guadalupeoso said:
My uncle was in chamber back and was a head bear trainer back in the 80s when they still took the bears to the games. He's got some great stories from those days. Wish it was still that way, but understand why it's not.
Was he the trainer in 1984? Back in those days not only did they take the bears to the games, occasionally they would take them for a walk around campus (like you would your yellow lab, except it took 2 trainers with chains instead of leashes to walk the bear). Which seemed to work ok, except for that one spring afternoon when I was meeting with a professor in his office on the 1st floor of Hankamer and we heard a commotion outside, along with the sound of clanging chains. Seems the bear had gotten away from the trainers and was lumbering up 5th Street, with the chains dragging along behind him, followed by 2 panicked Chamberpots running at full speed trying to catch the chains. I suppose they eventually did, because the story of a bear on the loose never made the news or the Lariat.