In the 1960s, student Melford Espey would wear an elephant costume to games, much to the delight of legendary coach Paul Bear Bryant. It was clear that Crimson Tide Nation's obsession with the pachyderm would not cease. The elephant mascot even has its own name: Big Al. They always get us to the top.". 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. Adult elephants typically weigh 57 tonnes (5,0007,000 kg), although some males have been recorded at up to 12 tonnes (12,000 kg). It's pretty much a part-time job. The tradition of using an elephant as a mascot has continued ever since. A young woman attending the ball decided to wear crimson to match those colors. 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. Q: Something tells me Big Al is pretty busy on Saturdays. "Some excited fan in the stands bellowed, 'Hold your horses, the elephants are coming,' and out stamped this Alabama varsity. "Some of the mascots they're afraid of, but they're just drawn to Big Al.". In 1907, a live elephant was brought to campus as a mascot for the universitys football team. It's just kind of a little thing we do. [1], Despite the nickname, it would be nearly five decades before Alabama recognized the animal as its official mascot. They were telling me about how much I made their day. It's relaxing. Tammy Slater is the founder of arew.org, a home and garden blog that provides inspiration and resources for homeowners and renters alike. Click to reveal The "Big Al" mascot officially debuted at the 1980 Sugar Bowl, when the 1979 Alabama Crimson Tide football team defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks. He makes appearances at university functions and events, he stars in commercials and public service announcements, and he even has his own line of merchandise. 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. This is due to a 2002 incident between Big Al and Seymour of Southern Miss during a game in Tuscaloosa. The "Big Al" mascot officially debuted at the 1980 Sugar Bowl, when the 1979 Alabama Crimson Tide football team defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks. After box visits, Big Al will come back in a white jersey. Q: So you have to have a certain height and weight to be Big Al? He has a signature, so we practice the signature and teach it to other people. The final announcement of the next year's mascot team happens immediately following the spring game. Q: I'm guessing you fell in love with it. The "Red Elephants" rolled over Washington State 24-0 in the Rose Bowl and were declared National Champions. (He was portrayed by a different student, of course, as Espey had long since graduated.). On October 8, 1930, a sportswriter for the Atlanta Journal, Everett Strupper, wrote about the previous weekend's Alabama-Ole Miss football game. 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 don't have people that are very large, so making sure we have people who can be very animated with their full body movements is super important. 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. I'm not bulky by any means so it was never hard for people to lift me up. 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. 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. Dickey: "There definitely is. The first elephant to be associated with the team was actually a live animal, brought to games in the early 1900s. Webster: "It's fun. Strupper and other writers continued to refer to the Alabama linemen as "Red Elephants," the color referring to the crimson jerseys. 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. Instead, the UA spirit committee started hiring elephants, often from traveling circuses passing through or by Tuscaloosa, for every homecoming. Big Al has not always been our mascot's name. Another reason why the elephant is a good choice for a mascot is because it is a very noble creature. He looked at me like we were gonna start something, but then I grabbed Big Al and said, 'Let's go!' Since then, the Crimson Tides elephant mascot has been represented in a variety of ways, from costumed mascots to cartoon characters. The tradition of an elephant mascot continued for many years, with various live animals appearing at games and even marching in parades. [Related: VIDEO: Ole Miss streaker gets leveled by security]. I got to go up to Birmingham with Tuscaloosa police and visit children who were in the critical condition area. ", LIVE:No. 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.". 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. We'll get all of our equipment over, all of our props for the day over to the stadium. He went 19-6 against arch rivals Auburn. 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. LIVE. The 1930 team posted an overall 10-0 record. ", 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. We have a round that is just the walk. That was probably one of the coolest experiences I had as Big Al. The band will form an elephant on the field and Big Al will march them down the field. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. He's fun. It was heartwarming because I myself was crying in suit as I was talking to these children -- or, interacting. 