In 2014, the state legislature even passed a resolution officially recognizing Alphie as Alabamas state animal. It was a regular on gamedays, and for several years it would carry that year's homecoming queen onto the field prior to the game. They feel like they'd like to invest back into us, which really means a lot that the university would give money to the cheer program. What is cardinal color? Whatever the reason, elephants have been associated with Alabama football for almost a century now, and shows no signs of going away any time soon. It's relaxing. Don't miss a story! Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). The maximum amount of time Big Al can spend at your special day: one hour. He'll also drop in on your nuptials, if youre willing to pony up his $400 wedding appearance fee. If it's a close game he won't body surf, because we don't wanna count our chickens.". We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. He looked at me like we were gonna start something, but then I grabbed Big Al and said, 'Let's go!' Big Al walks in to the room and he has to interact with the props in multiple different ways, but he can't use any of the props for their intended purpose. Big Al is the costumed mascot of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 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. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The "Big Al" mascot officially debuted at the 1979 Sugar Bowl, when the 1979 Alabama Crimson Tide football team defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks. It's just a small little tradition that not a lot of people know about probably. The elephant mascot even has its own name: Big Al. ANSWER. Why is Alabama's mascot an elephant? Today it explains the meaning behind Alabama's elephant mascot. Dickey: "There definitely is. Bryant was very easy to talk to and teased them about having a real elephant on the field and the mess it would make. The maximum amount of time Big Al can spend at your special day: one hour. Roll tide. He's a very large person, and so usually we have people on the team that are very athletic build. Instead, the school's "Spirit Planning Committee" started hiring elephants often from traveling circuses passing through or by Tuscaloosa for every homecoming. Wearing white in the fourth quarter really makes him pop out.". The school still refused, however, to acknowledge the elephant as an official mascot. Which isn't to say that elephants didn't factor in prominently to gameday tradition. The elephant, named John Heisman, after the famous coach, was a big hit with students and fans. Why does Alabama use an elephant as a mascot? In addition to leading the football team onto the field before each game, Big Al also participates in community outreach programs and makes appearances at university functions. Since funding for the costume would have to come from the athletic department, Tart and Paige set up a meeting with Coach Bryant, who was the football coach and athletic director of the University. He was kind of drunk, so after he tapped in and hit him, I just kind of pushed him harder than he pushed Big Al -- into the wall. Q: So you have to have a certain height and weight to be Big Al? Tammy Slater is the founder of arew.org, a home and garden blog that provides inspiration and resources for homeowners and renters alike. I was crying in suit but I had to act like as if Big Al were happy. The 1930 team posted an overall 10-0 record. He is known for his enthusiastic pers. The elephant in the room going into the Arkansas Razorbacks' 1 p.m. Saturday showdown with No. 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. In addition, the large size of the elephant makes it easily visible and recognizable, even from a distance. We also have prop usage. Hugh Roberts, sports editor for the Birmingham Age-Herald, is widely credited as being the first to use "Crimson Tide" to refer to Alabama's football team. Our head is actually larger than most university mascots. [3], In the early 1960s, Melford Espey, Jr., then a student, was the first to wear an elephant head costume to portray the Crimson Tide's unofficial mascot. The "Red Elephants" rolled over Washington State 24-0 in the Rose Bowl and were declared National Champions. Since then, Alphie has been a fixture at Alabama sporting events, accompanying the football team onto the field before every home game. 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. 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. The cheerleaders will tumble through the end zone. Q: What's the story behind the white jersey tradition? Welcome to my blog, where Ill be discussing the important question of why the Alabama Crimson Tides mascot is an elephant. It's kind of about the kids. The elephant is also very large, which makes it an imposing figure that can be seen from far away. Bryant Museum in Tuscaloosa, told Yahoo Sports in 2012. All rights reserved. The "Red Elephants" rolled over Washington State 24-0 in the Rose Bowl and were declared National Champions. 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]. 