BY ASHLEY LABERGE
Although he spent the past season cheering on the Sudbury
Wolves, Tim Morgan wants people to know there is more to him
than the team's well-known mascot Howler.
Cambrian advertising student by day, six-foot-six wolf by
night, this modern-day werewolf is a well-rounded entertainer,
doing everything from stand-up comedy, to radio, to his role as
a mascot. Nearing the end of his fifth season, cheering
for the team on their home ice in the Sudbury Arena, Morgan
says playing the role of Howler is a rewarding job. Being
looked up to by children and appreciated by many Sudbury Wolves
fans, he describes what it takes to fill Howler's paws: "You
have to be able to deal with the public, you have to be very
patient with them at times as well, and you have to be
creative," he said.
After one experience, he has learned not to anything
strenuous prior to a game.
"I was doing a cheer, 'Go Wolves Go,' but I had done a lot
of arm exercises that day, and on the 'Go,' my grip was weak,
and I launched the paddle straight up into the air," Morgan
says. "It must have gone 20 feet in the air, came down
and landed right next to a little kid in the stands."
Overall, the job has been a positive experience for
Morgan.
He says his role as mascot is reasonably important to the
team, depending on their mood and reaction to the crowd.
As Howler, Morgan has done more than just games. In the
past, he has attended many Skate with the Wolves sessions, as
well as visited Wolves' prospects at Countryside Arena.
He has attended Easter Seals fundraisers and performed at
promotion events for stores around the city. He recently
worked with the Little Native Hockey League from March 12 to
16.
Morgan says since he began as Howler nearly five seasons
ago, there have been some improvements to the job. He
helped design the new Howler suit, and made sure to include a
mostly foam-filled head so he could still perform his famous
maneuver of affectionately biting the heads of young
fans. However, the biggest improvement, in Morgan's
opinion was the addition of Howler Helpers. The team of
helpers, which includes Morgan's girlfriend Jen, assist him by
organizing children for autographs and bringing along his
markers and dressing-room keys.
"Howler Helpers have really made the job easier since the
third season," Morgan says. "Little things like that have made
such a big difference to the job."
Morgan says although he enjoys playing a type of superhero
persona, trying to find a balance between Howler and his other
hobbies can be difficult.
"You do some things in the suit that you'd never do outside
of it. Being a stand-up comedian, when you're on stage,
everyone is looking at your skin, looking at you," he says.
"When you're in a mascot suit, it's like a shield. When
everyone in the stands is looking at me, I don't feel like
they're looking at me, their sight stops at the suit."
Morgan says it is nice to get recognition from stand-up
comedy and as an emerging radio personality, but when it comes
to Howler, it is a love-hate relationship. He wants to be
recognized and accredited for his work, but at the same time,
wants to maintain a certain level of anonymity.
As much as he loves his job, Morgan does have a life outside
of Howler.
Originally from Sault St. Marie, Morgan has worked for Rogers Radio in inside sales and has been performing stand-up comedy since 1997.
He started his comedic performances at YukYuk's in the City
Centre during their local talent nights. But once the
establishment closed, he moved on to other things. He
hosted the Spring Foodshare Variety Show, and was the feature
act the following year. He has also hosted the Lions Club
lobster dinner charity auction and has performed at former
venues around Sudbury including Club Galaxy, Tin Pan Alley and
Seven.
Morgan co-hosts a radio show on CKLU radio with friend
Dwayne Lemieux, who hosted Comedy Idol in Timmins. Their
show, entitled A-PAC, which Morgan says stands for "Almost
Professional Amateur Comics" airs from 6 to 7 pm on Wednesdays.
"[On the show] we talk about worldly events both real and
imagined," Morgan describes. "It's a comedy talk show.
Generally, we find weird stories that are happening anywhere in
the world."
Morgan and his co-host Lemieux plan on recording two-minute
radio demos and sending them to major broadcasters, in hopes of
having their show picked up. If that does not work out,
Morgan says he will use his Cambrian education to get a job at
a radio station as a copywriter and on-air personality.
"I'll probably be Howler for another year, and round out six
seasons," says Morgan, "I'm probably going to hang it up at
that point, I'll be 30 at that time, I think that's about as
old as I want to get and still be Howler."
Morgan is finishing his job placement in the advertising program and plans on taking the Broadcast New Media program next year.
Ashley Laberge is a first-year journalism student at Cambrian College.
