But being Cocky
is also about getting personal satisfaction from entertaining
and bringing joy to others. “You’ve
got to be dedicated to it and have a passion for it,” Ballentine
said. “If you put your heart and soul into it, people
can see it, even through the suit.”
One of Ballentine’s off-campus appearances as
Cocky was to the Connie Maxwell Children’s Home,
a place for abused and neglected children.
The visit was arranged by Miller Murphy,
the home’s director
of communications and a USC graduate.
“Cocky may be the National Mascot of the year, but
he’s Connie Maxwell’s mascot, too. I can’t
say enough about what that bird did
for us,” Murphy
said. He could see the visit brightened
the evening for the kids as they
bombarded Cocky with hugs at every
opportunity. Watch
Video>
Although another student will step up to fill the big shoes,
Jamie, the student, as Cocky, the bird, will be missed, particularly
at the J-School where he’s devoted countless hours
of Cocky time, said the school's director, Dr. Shirley Staples
Carter.
Carter said the J-School is one of the places where Ballentine's
secret identity hasn’t been so secret.
 “We’ve had other journalism students who doubled
as Cocky, and they were always willing to help. But Jamie
has been particularly supportive as Cocky during his four
years as a student and University mascot,” Carter said. “He’s
appeared at numerous special events for us. We even have
an award named for him.”
The Cocky award is given annually to the creators of the
best Super Bowl commercial as judged
by students in Professor Bonnie Drewniany’s Honors class, “Super Bowl
Commercials.”
“I find it quite fitting that Cocky, who happens to
be an ad major, presented the first two Cocky awards to major
players in the advertising industry.” Drewniany said.
In 2004, Ballentine presented the first Cocky to Staples
for the launch of the office supply
chain's “That was
Easy” campaign. Watch
Video>
Although Ballentine has officially retired as USCs No.
1 Cocky and been honored by the University
for his service, he dressed out as Cocky
for the NIT tournament at Madison Square
Garden, where he made his trademark halfcourt
shot at halftime. Read
Jamie's first person account of the shot
and watch video>
Ballentine hopes to replace the Cocky clothes in his closet
with those of a pro team mascot after graduation. But he
says no matter where he goes or how he’s dressed, he’ll
always be Cocky.
 |
Taylor Kearns produced
the video feature about Jamie's career
as Cocky and contributed to this
feature article.
Kearns is from the small
town of Hartsville, S.C., and is
currently a senior in the USC School
of Journalism. After graduation,
he hopes to get a job
either reporting the news or making
feature-length films. |
|
