How much would you pay to be the next Boltman?
By Travis Wakeman
The Los Angeles Chargers are going to need a new mascot. Or at the very least, a new person in the same costume.
If you’ve ever been to a Chargers game or watched a number of them on television, you’ve no doubt seen a man dressed up in a costume depicting a lightning bolt wearing glasses, a huge grin and a Chargers jersey.
Days ago, Boyce Garrison of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that the Boltman costume would be retired. Dan Jauregui, the man behind the mask, so to speak, can take no more.
After 22 years of going to Chargers games and portraying the team’s unofficial mascot, Boltman, it sounds as though the team leaving San Diego helped lead to his decision to put the costume and the intellectual rights to the character up for auction.
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Last season at one of the team’s home games at StubHub Center, Jauregui was asked to remove his mask. Though he was later allowed to put it back on, it seems the experience left a bad taste in his mouth. According to Garrison, Jauregui told a San Diego radio station that it made him feel like a criminal.
But the story doesn’t end with Jauregui giving up the opportunity to portray the Boltman. If you look at the auction over on eBay, fans are willing to pay a pretty penny. As of this writing, the bidding has reached an amazing $67,000. That is not a type. With well over four days remaining in the auction, the bidding could easily surpass the six-figure mark.
Part of the proceeds will be donated to Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.
“It has been a great ride and experience for me as I played the role of the mascot character Boltman for over 22 years,. But the time has now come for me to pass the baton to a true Chargers fan in Los Angeles or San Diego or perhaps even to the Los Angeles Chargers”, said Jauregui.
Is it the end of an era or the beginning of a new one? How much would you be willing to pay for the Boltman costume and finally, if Boltman isn’t going to play the role of Chargers’ mascot, what are some of your ideas for a team mascot?