Last year on Valentine’s Day, Vanessa Tryon was at work when she walked downstairs unsuspectingly, only to be surprised by Otto the Orange holding a dozen roses and a box of chocolates.

“I think I told him that day, but I totally love him,” said Tryon, who lives in Syracuse. “I was over-the-moon excited and squeezing the life out of him.”

This Valentine’s Day season is again a very busy one for Syracuse University’s mascot. On Friday, Feb. 13, Otto will make two deliveries — one between 10 a.m. to noon and the next between 1 and 3 p.m.

This is the third Otto’s Valentine’s Day annual auction, and the auction closed last Monday. The proceeds from the auction go to the SU cheerleading team. Funds go toward expenses such as cleaning the team’s uniforms and supporting the costs for its travel.

The highest bidders won the opportunity to have Otto send a special someone a personalized delivery and message, an SU orange-and-blue themed bouquet and a box of Russell Stover chocolates.

“Otto doesn’t have his own significant other. This is a good way for him to get out and share the love,” said Joe Giansante, SU Athletics’ executive senior associate athletics director and chief communications officer.

Dan VanDusen, Tryon’s boyfriend, surprised her with the delivery last year because of their shared love of SU basketball, and because Tryon is also a big fan of Otto the Orange. Tryon actually started bidding on the auction first, and then VanDusen surprised her by also bidding and beating her in it.

“I think (Otto) is just cute and goofy,” Tryon said. “Watching him at the games spin around — he’s just cute. There’ll be no way anyone can top that gift. It was something that I just loved so much.”

VanDusen said he wished he was there to see Tryon’s reaction when she was surprised by her favorite mascot, but she still called him afterward in excitement.

Tryon also said she might return the favor someday by surprising VanDusen and having Otto the Orange deliver a package to him.

“The auction is a fun way for us to connect with our fans,” said Marc Donabella, associate athletics director for SU Athletics. “It also provides experiences and items that you usually cannot get anywhere else.”

Giansante said the auction is popular because Otto is in very high demand. He said people try to get Otto for all sorts of occasions, from birthday parties to weddings.

“Would you want flowers for the 47th time, or would you want Otto? To me that seems like a clear-cut choice,” Giansante said.

Donabella said in the past two years, winners of the Otto’s Valentine’s Day auction have included a military personnel getting the delivery for his wife, students surprising their girlfriends and someone buying it for him or herself.

Donatella also explained how SU Athletics works together to come up with ideas for auctions and engages with members of the community.

“We have a very creative team of individuals, and we commonly brainstorm ideas for fan engagement,” he said. “We know that we have some super fans out there and based on the Twitter and Facebook comments — we were right on the mark.”

Donabella added that they plan on continuing the annual auction to next year.

“What’s not to love?” Donabella said. “Otto is one of the most iconic mascots in the history of collegiate athletics, and I would dare to say professional sports.”

Published on February 12, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Alex: aerdekia@syr.edu