Mascot: Goldie
"Goldie"(1994-)
Goldie at Deformity Field
Goldie is great!!
He is accurately (in my opinion) as the "best mascot in the league."
Goldie is a strange baseball beast with long snout, baseball ears and first base strung to his rear end. He is the most animated and amusing of the league's mascots.
From the "Will Ump for Food" sign to "beating up" on fellow mascots (or opposing players) he is consistently funny. He was better at the old field where he used all the empty spaces as his playground and could even waterski the astroturf (putting it to good use for something).
Goldie put on quite a show trying to out do the Famous Chicken made his first Winnipeg visit ('94). He "took me on" on my '97 visit, trying to cover me with silly string one night.
"The Goldie Incident"
In '98 he took on Matt Nokes who chased him around the stadium and pinned him to the wall (probably not as a joke since Matt was tired of him pounding on the visitor's dugout. This made the (Canadian) national press with a "Call to arms to all the mascots of Manitoba." Later that season, the two shook hands and made up.
Fans
Goldie leading cheers from the grandstand
Fish Fans follow Goldie and the Ushers
The stadium can be quiet, no matter how many fans are there. Goldie or the ushers will get them cheering and they do get behind their guys. The atmosphere at the Fish Bowl is more friendly and intimate and the crowds more active than in the past.
Nearly everyone has a "clapper" (plastic hands that "do the clapping for you") including all the ushers. Even when Goldie isn't around, the ushers will start up the unmistakable "rattle" or clap of these noisemakers. You can join in since they're sold in the souvenir shops and even some vendors walking the stands.
Turnouts were always good, now they've become outstanding for the new park. Crowd size varies depending on hockey season, (Bomber) football games and promotions. Because of the nearly unlimited capacity at the old park, the Goldeye's set a minor league attendance mark for a single games in the 20,000 range. Now that number tops out around 7,000.
Another thing to keep an eye out for is the numerous promotions where food is tossed to the crowd. They continue to toss free sunflower seeds, "squishy balls," cheese sticks, beef sticks, candy bars, and even ice cream sandwiches to the crowds as the did at the old park.