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. Cloudflare is unable to establish an SSL connection to the origin server. With Bryants support, the university made an elephant the teams official mascot in 1980, and Big Al made his debut at the Sugar Bowl. Then we as the judges have to guess what he's trying to do with the props. In the 1960s, student Melford Espey would wear an elephant costume to games, much to the delight of legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. ", VIDEO: Ole Miss streaker gets leveled by security, PHOTOS: 2012 college football uniform tracker & grader, 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. 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. The expiration date also labeled Arew is the go-to source for all your home improvement, gardening, cooking, and family needs. We work out every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 in the morning. Ill also be discussing why an elephant was chosen as the Tides mascot, and what it represents for the team and its fans. We have five different assignments for every game day split between all five of us. For Ole Miss was truly battling the big boys for every inch of ground. Later that afternoon, the candidates come either prepared with a minute-and-a-half skit or they can make an impromptu one at tryouts. We put people in suit for different rounds. From that point, Strupper started calling Alabama the Red Elephants, and the association stuck. Most of our traditions happen in the fourth quarter. 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. 1 Alabama's nickname of "Crimson Tide" brings to mind the school's costumed elephant mascot, Big Al, no matter how hard you try. The first elephant to represent the Crimson Tide was actually a live animal, brought to games to lead the team onto the field. 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. Big Al's game debut was one to remember: The 1979 Sugar Bowl against top-ranked and undefeated Penn State, when a fourth-quarter goal line stand delivered No. The maximum amount of time Big Al can spend at your special day: one hour. ANSWER. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Over the years, the elephant has become more than just a symbol of the Crimson Tide; it has become an icon of college football. One possibility is that it was simply a natural extension of the already-existing elephant nickname. That was not the image of his players he wanted to portray.". 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. When those big brutes hit you I mean you go down and stay down, often for an additional two minutes. He'll come out and do the fourth quarter things, the traditions. [Related: PHOTO: Alabama fan gets massive $1,700 elephant back tattoo]. He's cute. He wrote, "That Alabama team of 1930 is a typical [Coach Wallace] 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. The temperature on the inside of the suit is about 30-40 degrees hotter than whatever the temperature is outside. What gives? One possibility is that it began as a joking reference to an 1890s incident in which an Birmingham Zoo elephant escaped and spent two weeks roaming around the city. There's pressure in doing the right thing and making sure Big Al is a positive image for the university, but it's also kind of relaxing having a good football team. 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. They play 'Tusk' and it's just kind of a cool little tradition we have. The Crimson Tide's mascot is an elephant because the UA spirit committee began hiring elephants from travelling circuses or Tuscaloosa to attend every homecoming. 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. But if you wanted Big Al for a private event that would be like $100. He actually does 500 activities outside of the sporting events that he attends, so he's a very busy guy. What that is is we'll have a room with three random props in it. Tusks grow throughout an elephants lifetime; an individuals tusk length is a useful criterion for age determination as elephants reach physical maturity at around 15 years old. After a few rounds, he got dropped. uniforms even crazier than Oregon's. This could happen for a several reasons, including no shared cipher suites. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. It just takes some practice, for sure. 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. Every player is instantly thinking, 'Oh, I'm not here to make it to the NFL. Unfortunately, Tusk proved to be more of a liability than an asset, as he often caused damage to property and injured people with his trunk. The team went on to be named National Champions, according to rolltide.com. "He thought that elephants were big, slow and clumsy. It's just kind a fun way to be creative on game day. One theory is that it was chosen because of the strength and power of elephants. 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. He's still one of the most unique mascots in college football. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. A self-taught DIYer, Tammy loves nothing more than tackling a new project in her own home. Especially considering that "Crimson Tide" entered the pantheon of Alabama traditions long before elephants did. Dickey: "Big Al has a very unconventional suit. Elephants are scattered throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. So we have to pass a conditioning test to prove we have the athletic stamina to be Big Al. 