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Cam the Ram handler - Cam the Ram handler |
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Written by Erin Frustaci
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Tuesday, 05 September 2006 |
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Page 1 of 2
Mike Van Houten considered himself a city slicker when he first took this job.
He grew up in Denver after all.
But now you can see him at every Colorado State University football game doing something that, well, a city boy would never dream of doing — running alongside mascot Cam the Ram.
“I had never worked with livestock before,” the 20-year-old said.
But now he knows all the ins and outs of caring for Fort Collins’ famous big horn.
The idea first came about through his job as a student employee at the alumni center. One application and three essays later and he was running across the field at Hughes Stadium with Cam.
“I figured it was something worth trying instead of just shooting it down right away,” he said. “The fact that I get to represent the university and be proud is the biggest thing.”
Before each game, the ram handlers go to the Agriculture Research Education Development Center, where Cam stays. They clean him up, remove all the junk from his wool and polish his horns, to make him picture perfect. They bring him around people and get him used to noise so he doesn’t freak out when the cannons are shot each time CSU scores.
“We have to make sure (Cam) is able to run and is friendly,” Van Houten said. “That’s all the behind-the-scenes stuff. At the event, we take a billion and a half pictures and bring him back after the event.”
Two other rams are also at the ag center as back-up, should anything happen to Cam.
Von Houten, who is a business student at CSU, said he has learned so much about agriculture and agricultural terms by being a ram handler.
“I had no idea about it and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity I can only do it while I’m in college. Only a few get to do it. I love doing it.”
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