The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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36 ■ THE WOLFPACKER he continued the fairly new tradition, as did O'Brien's replacement, Dave Doeren in 2013. El Lobo: In the early 1970s, booster Wendell Murphy donated a golf cart with a specially fitted cover that looked like a giant wolf wearing a helmet. For years, the cart carried players, coaches and dig- nitaries onto the playing surface and was a rolling Wolfpack tradition that was even more impressive than the large bass drum the marching band used in the 1950s. El Lobo was discontinued in 1996 when it was damaged by a fallen tree during Hurricane Fran. Local fan Greg Hopkins stored it in a shop at his Wake County hauling and grading company until it was repaired, refurbished and re- turned to service around 2010, proving old traditions can be revived. In-Game Traditions Mascots: As noted above, NC State's student-portrayed mascots, known as Mr. and Ms. Wuf, have been part of game- day entertainment since the early 1960s, when a male cheerleader sewed a costume made of felt to look like a wolf. Ms. Wuf was introduced in 1975, and the two mascots, married during halftime of a men's basketball game in 1981, be- came one of the nation's longest-lasting spirit couples. They are an institution of Wolfpack football that need no further explanation. Live mascots: Through the years, wolves and wolf-like dogs have prowled the sidelines at the stadium, even though wolves are nocturnal creatures that are human-averse. Most attempts to have live mascots have gone awry. Even back at Riddick Stadium, NC State's on-campus football field from 1906-65, live wolves were used on oc- casion, with mostly sad, whimpering results. Wolves were paid for and never delivered. One was rolled onto the field in a cage by two cheerleaders. Another Minnesota timber wolf that debuted to great fanfare in a game against North Carolina had a nervous breakdown after his appearance in front of 40,000 fans. He later slipped into the woods of Wake County, never to be seen again. When Carter Stadium opened in 1966, cheerleaders raised $700 by selling 25- cent shares to buy and care for a fierce- looking, howling wolf that turned out to be a coyote. Not that there's anything wrong with that. "Frankly, I am glad we didn't get a wolf," said zoology professor Fred Barkalow in a student newspaper interview. "Wolves are very high-strung and nervous. They're animals of the wild spaces, and it's cruel and inhumane to subject them to 20,000 howling people. The coyote is a far better mascot. "He has a temperament more like a dog's, and he can stand up to civilization." Lobo III was retired in 1970 and sup- planted by two purebred Siberian Huskies and three Alaska Malamutes, owned by two students. They never caught on, and their use was discontinued when the stu- dents graduated. In 2010, by popular demand, a new live mascot named "Tuffy" debuted in the form of a Tamaskan, a breed that originated in Finland to pull dogsleds. Lisa and Joe Downey of New Bern, N.C., donated all three of the dogs that have served as Tuffy. In recent years, fans became affec- tionately attached to a tee-retrieving Labrador retriever named Ripken the Bat Dog, who began his career in base- ball with the Holly Springs Salamanders and Durham Bulls but was retrained to chase kicking tees for NC State games, just as his father had done at Idaho State. Sadly, Ripken died on New Year's Day of 2025 and will be replaced with his younger brother named Champ. More Traditions: There have been dozens of coach-led, fan-led and market- ing department-led slogans and chants that have added to game-day traditions through the years. Remember "Finish"? "Move the Chains"? "This Is Our State"? "Wagon Wheel"? All of them were popu- lar for short periods of time with ticket holders through the years. One enduring tradition is during the pregame national anthem, when students shout "RED" during the lyric "rockets' red glare" and "WOLFPACK" as the song ends with "home of the brave." Musical Entertainment For more than 125 years, student-per- formed music has been a big part of the football game-day experience at Carter- Finley Stadium. Originally, the ROTC bands played in the stands, followed by the collection of students known as the Red Coat Band or more simply The Marching Band. The school began its music department in 1924 and with a variety of musical pro- grams (orchestra, marching band, concert band and vocal groups). In the 1990s, because of a sponsor- ship with local power company Carolina Power and Light (now Duke Energy), the band began calling itself "The Power Sound of the South." It has since swelled to more than 300 members — players, twirlers, dancers and color guard mem- bers, with new performances at just about Former football coach Bo Rein and NC State chancellor Joab Thomas catch a ride on El Lobo. The famed helmet-shaped cart has been used over the years to ferry players, coaches and dignitaries onto the playing surface at Carter-Finley Stadium. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS