The Coyote (mascot)

The Coyote showing a sign to the crowd during a time-out at a San Antonio Spurs game.

The Coyote is the official mascot of the San Antonio Spurs, a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). First introduced in 1983, he was inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2007.[1]

History

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The Coyote was first introduced in public at a San Antonio Spurs game on April 13, 1983.[1] He's known for his slapstick comedy routine, including impromptu interactions with game officials during time-outs, rehearsed skits and dance numbers with the Silver Dancers (the Spurs cheerleading team), as well as for his trick filled antics, such as riding a unicycle, pulling his eyes off, dribbling a ball with his feet or spinning a ball on a pen.[1]

Outside of his presence at games the Coyote performs at over 400 community appearances per year, which is noted as being more than any other mascot in the NBA.[1] Over the years he has also been featured in numerous local San Antonio area TV commercials and appeared on national morning shows, including Live with Regis and Kathie Lee.[1]

The Coyote concept was created by Tim Derk, who also performed the role for the first 21 years — appearing in more than 1,100 games and making over 4,000 community appearances — before suffering a stroke that forced him to leave the job on February 13, 2004.[2] During his time as Coyote, Derk was credited with inventing the T-Shirt Cannon[3] Derk went on to be named Manager of Mascot Development by Spurs Sports & Entertainment six months later.[2]

The Coyote won several awards for his performances throughout the years. In 2006, he was named Best Mascot of the Year 2005 by the website Gameops.com.[4] In 2007, he was inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame, in recognition of his hard work on and off the court.[1] In 2014 and 2020, he was named Best Mascot of the Year by his fellow mascots.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "The Coyote". mascotalloffame.com. Mascot Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on January 28, 2013. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Tim Derk Takes On A New Role". nba.com. Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network. August 30, 2004. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  3. ^ Kennedy, Pagan (2013-06-21). "Who Made That T-Shirt Cannon?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  4. ^ "Coyote named Best Mascot of the Year". nba.com. Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network. March 13, 2006. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  5. ^ Whitaker, Lang (August 1, 2014). "San Antonio Coyote Named Mascot of the Year". nba.com. Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
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