Phanatic Fever  

Staff Writer The announcer said it was a little like "being in the presence of greatness," and it took just one look at Sidney Dundon, Jess Hood and Madison Smucker to see they agreed. The three young Conestoga Valley softball players - wearing matching blue shirts and matching grins as wide as the dugout behind them - were standing Tuesday night on the field at Lancaster city's minor-league ballpark. "I think he's funny," 10-year-old Dundon said, looking out toward the field at the big, green, furry creature. One of the other girls added, "And crazy, too!" But it wasn't the Jonas Brothers or another tween idol du jour who had the rapt attention of the three girls. Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time ever at Clipper Magazine Stadium ... the Phillie Phanatic! The Phanatic, the end-all and be-all of Baseball mascots, was a guest in the "house" of Lancaster's very own end-all and be-all, Cylo. The Phanatic, granted a night off from the World Champion Phillies , made his first-ever trip ever here a zany one, teaming up for a night of "complete and utter chaos," as the lady inside Cylo's costume predicted. Standing on the top step of the dugout near the CV softball players, Barnstormer team President Jon Danos was pounding a Baseball mitt, smiling as he watched the Phanatic and Cylo frolic at home plate, helping 'Stormers' manager Von Hayes with the lineup card. Bringing the two mascots together is "obviously a natural," Danos said. "There's a chemistry when these top performers get together," he said, as the crowd laughed at the pregame antics of the two. "And obviously, the crowd is enthusiastic about it." Some of the 4,874 fans on hand Tuesday said they've been looking forward to the Phanatic's visit since it was announced by the Barnstormers before the season began. Despite rumors that the two are sons of the same father, Cylo and the Phanatic are actually believed to be cousins, tight-lipped Barnstormers' officials have maintained. The man who brought the Phanatic here, Barnstormers' General Manager Vince Bulik, was clearly excited about bringing the two together. "Having the Phanatic here is a great opportunity for the people in Lancaster County who are Phillies' fans ... to actually see the Phanatic in a minor-league setting ... I mean, how often does that happen? Inside a storage room in the team offices, Gretchen Schwartz (Cylo) and Tom Burgoyne (the Phanatic) were taking a break from the excitement they had just caused among the fans. "I loved it!" said Burgoyne, who's been the Phanatic for the last 16 years after serving as an understudy to Dave Raymond, the original Phanatic, for five years. "I think that was my first, at least at a minor-league park, when they'd chant, 'Let's Go, Phillies , Let's Go, Phillies' ... that was very cool." The two had never worked together, but as Schwartz said, "You almost kind of know, when somebody starts to do something" with a routine, "what they're thinking and where they're going with it." Asked if kids are the same everywhere, Burgoyne smiled and said, "Kids and adults alike ... the Phanatic brings out the kid in the adults, too, so it's all good." Original Phanatic Raymond, through his Raymond Entertainment Group of Newark, Del., designed and made Cylo's outfit when the Barnstormers' mascot was created in 2005. Fans Jim and Jackie Mathiot, with their 7-year-old son Joshua, said they "weren't going to pass this up" when they heard Phanatic was coming. "This really makes it special here tonight for the kids," said Shelly Watson of Lancaster, who attended the game with her 10-year-old son, Nicholas Cruz. E-mail: doconnor@lnpnews.com