Monday, January 19, 2009

Where Aren't They Now: 53

Jordan was the man behind his high school mascot, Toro.

He accepted the responsibility because he needed the hours-- any non-athlete at his high school had a certain amount of service hours to fulfill. Playing the bull racked up hours quickly, while giving Jordan the isolation he sought out.

The more he played Toro, the more he loved it. He felt as so many other have when putting on a mask: that he could be anyone, have another personality completely. Toro wasn't awkward and never stuttered. Toro was vivacious, flirtatious, outrageous. Jordan found he could be all these things while wearing the horns (and only while wearing the horns).

This escapism made the rest of Jordan's high school life difficult, of course. He was constantly moving toward the next game, the next school function. When Jordan began showing up at scrimmages and other minor events that weren't on Toro's official schedule, school administrators were forced to strip Jordan of his mascot privledges.

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