Who is Garnet the Goldfish? You might have seen this famous fishy swimming around Doak Campbell Stadium recently and wondered why he has suddenly gained so much attention. Well, Florida State University might have a new unofficial mascot! Her Campus at FSU was lucky enough to interview Garnet the Goldfish’s owner, Jack Henyecz, to learn about FSU’s favorite fish.
It all started when Henyecz, a junior at FSU, brought a live goldfish (aka Garnet) to an FSU football game. Why might he do this? Henyecz said “it started out as a running joke” during last year’s football games. He and his friends were in New Orleans, Louisiana for the Sugar Bowl. The words “Sugar Bowl” reminded him of the word “fishbowl”; he then got the idea that it would be funny to bring a goldfish to all the FSU games. He was unable to do it that year because he was busy with classes, but he was luckily able to bring the idea to life this year. Garnet was brought to his first game this season, and FSU has been winning ever since.
Maybe he is just the luck we need to get FSU to the College Football National Championships. However, let’s go back to his owner for a minute. Saying Henyecz is an FSU football superfan is an understatement. I mean, we all love FSU and have school spirit, but he’s unmatched. After the FSU football team upset the University of North Carolina in 2020, he got a tattoo of FSU football head coach Mike Norvell wearing cornrows. That takes some major dedication, and while Norvell is a hero for FSU football, not many people would get a tattoo of him.
Garnet himself has gained over 1,000 followers in just a few months. Getting an interview with WCTV (a local television network) and having an article written in the Tallahassee Democrat are just some of the ways this fish has gotten publicity on land. He even has an entire subreddit dedicated to him on r/fsusports. Henyecz said he only truly realized the scope of Garnet’s popularity at a Halloween party when someone recognized his Garnet the Goldfish costume. After his fish’s recent spike in fame, Henyecz announced that he would be making Garnet the Goldfish T-shirts. All the proceeds will go to away game traveling and buying Garnet a bigger tank at home.
Yet many people seem to be concerned with Garnet’s health and ask if the plastic bag used to carry him to games is humane. It’s nice to know that Henyecz takes care to balance the pH of the distilled water in each bag before Garnet is carried into the stadium and that Garnet has been alive and happy since day one. He said he even brings multiple gallons of “Garnet Water,” AKA water used in Garnet’s home tank, to away games. Furthermore, after each game, Henyecz makes it his first priority to get Garnet safely back into his tank. Henyecz clearly cares a lot about his fish, but he did promise that if FSU makes it to the National Championship Game, he will give Garnet to Coach Norvell.
Coach Mike Norvell isn’t the only notable person to give attention to Garnet. The famous football analyst and reporter Kirk Herbstreit happily posed for pictures with Garnet before the most recent game versus Duke University. The president of FSU himself, Richard McCullough, even took a few pictures with him too. And after FSU’s win against Wake Forest University, Garnet got to break the rock with the players of the football team!
When asked about Garnet’s dream collaboration, Henyecz said that he would love for Garnet to meet Chief Osceola and Renegade, or FSU’s famous Garnet and Gold guys. According to Henyecz, “Garnet’s favorite music artist is the FSU Marching Chiefs. His favorite food is gator tail, and his favorite color is gold. When he grows up, he wants to be an official mascot.”
Students and fans can rest easy at night knowing that Garnet is loved by his owner and that many people approve of him being FSU’s new unofficial mascot. Make sure to follow him on Instagram to watch him #justkeepswimming!
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