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. But it would be nearly five decades until Alabama recognized the animal as its official mascot. "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. Everyone puts their fours in the air. An elephant is a large mammal of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea. LostLettermen.com is a college football and men's basketball site that regularly contributes to Dr. Saturday. Crowd surfing is kind of a five minute lay-down-catch-your-breath situation. The cheerleaders will tumble through the end zone. It just runs deep. 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. Q: How does being Big Al work with multiple people? It's kind of like is a parent every gonna say someone else in his kid's class is the best kid? As part of their efforts, they decided to hire . Big Al wears a white jersey for the fourth quarter of football games. With thousands of articles covering everything from do-it-yourself repairs to tips on parenting, Arew has something for everyone. Bryant said he thought elephants were very smart and a little slow, but approved the funds for the elephant costume. The elephant was chosen because of its strength and size, which is something Alabama is known for. Welcome to my blog, where Ill be discussing the important question of why the Alabama Crimson Tides mascot is an elephant. Despite their large size and weight, elephants are capable of running at up to 25 km/h (16 mph). 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. The fact that he's an elephant, it's just not something you see very often. We had College Gameday in the morning. The biggest thing is that we're viewed as student-athletes. From there, we drive back to the stadium and the next person gets in the suit. 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. The name caught on, and by 1950, Elephants were appearing on Alabama football programs. Roberts used the term to describe crimson-and-white-clad Alabama's surprising performance during a rain-soaked 6-6 tie with heavily favored Auburn in 1907. Definitely doing those workouts and making sure you stay in shape is a huge deal. [Related: Top 10 college football live mascots ft. Auburn's "War Eagle"]. The elephant in the room going into the Arkansas Razorbacks' 1 p.m. Saturday showdown with No. We always say if you can see the camera, Big Al is looking somewhere else. I never felt like I was going to be dropped. Needless to say, Alabama opponents in the SEC aren't nearly as fond of seeing the Crimson Tide's elephant mascot. Additional troubleshooting information here. Today, Big Al can be seen at all types of University of Alabama athletic events, not just football. "He said, 'If that's what students want, that's what it should be,' " Gaddy said. how big is a woolly mammoth compared to an elephant. The other guy who was there was Big Al, and this one dude came up and started pushing on Big Al. Well, the story goes all the way back to the 1930 National Championship team. When those big brutes hit you I mean you go down and stay down, often for an additional two minutes. So within that sort of height. 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. It's definitely not the reason to be Big Al. He became Big Al in the spring of 2019 and is currently one of five students on the Big Al team. Since the early 1900s, the University of Alabama has been associated with the elephant. Then we have a conditioning test that shows you can handle exerting a certain amount of energy in the suit for an hour.". The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. All rights reserved. Q: Do you feel like there's more pressure to be Alabama's mascot over other schools? That's a lot of weight on your neck. We're actually athletes at the university just as much as a cheerleader is. He's a very large person, and so usually we have people on the team that are very athletic build. Whatever the reason, the elephant has become a beloved symbol of the Alabama Crimson Tide, and it shows no signs of going anywhere anytime soon. Dickey: "My favorite gamewe lost the game. Dickey: "That's actually a really funny story. This mineral buildup can block the showerhead's water flow, preventing it from Can you cook mince 1 day out of date? This fits in well with the tradition and history of the Alabama Crimson Tide, which is one of the most prestigious college football teams in the country. Wearing white in the fourth quarter really makes him pop out.". The school still refused, however, to acknowledge the elephant as an official mascot. And the rest is history. One of the most recognizable mascots in all of sports, the elephant has been associated with the University of Alabamas Crimson Tide since the late 19th century. How big is a mammoth compared to an elephant? 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. That's just Big Al.' The Alabama Crimson Tides elephant mascot is one of the most recognizable symbols in college football. 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Of why is alabama's mascot an elephant Miss during a game in Tuscaloosa or, interacting traditions long before did.

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