Nonetheless, a student in a doe-eyed elephant costume struts his stuff at every Bama home game, having become a fixture at one of the states proudest institutions. This mirrors the close bond that exists between members of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team and its fans. Why is Alabama's mascot an elephant? Espey later became a university administrator, and football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant asked him to take responsibility when student groups asked to resurrect the costumed mascot in the late 1970s.[4]. Given that they are not indigenous to the North American continent, let alone the general Tuscaloosa area, it may seem odd that an elephant serves as the mascot for the University of Alabamas football team. It's kind of like is a parent every gonna say someone else in his kid's class is the best kid? We met at 5:30 a.m. and we didn't get home until like 10:30. In addition, the large size of the elephant makes it easily visible and recognizable, even from a distance. Most of our traditions happen in the fourth quarter. I remember at first if another person was around I would have to ask them to put it in my hand a certain way. The mascot made its debut in the 1980 Sugar Bowl, but the first student to don the elephant costume was Melford Espey Jr.22 Sept 2021. They play the Green Day song ["Basket Case"]. "At the end of the quarter, the earth started to tremble, there was a distant rumble that continued to grow. Why is the Alabama mascot an elephant? "Once that's over, he runs the team out. From that point, Strupper started calling Alabama the Red Elephants, and the association stuck. Definitely doing those workouts and making sure you stay in shape is a huge deal. It's just a small little tradition that not a lot of people know about probably. The tradition of an elephant mascot continued for many years, with various live animals appearing at games and even marching in parades. The gray, anthropomorphic elephant has been the team's official mascot since 1979, when Bear Bryant finally approved the trunked animal despite a history that dates back to 1930. Photo courtesy of William Webster. Since then, the Crimson Tides elephant mascot has been represented in a variety of ways, from costumed mascots to cartoon characters. The mascot known as "Big Al" today was the brainchild of University of Alabama student Walt Tart, member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. ", Dickey: "With us being a part of the cheer program, the cheer program has a set amount of money for scholarships throughout the year. So that's a cool thing that we get the respect from the university. In the early days of the University of Alabama (UA), a spirit committee was formed to help boost school morale. But if you wanted Big Al for a private event that would be like $100. The story of how Alabama became associated with the "elephant" goes back to the 1930 season when Coach Wallace Wade had assembled a great football team. The University of Alabama is home to many of the bests. What that is is we'll have a room with three random props in it. The bigger ones go to the school.". So Quad is everything that happens before Big Al even arrives in the stadium. If there's not enough students like if it's super hot one day and there's not a lot of students left and it's a blowout game, he won't body surf because that's just kind of tacky. "He thought that elephants were big, slow and clumsy. The third quarter we do box visits. That's what helped me the most in my tryout.". "It's special to the kids that relate to him," Gaddy said. Needless to say, Alabama opponents in the SEC aren't nearly as fond of seeing the Crimson Tide's elephant mascot. On October 8, 1930, a sportswriter for the Atlanta Journal, Everett Strupper, wrote about the previous weekend's Alabama-Ole Miss football game. Alabama's elephant mascot is known as "Big Al". Q: What was your favorite game or moment as Big Al? It usually means they are about to get trampled. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. The Alabama elephant is the state animal of Alabama. We both went to the tryout together. The "Big Al" mascot officially debuted at the 1980 Sugar Bowl, when the 1979 Alabama Crimson Tide football team defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks. What does a blinking blue light on a smoke detector mean? I'm not bulky by any means so it was never hard for people to lift me up. It shut out eight opponents and allowed only 13 points all season while. It shut out eight opponents and allowed only 13 points all season while scoring 217. 2023 www.montgomeryadvertiser.com. It's just a great opportunity for Big Al to stand out because all of our players are going to be wearing red every home game. That gets divvied up through cheerleaders and Big Al. Performance & security by Cloudflare. The tradition continues to this day, with fans often bringing their own elephants to games or buying them from vendors outside the stadium. The first shift is Quad. Well, the story goes all the way back to the 1930 National Championship team. Big Al has a significant walk that is a trademark of who he is. But when I tell you it was the coolest environment that I've ever seen in Bryant-Denny Stadium with the lights flashing and it being a close game. The team went on to be named National Champions, according to rolltide.com. Welcome to my blog, where Ill be discussing the important question of why the Alabama Crimson Tides mascot is an elephant. Bryant Museum in Tuscaloosa, told Yahoo Sports in 2012. Q: What's crowd surfing up the student section like? [Related: PHOTO: Alabama fan gets massive $1,700 elephant back tattoo]. According to the school, the relationship between elephants and University of Alabama football dates back to 1930, when Atlanta Journal sportswriter Everett Strupper relayed a story from an Alabama-Ole Miss game. You see a lot of tigers, a lot of dogs. The origin of Alabama's elephant mascot. The two assured him that it was just a person in an elephant costume and not a real elephant, to which Bryant grinned and said he knew all along. The mascot made its debut in the 1980 Sugar Bowl, but the first student to don the elephant costume was Melford Espey Jr.22 Sept 2021 Why do they say Roll Tide in Alabama? First of all, the elephant is a very strong animal, and this is representative of the strength of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team. There is a story that