‘I broke down’: Chance shed tears after Golden Knights won Stanley Cup

I was sold on Chance one afternoon in September 2018, when the Vegas Golden Knights hosted their now-annual Fan Fest at Downtown Las Vegas Events Center.

It was the kind of heat that made you not want to wear a Gila monster costume.

The crowd jammed the Events Center for the three-hour event, which started at 6 p.m. and could have gone all night. By the end of the love fest, Chance was done. I recall walking from the event, along with the mascot, several feet behind, passing the D Las Vegas’s valet entrance on Carson Avenue.

Chance was not the sprightly figure who had bounced around while posing for selfies, working the vast evens space and high-fiving fans. Chance was lumbering, clearly spent.

Then we heard a shout from the valet area. “Chance!” It was a kid, whose family was just climbing into their SUV. He had spotted Chance as he was about to step off the premises and step out of character.

But the yellow mascot in the No. 1 VGK jersey stopped, exhaled, clapped his hands hard one time, and ran to the family. They were thrilled.

Friday morning I related that story to Clint McComb, who plays Chance. He did not recall the moment specifically. But he did remember when he was a lot like the kid who shouted at him that night.

“I grew up in Chicago, and everyone in my family was big sports fans, and my dad and mom would take me and my brothers to the Bears’ training camp,” McComb says. “I just remember sitting on the guard rail, hoping a player would stop and sign an autograph. So one of my favorite players growing up was Chris Zorich.”

23 years of working in Professional Sports…
Finally a CHAMPION ✅🏆💍#UKnightTheRealm pic.twitter.com/us7HcN5uCP

— Clint McComb (@ClintMcComb) June 14, 2023

Zorich was a defensive tackle out of Notre Dame, second-round draft pick in 1991. He played six years with Chicago and one with Washington. Good player. But a great guy.

“He was not scoring touchdowns, he was not that guy,” McComb says. “But he was my favorite player because every day we went to practice, Chris Zorich would stop and high-five us, or sign his autograph on a football card.”

McComb was himself athletic a very good gymnast as a teenager but a better wrestler. He chose to walk onto Arizona State University’s gymnastics team instead of take a full-ride scholarship as a wrestler (weighing 140 pounds, he was not interested in cutting weight to compete at 112).

McComb was studying broadcast journalism at the time. A member of ASU’s sports-marketing team came to a gymnastics practice and asked if anyone could do acrobatics in the school’s Sparky mascot costume.

McComb could do that, especially if it meant earning a full-ride scholarship. So at age 17 (a young college freshman), McComb took on that role. He was soon invited to the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals flag team, which would lead the team out of the tunnel and do back flips after touchdowns.

“It was 110 degrees, and I was doing back flips,” McComb says

During the season, one of the two guys who played the team’s Big Red mascot was injured. By chance, the team found that Sparky from ASU was actually already in the fold. So McComb was Big Red for 10 seasons.

“The only reason I left was because the St. Louis Rams were creating a mascot,” McComb says.”I had a chance to have a full-time, exciting position to be the first-ever Rams mascot.”

Rampage was McComb’s creation. He stayed with the Rams until the team moved back to L.A. in 2016. He was recruited by then-Golden Knights marketing exec Brian Killingsworth, with whom McComb worked in St. Louis.

Again, it was a chance to develop an entirely new character. Chance has become an extension of McComb’s personality, outgoing, seemingly tireless, unfailingly accessible.

“I just can’t say no. I mean, it’s not a hero award or anything, I just never want to stay no, especially to a child,” McComb says. “I kind of have the same mentality with adults. I never want to leave a child that asked for photo, or that parent wanting to make a memory for their kid.”

McComb is often asked about his signature, muscle-flexing pose, which he’s carried with him since his ASU days. It’s from his wrestling background, inspired by famous pro wrestler Shawn Michaels.

“The Heartbreak Kid!” McComb says. “I love doing it.”

At age 40, McComb has spent 23 years, altogether, in his various alter-ego roles. Asking a favorite is “a classic case of asking someone who their favorite child is,” McComb says.

But Chance, Las Vegas’s lovable lizard, is the first to win a championship.

“Everything that happens now, is new,” McComb says. “The last 24 hours have been new. The parade will be new. Everything we do to celebrate this championship team, is all new.”

New, too, was Chance’s reaction to the Golden Knights’ Cup-clinching Game 5 victory.

“The buzzer sounded, and I broke down. I was standing behind the bench and I kind of collapsed while shedding tears,” McComb says. “I was thinking, it’s a very rewarding job, but takes a lot of long hours. I think it all just hit me. Thankfully, people can’t see Chance crying, but underneath the costume I had a moment.” Without a doubt, the kid on the guard rail would understand.

Shows are on!

The major Strip resorts and production companies say they are moving forward with their shows as scheduled Saturday, despite the shutdown of Las Vegas Boulevard for the Golden Knights’ victory parade. The Strip will be shut down between Tropicana Avenue and Flamingo road starting at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Ticket-holders are strongly advised to arrive early, and contact the point-of-purchase site to ensure show times will hold throughout Saturday’s activity. There are no reported refunds being offered, with ticket holders being notified of road closures and to allow extra travel time. But the show, and parade, must go on.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.