As a small crowd of students gathered on the outfield decks at Mike Lane Field April 6, “Where’s the chicken?” became the question of the evening.

The students were referring to the famous San Diego Chicken, who made an appearance at the Lions’ Wednesday evening game against the Montevallo Falcons.

The San Diego Chicken, always portrayed by Ted Giannoulas, is one of the most recognizable mascots in all of sports.

The chicken has appeared at many sporting events across the country, has performed for presidents and was named one of “The Top 100 Most Powerful People in Sports of the 20th Century” by the Sports News editors.

The bird’s wild antics keep crowds entertained in between innings and throughout the game as it sneaks around the stadium.

Although the chicken gained a lot of excitement from UNA students, those most excited about the chicken’s appearance were less than four feet tall.

One young man was bragging to his friends that he was going to have the chicken sign his shirt and show it off at school the next day.

The chicken’s performances between innings included skits that mostly involved the home plate umpire.

The chicken emerged at one point carrying a sign that read, “Will ump for food.”

The umpire then pulled a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket out of a bag causing the chicken to panic and run off the field.

After the eighth inning, the chicken set up an autograph table that was immediately crowded with kids eager to receive the chicken’s signature on everything from programs, napkins, baseballs and even children’s heads.

Unlike many mascots, the chicken speaks to those it is entertaining, calling children nicknames such as “spanky” and “peanut.”

After using its beak to chew on a child’s head for a posed photo, the chicken exclaimed, “It tastes like chicken!”

Not everyone was comfortable around the chicken. One mother continued to take her hesitant toddler to meet the chicken. The child burst in to tears every time she approached the chicken while holding the kid.

A UNA student who was posing in a photo with the chicken with a group of her friends said, “I don’t like this kind of stuff, it freaks me out.” The chicken replied, “Is it my breath?”

The famous mascot didn’t prove to be a good luck charm for the Lions, who were heavily defeated by the Falcons’ offense in a 13-8 loss.

The game ended a four-game winning streak for UNA. The Lions are now 26-10 overall.