Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Nuggets mascot ‘Rocky’ collapses after being lowered from rafters while motionless
The Point Forward - SI.com: “Rocky” the Nuggets mascot reportedly collapsed on the Pepsi Center court after remaining motionless as he was lowered from the rafters before Denver’s home opener against Portland on Friday night.
Video of Rocky’s entry — via the Altitude broadcast — can be seen above. The mascot’s arms and legs did not move as he descended with the help of a harness, and his head was slumped forward. Upon dismount, he simply fell to the side.
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This video was actually quite uncomfortable and scary to watch. I wonder what exactly caused Rocky to pass out while in the air. The article says that Rocky has the "wind knocked out of him," yet they did not explain how exactly this happened. The article also expresses how sports pre-shows have become unnecessarily flashy and extravagant. The author clearly believes that lowering Rocky into the pre-show from a harness was over the top, unsafe, and unnecessary. While I have not had much contact with sports pre-shows, I imagine that most fans are paying a lot of money for their seats. The fans want a show that includes spectacle beyond the magic of the sports game they are watching. Also, I do not see how using a harness can be considered very dangerous if they are used in the correct way and rehearsed with prior to the performance.
That really is unsettling to see. I can understand why the fans were unhappy with that. I have to wonder how the "wind got knocked out of him" from the harness. Was it not sitting correctly on him? Or was it simply too tight for him so he couldn't breathe in enough air and the air that he did breathe in wasn't fresh air because of the nature of the mascot costume? Shows are getting flashier, but that is because the audience expects it. The audience sees the movie magic and sets the level of expectation to that high. I mean, why not? If they can do it on film, they can do it in real life. Wrong! They probably only rehearsed this with the guy not in the suit, so they didn't foresee the lack of air as a problem. This is why we have dress rehearsals. I wonder if he is okay...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_trauma
I actually watched this video a few days ago and it is actually really unnerving to watch. Sports in today's society have become a family even for many people. Fathers bring their sons and daughters for some good bonding time. Can you imagine having to explain to your child the image of the mascot seemingly dead flying into the space? No, I wouldn't want to have that conversation.
That being said, the article brings into question the idea of larger and grander opening ceremonies and whether they are appropriate. And to that I say yes. I think the show like things they do before during and after sports games are sometimes the most interesting thing of the game. That being said, I think they must be supervised by someone who is trained to do these types of events. Sports and shows (while having some similarities) are very different. I think that the proper professionals need to be contacted and used for jobs like these.
This video was really unnerving to watch. The first thing my mind asks is, "how did this happen?" and then "was it something in their control?" Accidents often happen, and it is a good thing that nothing more serious happened to this person. I do not think that this show was unnecessarily flashy, but I do think that if the cause was something that they could have fixed, the show show be reevaluated. If they can fly people in theatre, I don't see why they can't fly people in these shows, but I do think that the person needs to have extensive safety training as the people who fly in theatre do. Freak accidents happen, that's life...
Anyone who has left a comment on this article that stated they didn't know how this happened should click on that link that David posted. This is something that will come up any time you work on a production in which you fly a person. This was an issue we had to face a little bit on Sweeney, and a great deal on Angels. Before we got anywhere near the tech process of either of those shows Carnegie Scenic, Production Management, and Stage Management sat down and figured out how long someone could be suspended in the air in the cage or on the swing for Sweeney or how long the Angel could be suspended in her harness before the performers needed to come down. This time wasn't just how long they were suspended above the stage, but began as soon as the performer's feet left the deck backstage. We made it clear that no matter what was happening on stage if we hit the 10 minute mark of having Imari in the air, we had 2 minutes to begin the process of getting her back into the deck. That didn't only mean she needed to be on the deck, it meant that she needed to come off of the flying rig and walk around for 10 minutes before she could go back up. While this slowed the tech process considerably while training that portion of the show, it was what needed to happen because of the safety constraints.
It sounds like the people who arranged for this mascot to fly in from above the arena didn't know the proper safety protocol for using a harness system. It looks like they had no way for the mascot to communicate that he wasn't feeling well, and no one was monitoring him in order to know that something was wrong. It also looks like the mascot was suspended above the arena while waiting to come in to the floor, and had no way to take the pressure of the harness off of his body. If he needed to be suspended for longer than a few minutes in order to make this effect work, then it never should have even been considered. This was a gross oversight by all involved, and probably could have easily been avoided.
Since when is going to a sporting event not enough entertainment anymore? Do we really need flying mascots to keep our attention and entertain us? Light and laser shows I can understand since they are entertaining but involve little to no risk to personnel or fans. I also find it surprising that the people in charge of this stunt clearly had little to no suspension training. I'm also confused why he was hanging so long that this could happen. Why didn't they just have him standing on the catwalk until a minute before the stunt and then actually let himself hang? There is absolutely no reason this should have happened and hopefully this has been a lesson to other organizations looking to do similar stunts.
I agree that pre-show events and half time events are becoming way too extravagant. I understand wanting to have cool media things projected everywhere and light shows, but having pyro that leaves smoke in the arena, unless it's an outdoor arena, or having people suspended and lowered just for entertainment in hot mascot suits just seems awful and I honestly don't see why anyone would do that. I once wore a mascot costume and was shoved in the trunk of a car in the costume for a video and I can honestly say that it doesn't surprise me that such a tragic event such as this occurred.
That clip is very uncomfortable to sit through. I can't even begging to imagine being at the show with a small child and explaining to them why the mascot isn't moving. A lot of people have brought into question the need for a pre show. I actually think having a pre show before the game is completely fine. It get the audience pumped and excited. What needs to be clear though is that a sports pre show, like any other performance needs to be properly rehearsed. Maybe current Pre show events are getting a little out of hand but that doesn't mean that should be cut off entirely. just scaled down. If they want to lower in a mascot then they should take all the precautions necessary and know of any possible problems that could arise (How they didn't think to worry about suspension trauma when they were using harness and having a person hang above the audience for a prolonged period of time is beyond me).
This is terrifying to watch. I can't imagine what it must have been like to be in the crowd and see a lifeless mascot lowered from the rafters. The article goes on the question how much is too much for a pre-show. I'll admit that I'm a bit of a sucker for a flashy pre-show, the problem I have is that there is a line that people have started crossing. People do risky or dangerous things with the performers or to the audience just for shock value. Using pyro-technics at a basketball game is not ok. Lowering a guy from the ceiling who might be afraid of heights or who can have the wind knocked out of him up in the air is not ok. I'm all for a flashy show, but people need to keep it safe.
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