For the first time in two years, the Chesty Lion is making appearances at games.

The person behind the mask is senior Anna Springe, someone who normally wouldn’t be seen at games, except for in the band section.

Springe was the one at the football games who got the crowd pumped up. Now, she’ll be getting everyone excited at the basketball games as well.

“I am the embodiment of school spirit, so I guess it means that I have to be the one that’s making everyone really excited about things,” Springe said.

But for Springe, it’s not just for the high school games.

“I’d really like to be Baby Jay at KU,” Springe said.

Springe would have to give up band in order to be Baby Jay. But mascotting would give her an opportunity to still interact with the band.

“[It would be] giving me a connection to something I [would] have to give up,” Springe said.

Mascotting has not only opened new doors for Springe, but helps her branch out of her comfort zone.

“I have Asperger’s syndrome, so I’m very sensitive to noise and I’m very sensitive to touch, and I generally can’t be in places where it’s really loud or people are touching me,” Springe said. “But when I’m wearing the suit, I’m completely covered, so it blocks it out. I can be a normal person. People hug me, I can be jumped on, I can be in really loud places and be OK with it. So it’s giving me a chance to do normal things.”

Having Asperger’s makes it difficult for Springe to be in loud, over stimulating situations.

“It’s frustrating for her I think because people don’t really realize what’s going on,” Skylar Rehm, a friend of Springe’s said.

Chesty has helped Springe overcoming her fears.

“With all the stuff she has to go through, having a way to be involved in the games is really good for her,” Rehm said. “It’s definitely a much more social role than she typically takes.”

Mascotting is a way for her to interact with fellow students in ways she wouldn’t normally be able to.

“You’re more than human, in a sense, because you’re a giant person in a suit,” Springe said.  “Nobody sees you as a person.”