why is alabama's mascot an elephant
why is alabama's mascot an elephant
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. It's kind of like is a parent every gonna say someone else in his kid's class is the best kid? Nothing about No. after a little pleading with Coach Bear Bryant tojump on board with anon-field mascot, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. As part of their efforts, they decided to hire elephants from travelling circuses or from Tuscaloosa to attend every homecoming football game. Additional troubleshooting information here. We also have 'Elephant Stomp' which is at Gorgas Library. He's still one of the most unique mascots in college football. 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. Don't miss a story! Your IP: However, elephants featured prominently to gameday tradition long before this point. The other guy who was there was Big Al, and this one dude came up and started pushing on Big Al. The elephants regal nature underscores this fact. He's a very large person, and so usually we have people on the team that are very athletic build. [Related: PHOTO: Alabama fan gets massive $1,700 elephant back tattoo]. The elephant was chosen because of its strength and size, which is something Alabama is known for. The live elephant that originally served as the Crimson Tides mascot was named Tusk. Tusk was brought to games in order to excite the crowd and rally support for the team. You have to fast-forward 23 years to come upon the first mention of elephants to describe Alabama football. Dickey: "There definitely is. 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. Q: Are people allowed to know that you're Big Al? The maximum amount of time Big Al can spend at your special day: one hour. From there, we drive back to the stadium and the next person gets in the suit. It's kind of about the kids. Big Al, Alabama's elephant mascot, has roamed the sidelines for more than 30 years. When she's not blogging or spending time with her family, you can usually find her rooting around in the garden or at the hardware store. Auburn has two mascots. You get better at it after a few months being in suit. An elephant is a large mammal of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea. Thankfully I never had any problems with it. Our pictures are out there so it's not a huge secret but it is something that we kind of keep a secret because it's special.". So whether you're looking for guidance on how to make your home more energy efficient or just want some inspiration for dinner tonight, be sure to check out Arew! Webster: "We probably have people that range from 5-foot-9 to 6-foot-2 is the tallest we've had. The 1930 team posted an overall 10-0 record. The "Big Al" mascot officially debuted at the 1979 Sugar Bowl, when the 1979 Alabama Crimson Tide football team defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks. We always say if you can see the camera, Big Al is looking somewhere else. If it's a close game he won't body surf, because we don't wanna count our chickens.". He told Paige that several schools in the Southeastern Conference had obtained mascot costumes and proposed that the University of Alabama should get one as well. 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. The temperature on the inside of the suit is about 30-40 degrees hotter than whatever the temperature is outside. Then we as the judges have to guess what he's trying to do with the props. We work out every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 in the morning. The team went on to be named National Champions, according to rolltide.com. On October 8, 1930, sports writer Everett Strupper of the Atlanta Journal wrote a story of the Alabama-Mississippi game he had witnessed in Tuscaloosa four days earlier. Both sexes have tusks, which are modified upper incisors. We had College Gameday in the morning. 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]. He looked at me like we were gonna start something, but then I grabbed Big Al and said, 'Let's go!' You get to make everyone's day. On October 8, 1930, sports writer Everett Strupper of the Atlanta Journal wrote a story of the Alabama-Mississippi game he had witnessed in Tuscaloosa four days earlier. It kind of symbols a sign of 'we made it, let's finish this.' 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. That was not the image of his players he wanted to portray." The mascot made its debut in the 1980 Sugar Bowl, but the first student to don the elephant costume was Melford Espey Jr. Why Did Alabama Pick an Elephant as a Mascot Alabama, like most universities, chose an animal as their mascot to represent their school. Especially considering that "Crimson Tide" entered the pantheon of Alabama traditions long before elephants did. Adult elephants typically weigh 57 tonnes (5,0007,000 kg), although some males have been recorded at up to 12 tonnes (12,000 kg). This mineral buildup can block the showerhead's water flow, preventing it from Can you cook mince 1 day out of date? That's just Big Al.' ", LIVE:No. Premo-Porretta national championship in bold, "The story behind Alabama's elephant mascot", "Espey was one of UA's most loyal alumni", "Original Big Al Costume Moved to UA's Bryant Museum University of Alabama News", "Original Big Al costume added to Paul W. Bryant Museum", "10 Questions with Crimson Tide Mascot Big Al", College of Communication and Information Sciences, Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama v. Garrett, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Big_Al_(mascot)&oldid=1118445329, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 27 October 2022, at 01:50. None of us even have close to a full scholarship. But the history of the Crimson Tide's mascot began decades earlier at an Alabama-Ole Miss football game. Big Al has not always been our mascot's name. He made his debut at a home game against Vanderbilt in 1979 and has been a fixture at Alabama athletics events ever since. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. 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. Q: Who's the best mascot in college football? 2023 www.montgomeryadvertiser.com. From that point, Strupper started calling Alabama the Red Elephants, and the association stuck. So Quad is everything that happens before Big Al even arrives in the stadium. 30 Second Answer. Elephants are scattered throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. LostLettermen.com is a college football and men's basketball site that regularly contributes to Dr. Saturday. Dickey: "We try to keep it a secret for the most part, because we don't want to be on the Quad as Big Al and there be a bunch of kids around us and some drunk college student come and be like, 'Is that trey in there?' Why is Alabama's mascot an elephant? The birthday parties we can keep. The elephant mascot even has its own name: Big Al. Why Is An Elephant Alabamas Mascot? In 1896, a sportswriter for the Birmingham Age-Herald came up with the nickname Crimson Tide to describe the University of Alabamas football team. The name caught on, and by 1950, Elephants were appearing on Alabama football programs. After originally going by "varsity," "Crimson White" (the school colors) and "The Thin Red Line," Birmingham Age-Herald sports editor Hugh Roberts coined the term "Crimson Tide" to describe 'Bama's heroic effort in holding heavily favored Auburn to a 66 tie in a mud-soaked game in 1907 that had the 'Bama players looking like a red tidal wave. Bryant Museum in Tuscaloosa, told Yahoo Sports in 2012. It's something that people do for like a scholarship. 