I Promise It Will Always Be This Way

An all-night performance for Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2008, Saturday, October 4, 7PM until 7AM Sunday morning. Lamport Stadium, Toronto.

For “I Promise It Will Always Be This Way” twenty-six costumed team mascots took the field at Lamport Stadium, with instructions to whip the crowd into a fervent frenzy. Throughout the twelve-hour endurance piece, they pulled out all the stops with their mascot antics, while "Jock Rock" sports anthems played over the loudspeakers. As the night progressed and physical fatigue began to set in, the mascots required cigarettes, naps, snacks and bathroom breaks. Plush heads were removed and mascot illusions were broken, revealing the performers to be human after all...capable of feeling cold and weary. However, flying in the face of all expectations, the mascots' morale never dwindled. An unbelievably supportive, ever-cheering, crowd reciprocated the enthusiasm, creating a touchingly symbiotic back-and-forth of support. What was intended to be a much darker, more futile picture of misspent energy ended up being a very moving moment of social generosity.