Did you know that Rider’s black and gold mascot name is Rubert the Raider? There’s a lot we don’t know about our beloved Raider, but The Rider Chronicle sat down with Rubert to talk about his life as a mascot. 

Q: How did you get into the raiding business? 

A: My high school rival growing up had a family cattle business. To get my revenge, I decided to steal all of his cattle. On that night, I found out I had a talent for raiding, so I decided to make a career out of it. 

Q: What other colors do you wear? 

A: Anything but red. I absolutely despise that color, but sometimes I’ll wear the occasional purple. 

Q: What do you do in your free time? 

A: Watch Netflix. I don’t have a favorite show right now, so I’m open to suggestions. During the spring, I like to frolic through fields of flowers; it really calms me down after a stressful Friday game. Oh, and I like to sleep-raiding gets me tired. 

Q: How do you prepare for a game?  

A: I like to chug a Red Bull; it really keeps me going! Then, I like to hype myself up by playing some tunes in the car. My favorite song right now is “Old Town Road.”

Q: What’s your favorite dance move? 

A: The cabbage patch or the dab.

Q: What’s your favorite holiday? 

A: Rider-Old High! It’s got everything I love: beating down the coyotes, hearing all the fans cheer, (and) black and gold! I mean, is there really any other better holiday? 

Q: What’s your favorite food? 

A: Stadium popcorn, hot dogs, (or) really anything the stadium sells. I suppose that explains my growing waistline.

Q: Have you ever wanted to run onto the field? 

A: No, I trust the players to do good work, but I’ve almost been tackled. Multiple times, too!

Q: Do you have any mascot friends? 

A: One that comes to mind is the Red Raider from Texas Tech and any other Raider. We have a group chat, too! I can’t talk much about the group chat since the Red Raider made me promise not to say anything after that nacho incident. It was messy, and I can’t look at nachos the same after that.  

Q: Do you have a crush on anyone? 

A: Mrs. Radtke, but don’t tell her! I’m a little shy.