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. On October 8, 1930, a sportswriter for the Atlanta Journal, Everett Strupper, wrote about the previous weekend's Alabama-Ole Miss football game. From there, we drive back to the stadium and the next person gets in the suit. In its place, costumed mascots have filled the role of the Crimson Tides elephant mascot. No. Why is the Alabama mascot an elephant? 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. We have to divvy that up between us.". In the 1960s, student Melford Espey would wear an elephant costume to games, much to the delight of legendary coach Paul Bear Bryant. All of the Big Als that played Big Al are a very close community to me. The more you return and the more you dedicate to the program, the more you get in scholarship money. Bulls use their tusks aggressively while fighting; elephants also use them for tasks such as moving trees and stripping bark from trees for food. 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. I don't know how else to put it.". After this, they perform for 1015 minutes each during the game, mimicking a normal gameday atmosphere. It just runs deep. 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. LostLettermen.com is a college football and men's basketball site that regularly contributes to Dr. Saturday. That's just Big Al.' The next person's assignment is pregame and halftime. 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 history of the Alabama Crimson Tide's elephant mascot is a long and storied one. William Webster poses with a fellow Big Al during the College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on January 7, 2019. Most popular on LostLettermen.com: PHOTO: Passed out Georgia football fan becomes infamous Alabama fans' family portrait includes baby as football PHOTOS: Top 10 ugliest college football helmets ever WAGS of college football players ft. USC's Matt Barkley PHOTOS: Insane H.S. In the 1960s, student Melford Espey would wear an elephant costume to games, much to the delight of legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. First and foremost, elephants are strong and powerful animals that convey a sense of strength and power. We're actually athletes at the university just as much as a cheerleader is. Dickey: "Oh yeah, Big Al is one of my best friends. William Webster spent four years as Big Al from 2018 to 2021. This could happen for a several reasons, including no shared cipher suites. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a15f357a85d190a And Big Al's been an omnipresent fixture on the Crimson Tide sidelines ever since. [Related: PHOTOS: 2012 college football uniform tracker & grader]. 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. 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. In addition to being the live mascot at Crimson Tide football games, Big Al is also used in a number of other ways to represent the university. But there is a little bit of pressure about image. So what took so long for the Alabama administration to adopt the animal as the school's official mascot? The mascot known as "Big Al" today was the brainchild of University of Alabama student Walt Tart, member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Crimson Tide fans are okay with that. "It was the first time that I had seen it and the size of the entire eleven nearly knocked me cold, men that I had seen play last year looking like they had nearly doubled in size.". They play the Green Day song ["Basket Case"]. They were telling me about how much I made their day. Two species are traditionally recognized, the African elephant and the Asian elephant. I've always had good experiences with it. But the same students that worshipped the Bear persisted, and he finally relented in the late 1970s. As part of their efforts, they decided to hire . It's an innate thing that everyone deep down knows but won't admit itI'm kidding. 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. . 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 appears that the SSL configuration used is not compatible with Cloudflare. The president came to the football game. "Some excited fan in the stands bellowed, 'Hold your horses, the elephants are coming,' and out stamped this Alabama varsity. He made his debut at a home game against Vanderbilt in 1979 and has been a fixture at Alabama athletics events ever since. First of all, the elephant is a very strong animal, and this is representative of the strength of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team. They always get us to the top.". Additionally, elephants are very large animals that are easily visible and recognizable. Henry "Zipp" Newman, who became the sports editor of the Birmingham News at the age of 25, helped popularize the nickname. how big is a woolly mammoth compared to an elephant. ", Strupper, using the flair for the dramatic common in sportswriting at the time, wrote, "At the end of the quarter, the earth started to tremble, there was a distant rumble that continued to grow. Why is Alabama's mascot "Big Al" an elephant, you ask? We had College Gameday in the morning. [2] Throughout the 1940s, for instance, the University kept a live elephant mascot named "Alamite" that was a regular sight on game days, and it would carry the year's Homecoming queen onto the field every year prior to kickoff at the Homecoming game. The nickname stuck. The. 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