The Fake Association in Christopher Guest’s Latest Film Has a Real-Life Equivalent

If you’re a fan of Christopher Guest and a frequenter of the world of associations, you’ll definitely want to add his latest to your Netflix queue.

Mascots, a Best in Show-esque mockumentary, is based on the world of professional mascots, particularly ones affiliated with sporting teams. With the plot centered on the 8th World Mascot Association Championships, the film features characters that would be unusual with or without the costume—just like any other Christopher Guest film. (The film stars a number of Guest’s best-known collaborators, including Jane Lynch, Parker Posey, Fred Willard, and Bob Balaban.)

If you’re a close reader of Associations Now, the concept of the World Mascot Association might sound familiar. Although the association in Guest’s film is fictional, there is a real-life equivalent that is nearly as interesting as what Guest conjures up: the National Mascot Association  (opens in a new tab) (NMA), a group formed through the help of the custom mascot firm AvantGarb. The commonality was first spotted by Bustle  (opens in a new tab) earlier this week.

The plot to Guest’s movie (the trailer is shown above) features a more established version of NMA, which is still somewhat fledgling. Hoping to see the association grow, AvantGarb is making the case for NMA to host events.

“There are a lot of mascots running around, but there’s no sort of central spot where mascots can check in and come together,” noted Jennifer Smith, the founder of AvantGarb, in an interview with Associations Now‘s Rob Stott last year. “We plan to be the clearinghouse for all kinds of information for mascots, be that advice on skits, mascot training, designing mascots, a place for mascot suppliers to meet with mascot makers, and a place where we can develop official guidelines around mascot safety and procedures.”

Guest’s film most certainly takes a bit of creative license. But if you’re in the mood for seeing someone poke fun at the world of associations and don’t mind a few goofy suits, it might offer some laughs.

(Netflix)