By Hannah Kremer, Opinions & Editorials Editor
After two years, Xavier’s own Robbie Dzierzanowski, senior communications and public relations double major, has officially been unmasked as the beloved D’Artagnan.
For many, the mascot D’Artagnan is the face of Xavier at men’s and women’s basketball games. Known for running up and down the court waving the X flag and his antics with the Blue Blob, getting to put on the costume and join in the festivities of Xavier basketball is a prospect many students dream of. Robbie was no exception, but he never expected to take on the position.
It began with an event for the marketing department during his sophomore year, where he got the chance to take on the role of D’Artagnan. “I’m pretty tall, so I was like, hey, I’ll give it a try,” Dzierzanowski said. “I enjoyed it but never did anything with it after that.”
By junior year, he wanted to get involved but contracted COVID-19 right before the try-out dates. After recovering, he believed he had missed his opportunity.
“Surely there’s no chance of doing it anymore, but on a random Monday, my friend asked me if I was still interested,” he said.
Since then, he committed to entertaining Cintas fans throughout his time at Xavier. In his senior year, he was named one of the co-captains of the mascot team.
Robbie pointed out three events he attended as a mascot as his favorite memories during his time as D’Artagnan: the crosstown shootout game at home this past season, playing pee-wee football at the halftime event of a Bengals game and his junior year doing media appearances for the Big East Tournament in New York City.
“The Bengals game in November was a crazy memory, although we did end up losing the game against the pee-wee team,” Dzierzanowski said. “Joe Mixon came up and hugged me, and so did an old receiver from the Buffalo Bills. Being on the field the whole time was a very cool opportunity, too.”
Robbie admitted that being a mascot also had some challenges.
“I’m a fit person but running around with the X flag is not easy,” he said. “It is heavier than it looks.”
Being a mascot also means adjusting to many facets of everyday life: Robbie’s inability to talk while in the suit was one of them, and he often caught himself smiling for photos when it wasn’t necessary.
“It’s a matter of becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable,” he said. Besides the suit being stuffy and hot, he also had to remain anonymous to the student body. He wanted to maintain the musketeer’s persona, which meant not risking someone calling his name during a game.
Once the costume was on, he enjoyed getting into the role of the arrogant, mischievous Frenchman, playing the role in every way possible.
“It was how I kept myself entertained, really,” Dzierzanowski said.
“Whether it was messing with someone’s hat, taking someone’s phone and snapping photos together or playing Rock, Paper, Scissors with kids at the game. I learned to maintain a sense of friendliness while also having a cocky attitude.”
“I would say the biggest thing that makes the position fun is when I get to put on the suit and immerse myself in this character that does things I wouldn’t do myself. The reality is that millions of people watch these basketball games on TV and in person, but one of the most reassuring parts is that I can mess up, and no one would know it was me. Getting to have fun, dance around and act a fool without it being associated with you is a unique experience,” Robbie said.
As his senior year reaches its final weeks, Robbie has officially hung up the D’Artagnan suit, but hopes to be a mascot on a sports team again someday. Until then, he will be commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army following graduation and will attend armor officer training at Fort Moore, Georgia in August.
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