It's just a small little tradition that not a lot of people know about probably. The Alabama elephant is the state animal of Alabama. 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. And with new content being added every day, there's always something new to discover. Compared to its more fearsome mascot counterparts around the country like LSU's live tiger, Mike, Big Al looks like a big stuffed animal. Sign up for daily stories delivered to your inbox. It was clear that Crimson Tide Nation's obsession with the pachyderm would not cease. The African elephant is larger than its Asian counterpart and has larger ears. 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. At the time of the vote, there was a popular DJ on campus by the name of Al Brown, who DJ'd many of the largest campus parties, including those hosted by members of the football team. Since then, Alphie has been a fixture at Alabama sporting events, accompanying the football team onto the field before every home game. Of course, Big Al has very rigorous training to make sure that we're not going to do anything questionable.". We were up for all of those morning shows. 1 Answer ANSWER 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. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Bryant was Alabama's football coach and athletic director, not to mention a legendary figure that Crimson Tide fans would never cross. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. The University of Alabama is home to many of the bests. The third quarter we do box visits. Despite their large size and weight, elephants are capable of running at up to 25 km/h (16 mph). . 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. Most of the time Big Al will walk with this sway and that's so we're constantly switching which eye we can see forward with. Additional troubleshooting information here. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. The final announcement of the next year's mascot team happens immediately following the spring game. 1 Alabama's nickname of "Crimson Tide" brings to mind the school's costumed elephant mascot, Big Al, no matter how hard you try. He is one of the most popular mascots in college sports and was even named national champion by the Universal Cheerleaders Association in 2003. In 1896, a sportswriter for the Birmingham Age-Herald came up with the nickname Crimson Tide to describe the University of Alabamas football team. Can he throw a football? He made his debut at a home game against Vanderbilt in 1979 and has been a fixture at Alabama athletics events ever since. 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. "At the end of the quarter, the earth started to tremble, he wrote, there was a distant rumble that continued to grow. The name was inspired by the teams raw power and strength on the field. They play the Green Day song ["Basket Case"]. Velyrhorde. [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 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. 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. [Related: PHOTO: Alabama fan gets massive $1,700 elephant back tattoo]. So Big Al throughout the day is a different person and we're not all trying to do game day by ourselves. The first day consists of an interview and clinic, where the candidates learn to emulate the character and walk of Big Al. 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. . 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. We met at 5:30 a.m. and we didn't get home until like 10:30. We also have prop usage. Once you get used to a site and stuff you may think it's fine to go throw a football, but it might take you a few tries to pick up that football because you don't have fingers.". It was heartwarming because I myself was crying in suit as I was talking to these children -- or, interacting. How did the audition go? Take a trip to Tuscaloosa and you'll find Nick Saban, who is undoubtedly the greatest college football coach of our generation. Strupper wrote, "That Alabama team of 1930 is a typical Wade machine, powerful, big, tough, fast, aggressive, well-schooled in fundamentals, and the best blocking team for this early in the season that I have ever seen. That's kind of where the trunk and the nose is. "Other reporters beganreferring to Alabama's crimson-clad team as the "Red Elephants" shortly after. after a little pleading with Coach Bear Bryant tojump on board with anon-field mascot, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. Two species are traditionally recognized, the African elephant and the Asian elephant. uniforms even crazier than Oregon's. The elephants regal nature underscores this fact. 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 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. It's definitely not the reason to be Big Al. Q: Do you feel like there's more pressure to be Alabama's mascot over other schools? LSU in 2019 was probably my favorite environment in sports. Then all your gestures get swallowed since it's such a big suit. Why is Alabama's mascot "Big Al" an elephant, you ask? In order to clear up the Bama faculty and staff's curiosity over the origin of the ever-present pachyderm, director emeritus of alumni affairs at the time, Jefferson Coleman, wrote a memo to legendary head coach Paul "Bear" Bryant in 1977. [Related: PHOTOS: 2012 college football uniform tracker & grader]. Q: What's crowd surfing up the student section like? The mascot is largely attributed to one man: sportswriter Everett Strupper of the Atlanta Journal. Which isn't to say that elephants didn't factor in prominently to gameday tradition. Q: So you have to have a certain height and weight to be Big Al? You see a lot of tigers, a lot of dogs. 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! 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. The elephant in the room going into the Arkansas Razorbacks' 1 p.m. Saturday showdown with No. Crimson Tide fans are okay with that. In the early 1930s, when the University started associating an elephant with its brand, the elephant was called Alamite. 2 Alabama at Tuscaloosa isn't the Crimson Tide's mascot Big Al. The school still refused, however, to acknowledge the elephant as an official mascot. 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? Elephantidae is the only surviving family of the order Proboscidea; other, now extinct, members of the order include deinotheres, gomphotheres, mammoths, and mastodons. It's a little bit of both. During the 1979 season, after a little pleading with Coach Bear Bryant tojump on board with anon-field mascot, Big Al made his first appearance alongside the Crimson Tide. The elephant mascot even has its own name: Big Al. It appears that the SSL configuration used is not compatible with Cloudflare. So within that sort of height. A young woman attending the ball decided to wear crimson to match those colors. The History of the Alabama Crimson Tide's Elephant Mascot. The bigger ones go to the school.". Click to reveal The origin of Alabama's elephant mascot. We're in the program for the football team. They always get us to the top.". That does get problematic for our September games that are upwards of 98 degrees. Crowd surfing is kind of a five minute lay-down-catch-your-breath situation. 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. