"He thought that elephants were big, slow and clumsy. [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. 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. Alabama's mascot is an elephant but they are called the "Crimson Tide" and the war cry is"Roll tide!". The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Especially considering that "Crimson Tide" entered the pantheon of Alabama traditions long before elephants did. Q: I'm guessing you fell in love with it. He has a signature, so we practice the signature and teach it to other people. [Related: VIDEO: Ole Miss streaker gets leveled by security]. A sportswriter named Everett Strupper wrote about how head coach Wallace Wade's Alabama team's big and aggressive linemen resembled elephants after pounding . The 1930 team posted an overall 10-0 record. The History of the Alabama Crimson Tide's Elephant Mascot. Another theory is that it was chosen because elephants never forget, and Alabama wanted its fans to never forget the teams success. 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 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. 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). We're actually athletes at the university just as much as a cheerleader is. 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. Big Al walks into the room and everyone lights up. 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. He's a very large person, and so usually we have people on the team that are very athletic build. In any case, elephants have long been associated with both Alabama athletics and the state of Alabama as a whole. Some excited fan in the stands bellowed, 'Hold your horses, the elephants are coming,' and out stamped this Alabama varsity. 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. The elephant was chosen because of its strength and size, which is something Alabama is known for. You have to fast-forward 23 years to come upon the first mention of elephants to describe Alabama football. We work out every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 in the morning. Bryant said he thought elephants were very smart and a little slow, but approved the funds for the elephant costume. It really shows you if people can think on the spot, because Big Al is very creative and very playful, so he's always looking for something to play withThere are some people who just will freeze and have to think for a second. It's relaxing. "Some excited fan in the stands bellowed, 'Hold your horses, the elephants are coming,' and out stamped this Alabama varsity. LIVE. 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. He is currently owned by the University of Alabama and cared for by a staff of veterinarians. 1 Alabama, No. So Big Al's suit is different from a lot of other mascots. What Is The Difference Between Bonding And HardWall. Dickey: "The tryout for Big Al -- he's a very creative guy. He is one of the most popular mascots in college sports and was even named national champion by the Universal Cheerleaders Association in 2003. So that's kind of looking for the creativity part. The birthday parties we can keep. We had College Gameday in the morning. 1 Alabama, No. Both sexes have tusks, which are modified upper incisors. An elephant is a large mammal of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea. Although Big Al . "It's special to the kids that relate to him," Gaddy said. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. So how did one of college football's blue bloods on the path to win its third national title in four years come to be represented by an animal most often associated with the circus, Dumbo and the Republican Party? The history of the Alabama Crimson Tide's elephant mascot is a long and storied one. The history of the Alabama Crimson Tides elephant mascot is a long and storied one. 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. Dickey: "I'm not actually sure why, but it's just always been the thing that Big Al does. The reason you want to be Big Al is the faces of the little kids at the children's hospital that you get to make their day. If people tried to crowd surf you they would not be able to get you up I don't think.". 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. It shut out eight opponents and allowed only 13 points all season while scoring 217. After box visits, Big Al will come back in a white jersey. Bryant Museum in Tuscaloosa, told Yahoo Sports in 2012. Finally, elephants are social animals that live in close-knit herds. 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.". 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. [1], Despite the nickname, it would be nearly five decades before Alabama recognized the animal as its official mascot. The students were really involved in the game. Since then, the Crimson Tide has had several live elephants as mascots, the most recent of which is named Big Al. [3] By the 1950s, keeping a live elephant year-round proved to be too expensive for the University. 167.114.26.66 And finally, elephants are also known for their long memories, which is fitting given that university alumni are often referred to as old elephants.. 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. They play the Green Day song ["Basket Case"]. There are many reasons why the Crimson Tides mascot is an elephant. [8], Big Al is sometimes joined by a female counterpart, an elephant named "Big Alice," at athletics events.[9]. We have to divvy that up between us.". 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. 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. Why Did Alabama Pick an Elephant as a Mascot Alabama, like most universities, chose an animal as their mascot to represent their school. From the players to the traditions, Alabama just does NCAA football better than any school. In the early 1930s, when the University started associating an elephant with its brand, the elephant was called Alamite. 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's what helped me the most in my tryout.". Big Al was named by a student vote. 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. He became Big Al in the spring of 2019 and is currently one of five students on the Big Al team. This mirrors the close bond that exists between members of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team and its fans. The varsity team was composed of big men, & when they ran out onto the field, the bleachers shook. Alabama's elephant mascot is known as "Big Al". 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. Nothing about No. