The CQUniversity Northern University Games has opened with a bang, led by none other than the new CQUniversity mascot Birdy McBirdface (but you can call him “Birdy”). We sat down with Birdy McBirdface to learn more about the complex social and sporting life of this remarkable addition to the CQUniversity family.
How excited are you for the Northern University Games?
I’m so excited that I had to put an extra layer of newspaper down on the floor of my house. I know it’s too early to make the call just yet, but historians will probably say that the 2017 CQUniversity Northern University Games were better than the 1984 Royal Scottish Pigeon Racing Championships.
What is your first memory?
My mother regurgitating grubs into my mouth while my sister tried throwing me out of the nest to my death – good times!
When did you know you wanted to be a mascot?
Growing up, I always dreamt of being a World Champion middle-distance runner, but a freak accident in 2014 (I flew into a sliding glass door) forced me to abandon my dreams. I hit rock bottom, and began hanging out with Ibis’ at the park. It was another mascot (Joe Blake, the CQUniversity Cairns Taipans mascot) that found me, cleaned me up and convinced me that the life of a bin chicken is no way to live, and showed me the mascot way. I haven’t eaten out of a bin for 2 years now and becoming a mascot has changed my life – I’m living a new dream!
You are quite the dancer on the sidelines at sporting events – where do you get your love of performing to an audience?
There is nothing more satisfying than making kids shriek with joy and excitement – anyone who has ever accidently flown into the classroom of a primary school would know what I mean. When I perform, its almost like an out-of-body experience; I feel like I’m an overheating CQUniversity Student Ambassador trapped in the body of a giant foam bird.
If you weren’t living in Rockhampton, where would you fly to?
Probably somewhere exotic and iconic like Paris, Rio de Janeiro or Gracemere.
Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
We’ll never reveal our bird secrets.
