After maintaining anonymity all school year, the four students portraying mascots Freddie and Frieda Falcon revealed their identities Saturday.

Seniors Jimmy Myers and Kristen Hertzer were “beheaded” at half-time of the men’s basketball game and junior Eric Wagner and senior Allison Sproul were revealed after the second period of the hockey game.

Through months of lying, the four feathered friends kept their identities a secret from roommates, sorority sisters and friends.

“You get very creative in the ways that you come up with lying,” Sproul said. “Like today, I was supposed to meet all my friends at the game, and I actually told people I got into a fender-bender and had to go to the hospital to get checked out. They kept calling me and calling me, and I actually kept my cell phone in the pouch of the bird, and I just kept answering. I’d go into a closet and be like, ‘Hello? Yeah, I’ll be there soon’.”

Sproul managed to hide her secret fowl identity more successfully than the other Falcons, keeping her roommate in the dark and only revealing herself to a friend who became suspicious when Sproul was consistently absent from football games.

“I thank my roommate for being gullible, and I thank the girls who live in the house with me for never noticing me being sweaty after football games,” Sproul said.

The other Falcons had a bit more trouble staying mum. Myers and Hertzer were both in relationships and were forced to tell their significant others they were dating oversized birds.

“I had to tell her [my girlfriend] because she was the one who questioned it the most out of everyone else,” said Myers, who often told his girlfriend that he was working or hanging out with his freshman sister. “I tried to keep it a secret from her as long as possible, but eventually I had to tell her. I told her right around Christmastime.”

Wagner was discovered by his roommates and by members of the football team, who he traveled with to games. And Hertzer had a challenge thrown her way in the form of punches from another mascot.

During a full-blown fight with the Marshall University mascot, Hertzer incurred two black eyes that she had to explain to members of her sorority, Pi Beta Phi.

“I told them that I tripped and fell and hit my head on a tree,” Hertzer said. “My nickname is Hertzerself.”

While being Freddie or Frieda may have its drawbacks — including lots of sweat and limited vision — those who have stepped into the feathery folds of the costumes feel they have fulfilled a lifelong goal.

Wagner, who wanted to be Brutus Buckeye all his life, decided to become Freddie Falcon when he enrolled at Bowling Green. After not being hired as Freddie at the end of his freshman year, Wagner set out on a mission to acquire the hallowed beaked mask.

“Last year I basically stalked the birds,” Wagner said. “I probably took over 200 pictures of the mascots last year, and this was something I really wanted to do.”

To anyone who is interested in becoming Freddie or Frieda, this year’s birds are encouraging others to take on the job.

“If you think you can do it, if you think you can do a good job, try it,” Myers said. “Just apply, because we’re always looking for people with a lot of spirit who can get along and interact with other people well.”

“You become a different person,” Hertzer said. “You express yourself even more, and it is so exciting. Just make sure you apply to show that you’re Bowling Green’s number one fan.”