Hoyas' Mascot Laps Up The Love

That's just how it is when you're Jack.

And the name Jack, by the way, came from a stubborn predecessor who refused to answer to anything but Jack.

He lives with Steck on the fourth floor of a freshman hall. Students scratch his wrinkles. Their dorm T-shirts gloat, "You don't know Jack."

Those who do have this to say: He does not like to be cuddled. "He's not down for that," Seneca said. And don't even ask whether he wears uh, little outfits for games. "Oh no way," Seneca said. "He does not dress up. He's too regal for that."

If he doesn't want to go somewhere, his 54 pounds can feel like an immoveable weight, students said. "He's got this prima donna thing," Seneca said. "That's what happens when you spend you whole life listening to people say they love you."

Jack loves going to games. He came to Georgetown as a 12-week-old puppy in 2003, so he's right at home around huge crowds, booming drums and sudden buzzers. Besides, people drop peanuts and popcorn on the floor, Steck said, and Jack eats like a goat.

At the arena, he seems to soak in the energy from the crowd. He runs onto the court behind the flag and tears up a box decorated with the opponent's logo, snorting and sending bits of cardboard flying.

At halftime, he wanders through the concourse, greeting fans and accepting requests for photographs.

Not long ago, Steck took a short sabbatical from teaching at Georgetown. He moved to a cabin in Wisconsin for five weeks and brought Jack with him.

Steck loved the quiet, the serenity, the solitude.

Jack hated it.

When he started loading the car to leave, Steck said, Jack ran to the car and sat there, quivering. Steck opened the car door and Jack hopped inside and refused to move from the seat for more than an hour while Steck finished packing.

It was clear, Steck said, what he was thinking: " 'Don't leave me here in this hellhole.' "

Steck thought about taking him to Atlanta this weekend for the Final Four, but it's such a long trip. So Jack will make the rounds on campus tomorrow, dropping in on viewing parties here and there, making his appearances, feeling the love.

If the Hoyas win, Khaliseh said, it's going to be crazy; last weekend students mobbed blocks of Georgetown to celebrate after the games. This time, he said, Jack is coming with them: On the golf cart. Straight to M Street.