ZOOperstars! is a traveling inflatable entertainment act,The Mid-Majority Interview: Dominic Latkovski
/ref> based in Louisville, Kentucky who utilizes comedy, acrobatics, tricks and maneuvers accompanied by synchronized dancing to entertain.USA Today: Holy Canary: Mascot troupe takes off
/ref> The name ZOOperstars! is derived from the "pun-based animal athlete monikers such as Shark McGwire, Ken Giraffey Jr. and Tim Tebull."MILB.com: Latkovski's passion fuels traveling act
/ref> Currently, the mascot dance troupe has over 40 different characters
/ref> who sport similar pun-based names. The ZOOperstars! act is one of the busiest traveling entertainment acts in the business.Quad Cities Online
/ref> In the sports industry, they are most famous for their popular "Eat It" skit where "the impressively tall inflatable clam clad in a

Sammy Sosa Samuel Peralta Sosa (born November 12, 1968) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs. After playing for the Texas Rangers and C ...

jersey greedily "devours" opposing coaches, bat boys, or whoever else happens to be around, then spits out his meal's shirt, shoes, and cap, all while Weird Al Yankovic's Eat It plays in the background."Bloomberg Business Week: Sport's Sultans of Silly
/ref> Their most notable accomplishment could be a earning a place in the Top 20'America's Got Talent' reveals five more third-season Top 20 acts
/ref> in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

on NBC's ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...

''.

History

The ZOOperstars! were created by brothers, Dominic and Brennan Latkovski in 1998. Dominic got his start in 1990 as Triple-A Louisville Redbirds mascot, Billy Bird. Over the course of the first two seasons, Dominic would have younger brother, Brennan, play the

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...

roles such as an umpire, for on-field skits. In 1992, the two brothers obtained a booth at the MLB Trade Show and marketed the Billy Bird act. After success in their first year, Dominic says, " he Redbirdswanted me to sign a contract giving them a big portion of the money in exchange for using the name and the costume, and that's when we decided to break free and create a new character." In came

BirdZerk! BirdZerk! is the performance name of Dominic Latkovski, a professional mascot and entertainer known for appearances at American minor league baseball games. He is most known for his skits that revolve around pranking players, umpires, bat boys, a ...

, a neon green, yellow and purple bird based on the costume the brothers were accustomed to performing in as their former act. The brothers then saw two inflatable characters, University of Nebraska's

Lil' Red Lil' Red is the lesser of two mascots representing University of Nebraska–Lincoln's athletic programs. Lil' Red was created in 1993, after a statewide contest was conducted to find a counterpart for Herbie Husker. Then-associate athletic directo ...

and an

All Sport History All Sport was launched by PepsiCo in 1994 as a competitor to The Coca-Cola Company’s Powerade and Gatorade, which at the time was a separate entity owned by Quaker Oats. After PepsiCo's 2001 acquisition of Quaker, All Sport was sold ...

bottle and decided to add inflatable characters to the act. After seeing the appeal of inflatable characters at their BirdZerk show, Andy Latkovski, the brothers' father, suggested they add another character to the act. The character was Harry Canary. However, in 1998, after a few faltered attempts to add Harry Canary to the cast of BirdZerk!, the brothers had the revelation to create a whole new act full of inflatable mascots with similar pun-based animal athlete names. In the winter of 1998, the Latkovski brothers took their new ZOOperstars! act to the MLB Trade Show. The act was a big hit with names like Harry Canary, Ken Giraffey Jr., Shark McGwire, and Cow Ripken Jr. In the years since, the ZOOperstars! have performed at over 200 different sports teams around the world,List of ZOOperstars! Clients
/ref> and multiple appearances on ''

''.

References

{{America's Got Talent Entertainment companies established in 1998 Traveling carnivals Companies based in Louisville, Kentucky American companies established in 1998 1998 establishments in Kentucky America's Got Talent contestants