1 . 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. You won't know what the props are beforehand. The third quarter we do box visits. The origin of the mascot dates back to 1930. "He said, 'If that's what students want, that's what it should be,' " Gaddy said. Why does Alabama use an elephant as a mascot? He received a price quote from Disney for the design and construction of the elephant costume. Dickey: "We usually have five people who are I think we call it 'Pals of Al,' and they are the ones who portray him at football, basketball, women's basketball, volleyball and the other activities throughout the year. 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. The biggest thing to look for in someone who wants to be a Big Al is are they creative enough to think on the spot and are they animated enough? Q: What was your favorite game or moment as Big Al? Big Al is just the best. The more you return and the more you dedicate to the program, the more you get in scholarship money. So very rarely will you see Big Al on the sideline in Bryant-Denny during the third quarter because he's actually up in the boxes visiting people up there. 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. What Is The Difference Between Bonding And HardWall. Every April during the weekend of the A-Day spring football game, there is a three-day tryout process for UA students who want to become Big Al. This is where they are scored for going in public in a non-athletic event setting and interacting with the public. The mascot known as "Big Al" today was the brainchild of University of Alabama student Walt Tart, member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. We have a round that is just the walk. As the Crimson Tide does not feature a prominent logo on their helmets or uniforms, Big Al's likeness appears on much of the merchandise. After a few rounds, he got dropped. What does a blinking blue light on a smoke detector mean? It's definitely not the reason to be Big Al. He'll come out and do the fourth quarter things, the traditions. A "fight" was scripted before the game, in which the rules were that Big Al loses the fight in front of the visitors section, and Big Al dominates in front of his student section. "It's a pretty common question," said Ken Gaddy, Director of the Paul W. Bryant Museum in Tuscaloosa. The University of Alabama is home to many of the bests. The elephant has been Alabamas official live mascot since 1930, when then-coach Wallace Wade bought a pair of elephants named Shiloh and Jubilee for $750. 2 Alabama the national title. When those big brutes hit you I mean you go down and stay down, often for an additional two minutes. how big is a woolly mammoth compared to an elephant. When those big brutes hit you I mean you go down and stay down, often for an additional two minutes. 2 Alabama at Tuscaloosa isn't the Crimson Tide's mascot Big Al. 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. It's relaxing. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Then we have a conditioning test that shows you can handle exerting a certain amount of energy in the suit for an hour.". The Alabama Crimson Tides elephant mascot is one of the most recognizable symbols in college football. The Crimson Tides mascot is an elephant because the UA spirit committee began hiring elephants from travelling circuses or Tuscaloosa to attend every homecoming. During the 1940s, the school kept a live elephant mascot named "Alamite." That's what helped me the most in my tryout.". If there are enough students in the student section and we're ahead by enough points, Big Al will body surf up the student section, and that's always a fun experience. Pregame, you're in charge of marching the band out on to the field. Henry "Zipp" Newman, who became the sports editor of the Birmingham News at the age of 25, helped popularize the nickname. It just runs deep. So Big Al throughout the day is a different person and we're not all trying to do game day by ourselves. Tammy Slater is the founder of arew.org, a home and garden blog that provides inspiration and resources for homeowners and renters alike. It doesn't look very good. It's pretty much a part-time job. 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. [3] By the 1950s, keeping a live elephant year-round proved to be too expensive for the University. We were up for all of those morning shows. Since the early 1900s, the University of Alabama has been associated with the elephant. It's the interactions you get to have with people in other circumstances you would never get to meet. It was heartwarming because I myself was crying in suit as I was talking to these children -- or, interacting. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Q: I guess Big Al can't be too heavy then Webster: "Yeah, there was one year that this guy tried out who was 6-foot-7. He's cute. That person is in charge of the first quarter and third quarter, because in the third quarter we do box visits. You have to fast-forward 23 years to come upon the first mention of elephants to describe Alabama football. The varsity team was composed of big men, & when they ran out onto the field, the bleachers shook. The first elephant to represent the Crimson Tide was actually a live animal, brought to games to lead the team onto the field. Strupper wrote a story on October 8, 1930, describing Alabama's college football team after watching them pound Mississippi, 64-0, on October 4. Since then, Alphie has been a fixture at Alabama sporting events, accompanying the football team onto the field before every home game. The history of the Alabama Crimson Tides elephant mascot is a long and storied one. "Some of the mascots they're afraid of, but they're just drawn to Big Al.". (He was portrayed by a different student, of course, as Espey had long since graduated.). Bryant said he thought elephants were very smart and a little slow, but approved the funds for the elephant costume. Ill also be discussing why an elephant was chosen as the Tides mascot, and what it represents for the team and its fans. This tradition continued for many years and eventually, Melford Espey Jr., a student at UA, became the Crimson Tides official mascot by wearing an elephant head costume. In the 1960s, student Melford Espey would wear an elephant costume to games, much to the delight of legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. While the specific origin of why an elephant was chosen as Alabamas mascot is unknown, there are several theories. The name was inspired by the teams raw power and strength on the field. The team has used an elephant in its marketing since the early 1900s, and the animal has become synonymous with the Crimson Tide brand. A self-taught DIYer, Tammy loves nothing more than tackling a new project in her own home. Al throughout the day is a long and storied one buildup can block the showerhead 's water flow preventing... 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