He’s been on display in a store in Montana.
He’s been in the possession of some University of Wisconsin football players.
He’s been in the bottom of alum Katie Kovatch’s trunk.
Parts of him are falling off from a combination of old age and mistreatment and it’s not unusual to find a stray claw or paw lying around him.
Willie the Wildcat has had a rough life, but he’s finally found a home at Northwestern (7-4-1, 0-3-1 Big Ten).
Unlike his mascot counterpart, Willie is knee-high, stuffed and was a real live wildcat at one point in his life.
And he’s not smiling – he’s scowling.
“I like to put him on the end of the bench facing the other team,” sophomore Caitlin Carr said. “People get freaked out when they see him.”
Willie came into the possession of the women’s soccer team before the 1999 season, when former player Christie Molitor’s father bought him on a trip to Montana.
Harvard coach Stephanie Erickson, who played for the Cats from 1995-98 and was an assistant coach on last year’s team, said Willie was not for sale, but Molitor made the shopkeeper “an offer he couldn’t refuse.”
“It’s just obviously a bit of a mascot for the team,” Erickson said, “Considering it was brought into the program by someone who loves Northwestern soccer.”
After making one appearance during that season, then-coach Marcia McDermott decided she didn’t like Willie – “probably because of the fact that it had once been a live animal,” Molitor said – and banned it from the bench.
“It was out there for one game and then it disappeared,” Molitor said.
Willie sat dormant for two or three years until an NU student sold him to a group of Wisconsin football players without the knowledge or permission of the team.
While she is not sure who brought Willie back to NU, coach Jenny Haigh said he spent over a year in Wisconsin before one of her players stole him and returned him before the 2003 season.
Since then, Willie has anchored the Cats’ bench, both at home and on the road.
“They’re getting a lot more use out of it than we ever did,” Molitor said.
Willie is the team’s most loyal fan and the Cats are 24-22-2 with him on their side.
Carr said Willie is a good model for the team to follow.
“He’s got a real intense stare and is in a real aggressive stance,” she said. “He reflects our team’s attitude.”
Unfortunately, most of the team keeps away from Willie because of his dilapidated appearance.
But Carr has taken it upon herself to care for Willie. She makes sure he makes it to the bench for every game and last year dressed him in the team’s warm-up shirt and shorts, an outfit he still wears today.
Willie stands vigilant, even when the weather gets cold.
Carr said she never really considered dressing him in long sleeves in cold weather, but she can see a reason for keeping him in his current outfit.
“He doesn’t look too ferocious when his paws aren’t showing,” she said.
With all he’s been through, Willie has earned his spot on the bench.
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