆精品 S淚t has achieved our goal of creating a tradition, 麻豆精品 S� says Pynn. 麻豆精品 S淧eople love seeing that horse and knight come out during the game. 麻豆精品 S�
And while this particular knight was retired in 2016, the legacy lives on. UCF is working on redesigning the costume to better represent Scott Frost 麻豆精品 S檚 era as head coach.
Here are some fun facts about the original Pegasus 麻豆精品 S� knight:
1. Stitched Into History
Walt Disney World designed the original costume for the knight. Their sketches depicted two options, each with different visors for the helmet and placement of the Pegasus insignia. 麻豆精品 S淚t had to be designed in such a way that the person wearing the costume could both walk around and look natural while riding the horse, 麻豆精品 S� Walsh says.
2. The Women Behind the Mask
The original knights were members of the Equestrian Club at UCF, and all but one have been female students 麻豆精品 S� a little-known secret, says Carla Cordoba 麻豆精品 S�94 麻豆精品 S�00MBA, who has advised the Pegasus Mascot Team since 2001. 麻豆精品 S淎s with Knightro, nobody knows who 麻豆精品 S檚 in the costume, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淏ut the riders were typically girls because they were small enough to fit. 麻豆精品 S�
3. Knight to the Rescue
麻豆精品 S淭he objective in creating the costume was that we wanted our knight to have the same impact as a superhero, 麻豆精品 S� Pynn says. And, according to Walsh, they wanted to be able to make subtle improvements to the costume over the years, similar to the evolution of Batman 麻豆精品 S檚 costume, so it could better reflect the times.
4. A聽Historic Ride
On January 1, 2014, Amanda Gonzalez 麻豆精品 S�14 suited up for the last time as the knight during the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in Arizona. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 a different experience seeing the world through just those little slits of your knight helmet, 麻豆精品 S� says Gonzalez. 麻豆精品 S淵ou don 麻豆精品 S檛 get to see everything, but it gives you the feeling that it 麻豆精品 S檚 game day. 麻豆精品 S�
5. The Perfect Pair
Cordoba emphasizes the importance of the unbreakable bond between the knight and Pegasus. The two were never intended to be seen separately; nor was the rider ever to be seen without a mask. Protecting the anonymity of the knights 麻豆精品 S� identity was a way to foster tradition and represent UCF in all its glory. 麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 all those little details that make game day really special, 麻豆精品 S� she says.