Date With Sparky
Mira Kim
Issue date: 10/26/04 Section: Features
During the day, he goes by Bill. He's the Athletic Facilities Director overseeing the sporting events, working in an office. If I passed him by, I wouldn't have known who he was.
But at the basketball games, he transforms into a giant dragon, cheering on the crowd. He's Sparky the Dragon, found everywhere at the University of Illinois at Chicago from the Daily organizer to the intercampus bus.
The transformation is something similar to that of Superman. According to Bill, just as Superman runs into that phone booth and comes out as a whole new character, he goes in that locker room and comes out as an alter ego.
So how did he get started?
"I [actually] attended UIC back in 1991. Initially, I wanted to be a marine biologist, so I wanted to get bio prerequisites done and transfer to the east coast or west coast," explained Bill.
But something happened in his freshman year to keep him at UIC for all of the undergraduate and graduate studies. As a sports fan, he started showing up at the sporting events, but noted the weak attendance.
He said, "After a while, I became familiar with the athletic heads, and we were talking about how we can increase attendance. We saw the red dragon, and I said, 'I can do that!' It turns out that the girl in the costume was a senior, graduating soon."
What started as a part-time job became a full-time gig in 1992, when he became more involved with the character. That same year, he came up with the name for the dragon-Sparky the Dragon.
"It was a nice way to let go and get away from the studies and academics. It also brought out a different side of me," said Bill. "I wasn't really shy before, but not completely willing to jump out in a heartbeat."
That same passion and pride for the Flame is still present in Bill.
"It usually takes an hour or so for me to come down from that emotional rush after games. There is a natural high, and it comes down in notches," he said.
But at the basketball games, he transforms into a giant dragon, cheering on the crowd. He's Sparky the Dragon, found everywhere at the University of Illinois at Chicago from the Daily organizer to the intercampus bus.
The transformation is something similar to that of Superman. According to Bill, just as Superman runs into that phone booth and comes out as a whole new character, he goes in that locker room and comes out as an alter ego.
So how did he get started?
"I [actually] attended UIC back in 1991. Initially, I wanted to be a marine biologist, so I wanted to get bio prerequisites done and transfer to the east coast or west coast," explained Bill.
But something happened in his freshman year to keep him at UIC for all of the undergraduate and graduate studies. As a sports fan, he started showing up at the sporting events, but noted the weak attendance.
He said, "After a while, I became familiar with the athletic heads, and we were talking about how we can increase attendance. We saw the red dragon, and I said, 'I can do that!' It turns out that the girl in the costume was a senior, graduating soon."
What started as a part-time job became a full-time gig in 1992, when he became more involved with the character. That same year, he came up with the name for the dragon-Sparky the Dragon.
"It was a nice way to let go and get away from the studies and academics. It also brought out a different side of me," said Bill. "I wasn't really shy before, but not completely willing to jump out in a heartbeat."
That same passion and pride for the Flame is still present in Bill.
"It usually takes an hour or so for me to come down from that emotional rush after games. There is a natural high, and it comes down in notches," he said.