By 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, however, the UNC sophomore wasn’t so sure. Beneath his blue and white “Ram” costume, he was hot, sweaty and more exhausted than he’d been in his life. And wondering how on earth he’d gotten into this mess.

Then he remembered he had volunteered.

Just two years ago, Holshouser’s life appeared to be rolling between the white lines down a straight and narrow highway. At East Rowan High, he was an award-winning wrestler, a member of the National Honor Society and an Eagle scout. All perfectly normal and wholesome activities. The only unusual thing that had happened to him was when he received Scouting’s Meritorious Action Award as a 15-year-old for rescuing his older brother, John, after a farming mishap.

But Holshouser’s life was ordained not to be ordinary. For some odd reason, in a family with strong N.C. State ties, Paul grew up bleeding gallons of Carolina blue.

“John went to N.C. State,” says Paul. “Now my younger brother’s at State. He likes farming and animals, so I guess he’s where he he needs to be. Maybe it’s just because I’m that middle child, but I wanted to do something different.”

Holshouser arrived at Chapel Hill as a freshman in the fall of ’98 to pursue a business degree. Not long after that, he became friends with the UNC mascots. That’s right, mascots, as in more than one. Many assume that there’s a single UNC mascot, but by necessity, there are several.

“You’re completely worn out after a half of basketball,” says Holshouser, “and someone else has to take over.”

There are also scheduling conflicts. In March, the Ram had to appear simultaneously at two venues thousands of miles apart when the men’s and women’s basketball teams went their separate ways in the NCAA Tournament. And sometimes, there is simply that big paper due on Monday, and “Ramming” at a Sunday basketball game or making a football road trip just isn’t prudent for the ol’ GPA. That’s why there are always at least two, usually three, and sometimes four qualified Rams on call.

UNC fans probably have visions of hundreds of Ram wannabees attending campus-wide tryouts, impressing a panel of judges with acrobatic back-flips, but that’s not how the selection process works. Instead, wearing the Ram suit is actually a sacred trust, handed down from one generation to the next. When a Ram graduates, he and his fellow Rams decide on a worthy replacement.

Holshouser knew that somehow, someway he had to become a Ram. He knew 11 years ago.

“My cousin went to school in Chapel Hill and got us basketball tickets in ’89,” says Holshouser. “UNC was playing Pepperdine and we didn’t have great seats. But I wasn’t watching the game as much as I was watching the Ram. I was fascinated with him. I mean, when you’re a kid, that’s the guy who’s on your T-shirt. He was so cool.”

Holshouser was also keenly aware of how much fun his friends were having as Rams. Especially when they staged WWF-like “fights” with enemy mascots.

“I watched a mascot fight one day and saw how the crowd got into it and said to myself, ‘I will do this,’ ” remembers Holshouser. “I started bugging the mascots to death, annoying them, begging them for a chance.”

Holshouser’s break came last fall. A pair of veteran mascots handled the first three UNC football games, but both had conflicts for the upcoming road game at Clemson.

“They were in a bind. They needed me,” says Holshouser. “They told me to come see them on Thursday before the game. They wanted to watch me walk around in the suit to make sure I could do it right. It’s important that the UNC mascot walk a certain way. You know, he has to strut.”

The rest is history. A day later, Holshouser was traveling with the Tar Heels on the team plane, flying toward Death Valley.

And on Saturday, he was on the field in full strut. At least for awhile. Then the realization hit: he wasn’t going to be able to see the game. Then came the realization that he seemed to be leading cheers for oh, about 50 frightened Tar Heel fans, in an orange sea of 80,000 shrieking Tiger supporters.

And then the final awful realization. There was little difference in wearing the heavily padded, three-layer Ram suit on a brutally hot day than being thrown headlong into a fiery furnace.

“The heat was unbearable,” says Holshouser. “It kicked my butt. The game ended at 4 and we flew back. At 2 a.m. on Sunday morning, my face was still flushed.”

But Holshouser had survived his literal trial by fire.

His role grew as a struggling season for Tar Heel football unfolded. He was there, ramming his head merrily into the goalposts, for both the agony (the dismal loss to Furman on Oct. 30) and the ecstacy (the season-ending win over Duke in which embattled coach Carl Torbush was carried from the field on his players’ shoulders).

“Torbush might get me to a bowl game next season,” says Holshouser, pumping a little more blue through his arteries. “The only bad thing about football was that it never did cool off. I kept thinking how nice and warm that suit would be in cold weather, but every game was hot.”

Then came basketball. Now a veteran, Holshouser quickly learned that hoops in the Dean Dome were a greater challenge for a Ram than Kenan Stadium.

“Football’s easier because you have so much room,” explains Holshouser. “It’s really tough walking the stairs in the Dean Dome with those extra-big feet. I’m in danger of breaking my neck. And those horns stick out and hit stuff.”

But Holshouser got used to seeing the world through his oversized Ram eyes. And he gradually developed a routine to entertain fans.

“I’ll steal a band member’s cymbals and bang them around,” he says. “I conduct the band, pop towels and take pictures of people. I clown for the kids — that’s a big part of it — and make snow angels at midcourt. Hey, it’s my house. I can do whatever I want.”

There were no mascot free-for-alls in basketball, though. In the interest of safety — the mascots, an obvious target for crazies — don’t make road trips. They do travel to neutral sites in the postseason, however.

Holshouser went to the ACC Tournament, but that was disappointing. That’s where the Blue Devil got all the mascots in hot water with his bend-the-rules antics.

“The Devil’s a cool guy to talk to, but he went out of control,” says Holshouser. “After that, we all had to just sit and watch the game.”

But that downer was followed by the NCAA Tournament. To his surprise, Holshouser was asked to travel with the Heels to their first-round games in Birmingham.

“I was lucky,” says Holshouser, “because it goes by seniority. But the senior guy saw the women’s team was playing in California and that looked like a more fun trip than Birmingham. Plus, no one expected the men to do well.”

But, of course, they did. A week after Alabama, Holshouser was having a ball in Austin, Texas, at the South Regional. When the Tar Heels survived there, as well, Holshouser was rewarded with a substantial piece of an Erwin Center net.

“Orlando Melendez hooked me up,” he says proudly.

After that, in what seemed like a dream, Holshouser was headed to the Final Four in Indianapolis. Holshouser was beyond busy on Final Four Friday and Saturday. A Ram was needed for pep rallies, battles of the bands and ESPN productions, as well as the Tar Heels’ semifinal game with Florida.

“First thing I did at the game was jump up on a bench and look out at the crowd,” he says. “Forty thousand people and a lot of them wearing blue. You don’t see people wear the colors like that at the Dean Dome. The enthusiasm was obvious. That was my best experience yet.”

After the Heels’ loss, Holshouser returned to Chapel Hill, but not to anonymity.

“All my friends know I’m a Ram,” he says. “The cheerleaders and the band recognize me, since I travel with them. The basketball managers know who I am and (assistant coach) Phil Ford and some of the players know me out of costume.”

Which leaves just one question.

Will Holshouser put on the suit and face the heat again this fall?