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a15f357a85d190a Big Al is just the best. I don't think our team performs as well if Big Al doesn't get the fans into it. That's when I realized this isn't just for fun. It's something that people do for like a scholarship. 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. You get better at it after a few months being in suit. And Big Al's been an omnipresent fixture on the Crimson Tide sidelines ever since. Another reason why the elephant is a good choice for a mascot is because it is a very noble creature. What gives? link to How Do You Get Rid Of Hard Calcium Deposits In The Shower? [Related: Top 10 college football live mascots ft. Auburn's "War Eagle"]. "He thought that elephants were big, slow and clumsy. Why Is An Elephant Alabamas Mascot? Alabama's elephant mascot is known as "Big Al". The tradition continues to this day, with fans often bringing their own elephants to games or buying them from vendors outside the stadium. Big Al is the costumed mascot of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He is known for his enthusiastic pers. Like the team's nickname, it was the brainchild of a sports writer . This is due to a 2002 incident between Big Al and Seymour of Southern Miss during a game in Tuscaloosa. 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. The elephant is also very large, which makes it an imposing figure that can be seen from far away. The mascot known as "Big Al" today was the brainchild of University of Alabama student Walt Tart, member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. The first elephant to represent the Crimson Tide was actually a live animal, brought to games to lead the team onto the field. Aubie (a tiger) and an eagle. "At the end of the quarter, the earth started to tremble, there was a distant rumble that continued to grow," wrote Everett Strupper of the Atlanta Journal when describing the Tide's domination of Ole Miss on Oct. 8, 1930. Strupper and other writers continued to refer to the Alabama linemen as "Red Elephants," the color referring to the crimson jerseys. Finally, elephants have long memories, which is a fitting metaphor for university alumni who remember their time at UA fondly. 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. Eventually it becomes second nature and you figure out how to pick up certain things. The team went on to be named National Champions, according to rolltide.com. Webster: "Oh, Big Al. They measure up to 3.3 metres (10 ft 10 in) in shoulder height and 4.6 metres (15 ft 1 in) in length from head to tail when fully grown. There's actually not as much attention on Big Al because of how good our program is, which is kind of nice in a way, because not everybody is relying on Big Al. 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. "Some excited fan in the stands bellowed, 'Hold your horses, the elephants are coming,' and out stamped this Alabama varsity. Some excited fan in the stands bellowed, 'Hold your horses, the elephants are coming,' and out stamped this Alabama varsity. With Bryants support, the university made an elephant the teams official mascot in 1980, and Big Al made his debut at the Sugar Bowl. 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. We do have a roster on rolltide.com. Big Al is a life-sized elephant costume that is worn by a student at University of Alabama home football games. 1 Alabama's nickname of "Crimson Tide" brings to mind the school's costumed elephant mascot, Big Al, no matter how hard you try. He wasn't fat. ", Webster: "I think it's on the website too but if a corporate company wants Big Al its $400 to the university. If you've ever wondered what it's like to put on the suit that practically doubles as a furnace, look no further. When those big brutes hit you I mean you go down and stay down, often for an additional two minutes. Bryant Museum in Tuscaloosa, told Yahoo Sports in 2012. Then we as the judges have to guess what he's trying to do with the props. We talked to two Big Als -- one who currently plays him and one who used to -- to understand exactly what life as 'Bama's mascot is like. Q: How does being Big Al work with multiple people? The story of how Alabama became associated with the "elephant" goes back to the 1930 season. Dickey: "The tryout for Big Al -- he's a very creative guy. He's a very unconventional mascot in general. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. So that's a cool thing that we get the respect from the university. The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. How hot is it? Why is an elephant alabama's mascot? Q: Something tells me Big Al is pretty busy on Saturdays. 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. 30 Second Answer. The 1930 team posted an overall 10-0 record. So that's kind of looking for the creativity part. That's really the payment. [7] The scripted fight suddenly became unscripted after Seymour deviated from the set rules, and a raucous fight on the sidelines between the two ensued. "It's a pretty common question," said Ken Gaddy, Director of the Paul W. Bryant Museum in Tuscaloosa. Today it explains the meaning behind Alabama'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. With Bryant's support, the university made an elephant. When Bryant shot down the elephant mascot idea, that was that. The tradition of using an elephant as a mascot has continued ever since. 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. Our head is actually larger than most university mascots. No. The maximum amount of time Big Al can spend at your special day: one hour. Photo courtesy of William Webster. The nickname "Crimson White," then "Thin Red Line" and "Crimson Tide" stuck. The first shift is Quad. 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. As a result of DJ Al's popularity, a campaign was started on campus to name the mascot after him, and that campaign succeeded at the polls. So what took so long for the Alabama administration to adopt the animal as the school's official mascot? The first elephant to represent the Crimson Tide was actually a live animal, brought to games to lead the team onto the field. There are many reasons why the Crimson Tides mascot is an elephant. Bryant was very easy to talk to and teased them about having a real elephant on the field and the mess it would make. However, elephants featured prominently to gameday tradition long before this point. The biggest part that we do as a team is we work out. The mascot represents the strength and power of the Crimson Tide, and its presence on the sidelines is a source of inspiration for the teams players. Since you see out of the corner of your eyes the way they push you up you can see yourself on the screen whenever they put you on the screen. 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?' The best experience I ever had as Big Al was when I was at a children's hospital. 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. Over time, showerheads can become clogged with deposits of calcium, magnesium, lime, silica, and other minerals. That was definitely the most challenging event, but it was definitely the most rewarding because I think I got the most out of that one. 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. The band will form an elephant on the field and Big Al will march them down the field. Elephants are scattered throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. 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