Meet Scarlet and Bon Qui Qui, Legendary Row Mascots for The Ohio State University Marching Band

By Jason Priestas on September 26, 2015 at 11:06 pm
Scarlet the squirrel, mascot of TBDBITL's S Row
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We like to consider ourselves knowledgable fans of The Ohio State University Marching Band, or TBDBITL as it's affectionately known. We ooh and ahh over their killer halftime shows, celebrate their classics as well as their new masterpieces, like “Buckeye Swag,” and revere Saturday morning Skull Sessions.

Yet we were surprised to catch a stuffed squirrel and raccoon with the band – wearing their own wee band uniforms – during ABC's telecast of Ohio State's 38–12 win over Western Michigan Saturday.

GIF: Scarlet the Squirrel and

What in the hell?

As it turns out, the two are row mascots for the band and are present at every home game. The squirrel goes by “Scarlet” and she (he?) is the mascot for S Row of TBDITL. The raccoon is known as “Bon Qui Qui” and is the mascot for Q Row. From what we've been able to determine, they're the only two row mascots that at one time roamed the earth.

It's a tradition that dates back decades and while other rows don't quite have taxidermist-produced mascots, they are represented.

Just when we thought we couldn't love you anymore, TBDBITL.

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