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| Due to popular demand, here is and article about life after that famous fight between the Wolves mascot ‘Wolfie’ and the Bristol City pigs. This article is taken from monthly football magazine Four Four Two. All credit to them for this article. To receive a subscription to Four Four Two, e-mail them at haymarket@galleon.co.uk or fax them at 01795 414555. ‘A BLOKE IN WOLF’S CLOTHING’ Ex-Wolverhampton Wanderers mascot Steve Burd opens his heart about thetrials and tribulations of life as Wolfie. It’s been hard. It wasn’t about the pigs, reckons Steve Bird. It wasn’t even about Wolfie taking off his costume when Wolves played West Brom at Molineux on 3 October. The severing of the ties between Wolves and Wolfie was about power, says 34-year old Bird, who was the Wolfie whose theft of The Three Little Pigs’ football prompted the massed mascot battle when Bristol City played Wolves at Ashton Gate last March. “It was a constant battle with the club regarding what mascots are all about” says Bird. “I’ve always thought clubs should do more for the fans to see. That’s the real reason I go involved. Obviously some people may think I went too far and the pig story possibly looked like a big thug having a fight. It was more a case of whether you interpret it as good entertainment. It was funny. People were laughing, people were crying. From Bristol City fans’ point of view it was probably the best part of the day because their team got murdered!” The ‘Day of Pigs’ caused irreparable damage to Bird’s relationship with Wolves, however. As history has shown, creative minds often feel stiffled by bureaucracy, and this proved to be the case in Wolverhampton. Eventually, frustrated by the oppressive regime, Bird did the unthinkable when Wolves played West Brom: he removed his wolf costume in full view of the crowd, revealing himself to be a hurt man, not a wolf. With that, he says, his relationship with the club ended. “He took his costume off on the pitch” a Wolves spokesperosn told FourForTwo.“That’s absolutely a no-no. We haven’t had any contact since then.” “It was a display of defiance”, syas Bird. “Probably my worst idea, actually, but I did it.” Nevertheless, he has regrets. “ I was made for that job, I’m an artist and a bit of a nutcase, as you can perhaps imagine.” The whole affair believes Bird, raises fundamental questions about the role of the mascot: do they have a duty to actively entertain the fans? I’d love to know if the people in the suits, the people I used to meet, are happy walking around and waving, or whether they are as fustrated as I was,” says Bird. Even after he is forgotten by the rest of the world, there is no escape for Bird from the event that began the trail to his loss of Wolfie status. “I’m a signwriter. Eighty per cent of my time I write things like “Pork chops 99p lb” and every time I have those pigs in my mind. It’s going to live with me forever. I deal with butchers on a regular basis. Ironic really, isn’t it?” |
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