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. It appears that the SSL configuration used is not compatible with Cloudflare. The 1930 team posted an overall 10-0 record. 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. Why does Alabama use an elephant as a mascot? 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 do get a little bit of scholarship money just because we do so much for the university. 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. Some excited fan in the stands bellowed, 'Hold your horses, the elephants are coming,' and out stamped this Alabama varsity. Unmatched in size that Alabama team knocked me [out] cold, men that I had seen play last year looking like they had nearly doubled in size." The elephant is an excellent choice for a mascot for the Alabama Crimson Tide. "At the end of the quarter, the earth started to tremble, he wrote, there was a distant rumble that continued to grow. This could happen for a several reasons, including no shared cipher suites. Since the early 1900s, the University of Alabama has been associated with the elephant. 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. The "Big Al" mascot officially debuted at the 1980 Sugar Bowl, when the 1979 Alabama Crimson Tide football team defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks. Q: Something tells me Big Al is pretty busy on Saturdays. 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. It kind of symbols a sign of 'we made it, let's finish this.' It just runs deep. Why is the Alabama mascot an elephant? Take a trip to Tuscaloosa and you'll find Nick Saban, who is undoubtedly the greatest college football coach of our generation. ", 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 also have 'Elephant Stomp' which is at Gorgas Library. Webster: "It's fun. 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. That's a lot of weight on your neck. We do have a roster on rolltide.com. The Million Dollar Band. How hot is it? How big is a mammoth compared to an elephant? Even though the elephant served as a symbol for the team, it took decades for the Big Al mascot to come to fruition. ", Webster: "I think it's on the website too but if a corporate company wants Big Al its $400 to the university. More than 40 years since Big Al earned the stamp of approval, he's still spreading spirit at Bryant-Denny Stadium and other Alabama athletics events. The first time an elephant was mentioned in relation to Alabama athletics was in 1907, when then-head football coach Eugene Beaumont called his squad a great big blue elephant. The nickname stuck, and in 1931, then-sports editor Everett Strupper of the Atlanta Journal wrote that Alabamas football team had the biggest, grandest show on earth.. 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. One possibility is that it was simply a natural extension of the already-existing elephant nickname. So Big Al wearing his white jersey is a part of that tradition. The first elephant to be associated with the team was actually a live animal, brought to games in the early 1900s. 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?' LostLettermen.com is a college football and men's basketball site that regularly contributes to Dr. Saturday. 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. We have to learn his signature, too. 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. How did Big Al became Alabama's mascot? Crimson Tide fans are okay with that. Like the team's nickname, it was the brainchild of a sports writer . ", Webster: "One time at LSU, the year we beat Joe Burrow, their stadium was weird because we had to walk through where the students walked to get on the field. The Million Dollar Band, the University of Alabama's marching band, was founded in 1912 with 14 members under the direction of Dr. Gustav Wittig. Another theory is that elephants are widely considered to be lucky animals, and thus choosing one as a mascot would supposedly bring good luck to the Crimson Tide. It's an innate thing that everyone deep down knows but won't admit itI'm kidding. It's just kind of a little thing we do. "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.". It's a little bit of both. 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. How did the audition go? It's something that people do for like a scholarship. Why Is Alabama'Smascot An Elephant - Related Questions How did Big Al became Alabama's mascot? An excited fan yelled "The elephants are coming!" & the title stuck. He'll also drop in on your nuptials, if youre willing to pony up his $400 wedding appearance fee. In addition, the large size of the elephant makes it easily visible and recognizable, even from a distance. Webster: "We probably have people that range from 5-foot-9 to 6-foot-2 is the tallest we've had. 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. Webster: "Oh, Big Al. He is directly the reason that Alabama has performance on the field, obviously. We met at 5:30 a.m. and we didn't get home until like 10:30. Since then, Alphie has been a fixture at Alabama sporting events, accompanying the football team onto the field before every home game. 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. In the 1960s, student Melford Espey would wear an elephant costume to games, much to the delight of legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. Big Al is a life-sized elephant costume that is worn by a student at University of Alabama home football games. Despite their large size and weight, elephants are capable of running at up to 25 km/h (16 mph). We had SEC Nation. The story of how Alabama became associated with the "elephant" goes back to the 1930 season. 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 origin of the mascot dates back to 1930. We have five different assignments for every game day split between all five of us. Welcome to my blog, where Ill be discussing the important question of why the Alabama Crimson Tides mascot is an elephant. 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. The Elephant Story. It's just a small little tradition that not a lot of people know about probably. 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 elephant has been UA's unofficial mascot since the 1930s. 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. So that's a cool thing that we get the respect from the university. But it would be nearly five decades until Alabama recognized the animal as its official mascot. This. actually a live animal, brought to games in order to excite crowd... 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