{"id":7633,"date":"2015-10-16T13:06:08","date_gmt":"2015-10-16T13:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=7633&post_type=story"},"modified":"2023-11-20T20:48:59","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T20:48:59","slug":"building-character","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Character"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fall 2015<\/em><\/p>\n

[lead]During the spring of 1995,\u00a0I was a typical freshman\u00a0engineering student with\u00a0my head buried in the books. The university was still finding its \u201cspirit legs,\u201d and it was common for students to wear apparel from other colleges on campus. New traditions were in the making at UCF, and there were rumors of a new Golden Knight appearing around campus.[\/lead]<\/p>\n

[photo id=”7796″ title=”UCF mascot Glycerin” alt=”UCF mascot Glycerin” position=”right” width=”300px”]UCF mascot Glycerin made her debut at Homecoming in 1996.[\/photo]<\/p>\n

Intrigued, I approached cheerleading head coach Linda Gooch, \u201985<\/strong>, at a basketball game\u00a0and asked if they were looking for someone to be the mascot. Linda\u00a0said, \u201cAre you kidding? We have been looking everywhere.\u201d She connected me with Trey Gordon, \u201996<\/strong>, the cheerleader who had become the new costumed character. And with Gooch\u2019s encouragement, plus training from Gordon, I embarked on a journey that few freshmen have experienced \u2014 becoming one of the students behind the Knightro mask.<\/p>\n

In addition to giving life to Knightro, it was the responsibility of the mascot squad to create a new element for Homecoming each year. Two days before the 1996 event, Knightro had a huge problem \u2014 no date. How could it be that the most\u00a0handsome and charming of all UCF Knights had no companion lined\u00a0up for the most spirited week of the school year? The clock was ticking \u2014 then I had an idea. \u201cWe still have the old costume from last year,\u201d I said. \u201cLet\u2019s make a girlfriend for Knightro.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the help of the Student Government Association Spirit Office, the mascot team began doing what\u00a0we did best \u2014 improvising. Some hunted down the perfect pieces to transform the old costume, while the rest of us planned the unveiling. And with a curly blonde wig, a size 5XL sports bra from Wal-Mart and a giant golden bow, the character began to take shape. We were still gluing on her red construction paper lips 15 minutes before her big reveal at the Homecoming pep rally.<\/p>\n

The plan went perfectly. The Marching Knights and cheerleaders led a parade to the front of the Reflecting Pond, where the master of ceremonies announced the Lady Knight \u201ctryouts.\u201d First he called\u00a0up a student to tell a joke, because Knightro had a great sense of humor. Knightro was not impressed. Next, the mascot needed a girl who was\u00a0fit, so she could keep up during\u00a0his numerous event appearances.<\/p>\n

Another student was called onstage and did 10 impressive pushups, but didn\u2019t make the cut. Finally, the announcer suggested that Knightro needed a girlfriend who was classy. After all, he was an important and famous Knight. Suddenly, the song \u201cBad to the Bone\u201d began to play, and the crowd parted. The Lady Knight made her way to the stage aboard\u00a0a golf cart \u201cchariot.\u201d Knightro was smitten, and Glycerin was born.<\/p>\n

The following year, UCF Athletics gave the spirit program $5,000 to hire a company to design a professional Glycerin costume. She made appearances for the next three years, until the university decided to focus on Knightro as the singular UCF icon.<\/p>\n

Today one of my recruits for the mascot team, Mike Callahan, \u201905<\/strong>, coaches the program. And every time I return to campus for a game and shake Knightro\u2019s hand, I\u2019m filled with pride because I realize that though\u00a0I started out in the Citrus Bowl with thousands of empty seats, Knightro has gone on to perform for sold-out crowds at Bright House Networks Stadium and during nationally televised bowl victories. Through this one faceless character, we have all been part of an incredible journey.<\/p>\n

ILLUSTRATION BY VICTOR DAVILA, \u201997<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7747,"template":"","categories":[],"tags":[865,664,868],"class_list":["post-7633","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-knightro","tag-reflecting-pond","tag-spirit-splash","issues-520","issues-fall-2015"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Knightro landed a date for Spirit Splash<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"UCF Mascot Stories: Creating Glycerin the Lady Knight from spare parts, a giant golden bow, a Wal-Mart sports bra and red cardboard lips at Homecoming 1996.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Building Character\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"UCF Mascot Stories: Creating Glycerin the Lady Knight from spare parts, a giant golden bow, a Wal-Mart sports bra and red cardboard lips at Homecoming 1996.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pegasus Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UCF\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-20T20:48:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2015\/10\/THUMBNAIL_Fall2015_BuildingCharacter.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"220\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"230\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@UCF\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/\",\"name\":\"How Knightro landed a date for Spirit Splash\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2015\/10\/THUMBNAIL_Fall2015_BuildingCharacter.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-10-16T13:06:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-20T20:48:59+00:00\",\"description\":\"UCF Mascot Stories: Creating Glycerin the Lady Knight from spare parts, a giant golden bow, a Wal-Mart sports bra and red cardboard lips at Homecoming 1996.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2015\/10\/THUMBNAIL_Fall2015_BuildingCharacter.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2015\/10\/THUMBNAIL_Fall2015_BuildingCharacter.jpg\",\"width\":220,\"height\":230},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Building Character\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/\",\"name\":\"Pegasus Magazine\",\"description\":\"The Magazine of University of Central Florida\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/#local-main-organization-logo\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\",\"caption\":\"University of Central Florida\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Knightro landed a date for Spirit Splash","description":"UCF Mascot Stories: Creating Glycerin the Lady Knight from spare parts, a giant golden bow, a Wal-Mart sports bra and red cardboard lips at Homecoming 1996.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Building Character","og_description":"UCF Mascot Stories: Creating Glycerin the Lady Knight from spare parts, a giant golden bow, a Wal-Mart sports bra and red cardboard lips at Homecoming 1996.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/","og_site_name":"Pegasus Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UCF","article_modified_time":"2023-11-20T20:48:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":220,"height":230,"url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2015\/10\/THUMBNAIL_Fall2015_BuildingCharacter.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@UCF","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/","name":"How Knightro landed a date for Spirit Splash","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2015\/10\/THUMBNAIL_Fall2015_BuildingCharacter.jpg","datePublished":"2015-10-16T13:06:08+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-20T20:48:59+00:00","description":"UCF Mascot Stories: Creating Glycerin the Lady Knight from spare parts, a giant golden bow, a Wal-Mart sports bra and red cardboard lips at Homecoming 1996.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2015\/10\/THUMBNAIL_Fall2015_BuildingCharacter.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/4\/files\/2015\/10\/THUMBNAIL_Fall2015_BuildingCharacter.jpg","width":220,"height":230},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Building Character"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/","name":"Pegasus Magazine","description":"The Magazine of University of Central Florida","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/building-character\/#local-main-organization-logo","url":"","contentUrl":"","caption":"University of Central Florida"}]}},"acf":[],"story_subtitle":"","story_description":"How Knightro landed a date for Homecoming","story_thumbnail":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/7633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/story"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/7633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24614,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story\/7633\/revisions\/24614"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}