Playboy.com: Got any special moves on the field?
Willie the Wildcat: I'm actually a pretty smooth dancer. I get a lot of my footwork from Michael Jackson. I'm big into moonwalking. I also have a signature walk. It's a laid back, ladies' man kind of walk. I am, by far, the league's most effeminate mascot.

PB: Effeminate? Why?
WW: Well, some mascots are intimidating. They've got the big growls and act aggressive. But I'm always laid back and smiling because I know I'm the hippest mascot there is. I don't have anything to prove.

PB: Are you Northwestern's only mascot?
WW: I'm the original, but we recently got an inflatable mascot. His name is Air Willie. He's nine feet tall. He's usually hanging around the Ladycats, our dance squad. He's very interested in them. Air Willie's tongue can come out of his mouth and he can lick people with it. One time he was severely reprimanded for licking members of the University of Iowa dance team. He got a pretty big tongue lashing for that one.

PB: You could probably do a lot of other things with that tongue.
WW: Yeah, you could do a lot of things, but Air Willie's too much of a gentleman to mention them.

PB: What kind of a relationship do you have with the Ladycats?
WW: The Ladycats love me. Let's be honest. I am a hip cat. I think my feet are 16 inches long, and you know what that means.

PB: Are you attracted to a certain type of female?
WW: I'm open to all species.

PB: Ever been injured in the line of duty?
WW: The University of Illinois cheerleaders wanted to [spread my legs and] ram me into a goalpost, but at the last minute I decided to run away. It doesn't sound like something that I want to experience. Willie is still intact, so to speak, and wants to stay that way.

PB: Do you change near the cheerleaders' locker room?
WW: No. I think the school knew that would be a bad idea, so I change under the basketball stadium.

PB: What's the funniest thing that's ever happened to you on the field?
WW: Well, I've had fights. Minnesota's Golden Gopher attacked me once. And in a moment of unbridled passion -- well, actually, I don't know what his deal was -- he ended up taking off my shirt. That was a pretty bizarre thing, getting stripped by an overzealous gopher.

PB: Have you ever been called a pussy?
WW: Yeah, people are always shouting stuff like that at me. But I take it in stride. Most of the time it's from Northwestern kids and they're not really being derogatory towards me. But other schools call us big pussies. And if that's all they can come up with, they're not very witty.

PB: Do you do anything special for the ladies on campus?
WW: A lot of the sorority girls will ask me to deliver flowers to their pledges. You can't really beat a visit from the most eligible bachelor on campus. I can't normally talk, so when I go to their dorms I give them a backrub.

PB: With your paws?
WW: All eight fingers, working their hardest. Then I blow them a kiss and hit the road.

PB: Do you read Playboy?
WW: I read it -- but only for the articles.