Behind the mask with Keefe Tech mascot Billy the Bronco

FRAMINGHAM – Billy the Bronco can't speak once the helmet covers his face.

Protecting the mascot's mystique is as important as firing up the crowd. But Billy the Bronco isn't a mythical creature. There's a Keefe Tech senior inside. Sometimes he needs a breather, some water or to reapply deodorant. Temperatures inside the suit can reach triple digits between the lack of ventilation and constant physical exertion.

When Billy the Bronco needs a break, he ducks into a secret side stairwell far enough away from the gym to protect his identity. The mask comes off once the coast is clear.

"You need to find a good place to hide," Keefe Tech senior TJ Nickerson said. "You don't want to be the guy that takes off his head in front of a kid and ruins the image."

Nickerson, a senior from Holliston, has curated Billy the Bronco's image over the past two years. He acquired the mantle on a whim after hearing a school announcement. Broncos cheer coach Jen Graham hosted a tryout between Nickerson and one other candidate.

"He starts dancing around, and he just knocked our socks off. He just made us laugh. This is the guy," Graham said.

The cheerleaders split their votes evenly. Graham picked Nickerson. He fit the suit better at 6-foot-7.

"He's literally and figuratively going to leave some big shoes to fill," Graham said.

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Saddle up

Billy the Bronco debuted at Keefe Tech's football home opener last year. Nickerson hadn't developed the essential skill of rotating his head so he could see beyond the narrow eye slits. He bumped into a handful of people wandering around posing for photographs.

"People get uneasy if it seems like you’re staring at them, so you’ve got to move around," Nickerson said.

No one taught him those tips. Nickerson learned how to mascot largely on his own, which suited the self starter. He previously taught himself programming, extemporaneous speech and "a little bit of freestyle rap."

His long hair lasted one game because he realized once it draped of his eyes, he couldn't wipe it to the side.

"You don't really get rained on this sort of thing," Nickerson said.

He carries the six-piece costume in a plastic duffle bag. As much as he can, Nickerson procrastinates donning the costume before games. Less time to sweat if he doesn't need to. He starts with a vest stocked with four to six ice packs.

"This thing keeps me alive," he said.

Then comes the onesie followed by the hooves over his shoes, the gloves, a No. 14 Keefe Tech jersey and finally the horse head helmet. The sequence keeps his hands and eyes viable until the last possible moment.

"It's all about learning to express yourself like a Paris mime," Nickerson said. "We take for granted you can just open your mouth and your thoughts come out."

'Oh it's him'

Billy the Bronco only appears at Keefe Tech home games. It would be a "logistical nightmare" to accompany the Broncos on the road. He entered the gym for Thursday's boys basketball home opener against Minuteman Regional late in the third quarter of the junior varsity with a gallop, and the crowd surged.

"It's a supercharged feeling of seeing your friend in the hallway," Nickerson said. "Imagine that except every eight seconds. You're recognized and people are like 'oh it's him.'"

He danced during the warm up music and held one hoof over his heart during the national anthem. During free throws, Billy the Bronco's hooves clasp in prayer. When a child in the bleachers implores him to "hit the Griddy," Billy the Bronco trots up the court swinging his arms on beat.

"You have to react to how the game is going," Nickerson said. "It’s all about enunciating the ups and downs. The crowd is naturally mimics a sine function. It’s up to you to push it up at the highs and mediate it at the lows."

Nickerson estimates he's MetroWest's only varsity mascot. He participates in the cheer team's practices and competitions throughout the fall. No other teams arrives at the sites with a mascot.

"It's hysterical because he's like a celebrity. Other teams want to have their picture taken with him. He's a very large figure when he's there," Graham said. "The judges in our competition love the mascot. You see it sometimes on the sideline, but you never see somebody as involved as he is."

Billy the Bronco leads the cheerleaders out of the tunnel and hypes up the crowd for competitions. He's assisted in lifts and jumps.

"He's a hype man," Graham said.

Not just for sporting events, either. Billy the Bronco greets incoming freshmen in costume. He posed for pictures at the girls soccer team's end of season banquet.

"I've learned a lot about how I love being the center of attention," Nickerson said. "And what I'm willing to go through."

Being a part of the cheer program means Nickerson receives a varsity letter for his effort. He wears the Keefe Tech Cheer jacket occasionally around school.

"Out of class he seems more involved and more excited to be a part of our team," Keefe Tech senior cheerleader Gabi Bianco said. "No other team has a mascot, so it’s always something new and different to see."

He became friends with the cheerleaders when previously they wouldn't have known each others' names.

"It's totally opened up another world for me," Nickerson said.

It's about school spirit

Originally no one was supposed to know Nickerson was Billy the Bronco. It protects the aura if the mascot exists separately from the person inside. But the cheerleaders knew.

"You can imagine where that leads," Nickerson said. "They tell one person, one person tells another."

Keefe Tech was going to host a raffle to guess who was in the mascot suit and get a prize. Eventually a quarter of the people in his senior class knew. Diligent detectives discerned his identity through seeing his shoes through a rip in the hooves.

Having his identity exposed allowed Nickerson to court the next generation of Billy the Broncos.

"I met some kids who want to take over when I graduate," he said. "During the Thanksgiving game last year, there was this little kid that walked up to me and said 'someday I want to be a mascot, too.' It's totally brought me into a whole different group of people."

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Nickerson doesn't know exactly where life will lead him after he graduates from Keefe Tech and removes Billy the Bronco's head for the last time. He'd like to work as a software engineer or in robotics, maybe do things with artificial intelligence. MIT is his dream school. He's also applied to Georgia Tech, the Rochester Institute of Technology and UMass Lowell, among others. Nickerson built a countdown program that indicates how long until he hears back from each school.

He'll try out to be the mascot at whatever school he attends.

"The big thing about it is school spirit," Nickerson said. "I love being the guy that represents Keefe Tech."

Contact Kyle Grabowski at kgrabowski@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @kylegrbwsk.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Behind the mask with Keefe Tech mascot Billy the Bronco