Anonymous Student Carries on Howie’s Legacy
Howie buzzes with excitement during the Homecoming parade. Photo credit: Rana Abedo
By ASHLEY YE
Rallying the crowd in a 25 pound suit with his honey-sweet cheers, this black and yellow striped wasp isn’t afraid to sting rivals. Midwood’s mascot Howie the Hornet proudly stands for school spirit and good luck, but likes to keep an anonymous profile.
“The secret identity is all part of the mascot concept,” Howie said through an email exchange. The mystery creates curiosity.
“When I first saw the email about tryouts, I joked around with my friends that I would try out,” he said. “Suffice to say, they tried talking me out of it. I went through with it anyway. As the saying goes: no harm, no foul.”
Howie has learned to work through discomfort. “The suit can get really humid,” he said, “and I’m carrying maybe 25 extra pounds on me. That gets physically exhausting quickly. Putting on the suit is also a three person job, and that can get a little annoying, too.”
The best part is “getting to run around in the costume and interact with people casually, and even though I’m in the suit, the reactions are hilarious,” he said.
Howie appears in games and events to rally up the crowd. “It’s honestly really cute to see people get excited when they see me walking through the halls or at games,” Howie said.
One of Howie’s favorite memories is last year’s open house. Seniors were able to get pictures with Howie during their last year.
“The juniors and sophomores there got really excited, too,” he said. “It was great to see that a mascot brings so much joy to people.”
Although Spirit Days and game days in Midwood are set to celebrate school pride, Howie feels as if the school can never have too much spirit.
He said, “I hope I can get everyone excited about whatever I am doing. It was kind of sad at first to see how few people actually came out for games and events, but I’ve slowly seen more people come out and get excited and hyped up for stuff.” Howie encouraged students and faculty to attend more events and games.
Freshmen may assume that Howie has been around forever, but that’s not the case. In fact, Midwood students haven’t always been known as the Hornets. We were the Midwood’s men in 1951, and each sports team had a different name -- for example, “Aquamen” for the swimming team. In 1963, the Argus held a contest to choose an official nickname. The “Blue Jays” won. But then suddenly, we were the Hornets, with no recorded explanation. Since 2018, we’ve had a secret Midwood student fill the shoes of our mascot Howie the Hornet.
Kelly Luo ’21 likes the idea of the mascot and hopes to see him at more team games, not just football. “Every time someone sees Howie, it’s like ‘spot Waldo,’” she said. “The mascot shows team spirit. Every team always screams ‘Hornets’ before going into a game. It’d be nice if he could be there.”
If you’re an underclassman interested in inspiring school spirit, consider trying out during Howie auditions next year for the opportunity to continue this unique legacy.