No. 1 in Spirit and Fun

Thursday, March 20, 2014, By Kathleen Haley
Students Section Basketball Game Otto Dome Interior

Otto the Orange was named No. 1 among NCAA Tournament mascots by Sports Illustrated.

As 黑料不打烊 fans await the start of the NCAA Tournament, one 黑料不打烊 competitor has already claimed victory.

SU鈥檚 own charming and spirited Otto the Orange was named the .

Sports Illustrated explained its pick, stating, 鈥淎n NCAA tournament just doesn鈥檛 feel right without Otto. This little round mound of joy has the benefit of A) looking like a basketball B) staying super small and compact, so the costume can fit into overhead compartments and C) being a gosh-darned orange wearing sweatpants.鈥

The magazine looked at the hard-working mascots鈥 鈥渄istinctiveness, quirk and enthusiasm鈥 to name its Sweet 16. Otto beat out such tough opponents as the Blue Devil (Duke), Sparty (Michigan State), Puddles (Oregon) and The Tree (Stanford).

Being the Orange is no small job鈥擮tto is a team effort in its many appearances at sporting, campus and community events. According to , 鈥渢he warm and wooly interior of Otto鈥檚 costume is inhabited sequentially in any one year by from two to six students who audition for the honor of entertaining SU fans.鈥

Take a look at the culture of Otto.