Alabama got its colors from a ball on campus when UA was still a military school, wearing gray, black and white uniforms. Don't miss a story! Because those kids will be like, 'What? 4 Oklahoma square off in Orange Bowl for national title bid, Jonah Williams: 3 things to know about Alabama football's offensive tackle, Mack Wilson: 5 things to know about the Alabama football linebacker, Quinnen Williams: 4 things to know about the Alabama football defensive tackle, Raekwon Davis: 4 things to know about the Alabama football defensive lineman, Paul Tyson: 5 things about Alabama football signee, Bear Bryant's great-grandson, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Big Al celebrated his first year with Bear Bryant's 300th win against the Kentucky Wildcats and a victory against the Baylor Bears in the 1981 Cotton Bowl. He's played by five different students -- two guys and three girls. The man who Bryant tasked with spearheading Big Al's creation was none other than Espey, who by that time was working as an Alabama administrator. The nickname stuck. During the 1940s, the school kept a live elephant mascot named "Alamite." Strupper and other writers continued to refer to the Alabama linemen as "Red Elephants," the color referring to the crimson jerseys. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Today it explains the meaning behind Alabama's elephant mascot. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. In the 1960s, student Melford Espey would wear an elephant costume to games, much to the delight of legendary coach Paul Bear Bryant. None of us even have close to a full scholarship. A sportswriter named Everett Strupper wrote about how head coach Wallace Wade's Alabama team's big and aggressive linemen resembled elephants after pounding Mississippi, 64-0. He looked at me like we were gonna start something, but then I grabbed Big Al and said, 'Let's go!' Later that afternoon, the candidates come either prepared with a minute-and-a-half skit or they can make an impromptu one at tryouts. The story of how Alabama became associated with the "elephant" goes back to the 1930 season when Coach Wallace Wade had assembled a great football team. This isn't just something that people come to the tryout to be Big Al for two days. The birthday parties we can keep. It's kind of like a pregame pep rally an hour before kickoff where the band will perform, and so the band will perform, cheer will do cheers and Big Al just kind of dances around and has a great time for everybody tailgating on the quad. It's the interactions you get to have with people in other circumstances you would never get to meet. In 1979, he was meeting with the homecoming chairman, Ann Paige, as they were trying to come up with something different for the school's homecoming parade. "Some excited fan in the stands bellowed, 'Hold your horses, the elephants are coming,' and out stamped this Alabama varsity. He'll also drop in on your nuptials, if youre willing to pony up his $400 wedding appearance fee. Since its inception in the early twentieth century, the Alabama Crimson Tides elephant mascot has been a source of pride and joy for the teams fans. You can never see straight in front of you, so when we're taking pictures you always have to put the camera in that blind spot. They play 'Tusk' and it's just kind of a cool little tradition we have. Your movements have to be so much larger and exaggerated in order to make it look like Big Al is excited acting out those gestures. And in the early 1960s, Alabama student Melford Espey went the extra mile and dressed up as the animal to cheer on his beloved team. How Do You Get Rid Of Hard Calcium Deposits In The Shower? Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The Crimson Tides mascot is an elephant because the UA spirit committee began hiring elephants from travelling circuses or Tuscaloosa to attend every homecoming. If it's a close game he won't body surf, because we don't wanna count our chickens.". By contacting the University of Kentucky and a few other schools, Tart discovered that their mascots were designed and constructed by the Walt Disney Company. In the late 1940s, student humor magazine The Rammer Jammer began referring to the Crimson Tide as Thrift Shop Elephants, a reference to the thriftiness of Alabamians. After you march them on to the field they will play 'Tusk,' which is sort of Big Al's statement song. Instead, the UA spirit committee started hiring elephants, often from traveling circuses passing through or by Tuscaloosa, for every homecoming. The no thumbs -- that takes some getting used to. Bryant was Alabama's football coach and athletic director, not to mention a legendary figure that Crimson Tide fans would never cross. Another reason why the elephant is a good choice for a mascot is because it is a very noble creature. We do have a roster on rolltide.com. No. Nonetheless, a student in a doe-eyed elephant costume struts his stuff at every Bama home game, having become a fixture at one of the states proudest institutions. A majority of the fan base is actually caring about the game, so you can focus on the little kids and the people who really want to see Big Al. But the same students that worshipped the Bear persisted, and he finally relented in the late 1970s. [Related: Top 10 college football live mascots ft. Auburn's "War Eagle"]. Why does Alabama use an elephant as a mascot? I think that really helped me in the tryout, being more relaxed and not caring as much about the outcome and caring more about just having a good time, because that's what Big Al would wanna do. In the 1960s, student Melford Espey would wear an elephant costume to games, much to the delight of legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. It's pretty much a part-time job. The "Big Al" mascot officially debuted at the 1980 Sugar Bowl, when the 1979 Alabama Crimson Tide football team defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks. Finally, elephants are social animals that live in close-knit herds. Crowd surfing is kind of a five minute lay-down-catch-your-breath situation. In the 1960s, student Melford Espey would wear an elephant costume to games, much to the delight of legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. [Related: VIDEO: Ole Miss streaker gets leveled by security]. When those big brutes hit you I mean you go down and stay down, often for an additional two minutes. 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