RVHS grad enjoys time as Bowling Green mascot

Abbey Warschauer had a secret identity this year at Bowling Green State University. The 2016 River View High School graduate was recently revealed as one of the school’s Frieda Falcon mascots. Contributed | Beacon

COSHOCTON – Abbey Warschauer had a secret identity this year at Bowling Green State University.

The 2016 River View High School graduate was recently revealed as one of the school’s Frieda Falcon mascots.

“I love BGSU,” said Warschauer, who is a junior majoring in creative writing. “It’s an incredible school and community that has given so much to me. I wanted to be Frieda Falcon because of my passion for this school and because I wanted to do something for BGSU.”

Being Freddie or Frieda Falcon is a one year time commitment and the selection process is a secret.

“My time at BGSU has been the best years of my life, and I wanted to show my appreciation for the school by giving back and serving this amazing community through the mascot,” Warschauer said.

The mascots attend every home basketball and football game and there is an online form people can fill out to request their appearance at other events.

“From when I started to the end of the year 2018, I have done about 100 events,” Warschauer said. “I’ve done events like going to a flute concert, homecoming parade, athletics award ceremonies, and even some off-campus events like weddings. As the mascot, my job is to represent BGSU and bring spirit and joy into every event I go to. Sometimes I’m there for photos, to run up and down the bleachers at a football game, to play mascot games during halftime, or just liven up a small event that could use some Freddie and Frieda love and encouragement.”

Hiding your identity also is a big part of the job.

“Secrecy is one of the four pillars of being a BGSU mascot and is super important and precious to us,” Warschauer said. “Generally, the more causal you are about it, the less likely people are to prod and ask a lot of questions. I tried to keep every answer normal and basic to avoid suspicion. If I felt like people were suspicious, I would later that day or the next day talk about how annoyed I was with being so busy.”

She was really nervous about finally being revealed as one of the school’s mascots.

“The secret we’ve kept for almost a year is precious to us, and it was difficult just letting it go,” Warschauer said. “However, it was an amazing day, and I was really excited to tell everyone about this amazing experience. The best part of the whole day was definitely seeing everyone’s faces when I was revealed then hugging my sibs. Being there with my other Freddie and Frieda Falcons was a magical moment. I love each of them so much and being with them and hugging them on our big day was just pure magic.”

Everyone was surprised and shocked to find out she was one of the mascots.

“I don’t have the stereotypical mascot personality, so no one expected it to be me,” Warschauer said. “It was so funny seeing their jaw dropped reactions.”

While she cannot be Frieda Falcon again, Warschauer will get to be a “bird mom.”

“Since I still have one more year of undergrad at BGSU, I will be there to help the new birds as much as I can and be a part of the encouraging and supportive bird community,” she said.

Category: People & Places