1 . Every player is instantly thinking, 'Oh, I'm not here to make it to the NFL. From there, we drive back to the stadium and the next person gets in the suit. Our head is actually larger than most university mascots. 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. You see a lot of tigers, a lot of dogs. The origin of Roll Tide as a rallying cry can be traced to the Alabamaor 'Bama as it's often abbreviatedfootball team. The "Red Elephants" rolled over Washington State 24-0 in the Rose Bowl and were declared National Champions. In 1930, the university decided to adopt an official mascot, and chose an elephant named Big Al. Big Al made his debut at the Sugar Bowl that year, and has been a fixture at Alabama football games ever since. Today, Big Al can be seen at all types of University of Alabama athletic events, not just football. That's just Big Al.' As part of their efforts, they decided to hire elephants from travelling circuses or from Tuscaloosa to attend every homecoming football game. Nothing about No. "At the end of the quarter, the earth started to tremble, he wrote, there was a distant rumble that continued to grow. Elephantidae is the only surviving family of the order Proboscidea; other, now extinct, members of the order include deinotheres, gomphotheres, mammoths, and mastodons. The birthday parties we can keep. ", LIVE:No. Thankfully I never had any problems with it. Big Al has not always been our mascot's name. We have to learn his signature, too. Some excited fan in the stands bellowed, 'Hold your horses, the elephants are coming,' and out stamped this Alabama varsity. Sign up for daily stories delivered to your inbox. The 1930 team posted an overall 10-0 record. 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. You get to make everyone's day. Why Is An Elephant Alabamas Mascot? When those big brutes hit you I mean you go down and stay down, often for an additional two minutes. You have to fast-forward 23 years to come upon the first mention of elephants to describe Alabama football. When Bryant shot down the elephant mascot idea, that was that. In the early days of the University of Alabama (UA), a spirit committee was formed to help boost school morale. "It's a pretty common question," said Ken Gaddy, Director of the Paul W. Bryant Museum in Tuscaloosa. It's just kind of a little thing we do. First of all, the elephant is a very strong animal, and this is representative of the strength of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team. It takes all five of us. The. I don't think our team performs as well if Big Al doesn't get the fans into it. Why is Alabama's mascot an elephant? This could happen for a several reasons, including no shared cipher suites. I've always had good experiences with it. Even though the elephant served as a symbol for the team, it took decades for the Big Al mascot to come to fruition. Two species are traditionally recognized, the African elephant and the Asian elephant. 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. 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. The students were really involved in the game. All rights reserved (About Us). The biggest thing is that we're viewed as student-athletes. Like the team's nickname, it was the brainchild of a sports writer. [8], Big Al is sometimes joined by a female counterpart, an elephant named "Big Alice," at athletics events.[9]. What that is is we'll have a room with three random props in it. Roll tide. He received a price quote from Disney for the design and construction of the elephant costume. 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. So within that sort of height. Of course, Big Al has very rigorous training to make sure that we're not going to do anything questionable.". 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. It's not just a random date that the food company picked out of thin air. It just runs deep. [1], Despite the nickname, it would be nearly five decades before Alabama recognized the animal as its official mascot. You get better at it after a few months being in suit. Crimson Tide fans are okay with that. 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. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. And Big Al's been an omnipresent fixture on the Crimson Tide sidelines ever since. Bryant was very easy to talk to and teased them about having a real elephant on the field and the mess it would make. Your IP: 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. None of us even have close to a full scholarship. 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. Whatever its origins, the elephant quickly became a popular symbol for the Crimson Tide, appearing in newspaper cartoons and on team merchandise. It doesn't look very good. Why does Alabama use an elephant as a mascot? The University of Alabama is home to many of the bests. Instead, the school's "Spirit Planning Committee" started hiring elephants often from traveling circuses passing through or by Tuscaloosa for every homecoming. For Ole Miss was truly battling the big boys for every inch of ground. 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. Thankfully part of Big Al's character is being clumsy. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. If you picture your vision on a clock from 9-3 you can't see from 11-1 o'clock. Another theory is that it was inspired by a 1903 news article about then-Alabama head coach Mike Donahue, who was said to have a huge and strong team that was unstoppable like an elephant.. The president came to the football game. We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. How big is a mammoth compared to an elephant? Big Al walks into the room and everyone lights up. Today, Big Al can be seen at all types of University of Alabama athletic events, not just football. While the specific origin of why an elephant was chosen as Alabamas mascot is unknown, there are several theories. He wasn't fat. It's a little bit of both. It's pretty much a part-time job. 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. We had College Gameday in the morning. With Bryants support, the university made an elephant the teams official mascot in 1980, and Big Al made his debut at the Sugar Bowl. As a result, the live elephant mascot was eventually retired. The "Big Al" mascot officially debuted at the 1980 Sugar Bowl, when the 1979 Alabama Crimson Tide football team defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks. We have to divvy that up between us.". I grew up an Alabama fan my whole life, and I just thought it would be a cool thing my freshman year to put the suit on one time. Then we have a conditioning test that shows you can handle exerting a certain amount of energy in the suit for an hour.". Despite their large size and weight, elephants are capable of running at up to 25 km/h (16 mph). Is Alabama's mascot an elephant? Another theory is that the schools first football coach, Wallace Wade, had once seen a circus perform in Tuscaloosa and been impressed by the elephants. 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] Strupper and other writers would continue to refer to Alabama as the "Red Elephants," the "red" as a nod to the players' crimson jerseys, and the name stuck throughout what became a national championship season and beyond. From that point, Strupper started calling Alabama the Red Elephants, and the association stuck. Why Is Alabama'Smascot An Elephant - Related Questions How did Big Al became Alabama's mascot? The second day consists of more clinic, as well as being judged on the walk and participating in a band cheer. 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. "He thought that elephants were big, slow and clumsy. A self-taught DIYer, Tammy loves nothing more than tackling a new project in her own home. (He was portrayed by a different student, of course, as Espey had long since graduated.). 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. 1 Alabama's nickname of "Crimson Tide" brings to mind the school's costumed elephant mascot, Big Al, no matter how hard you try. Strupper wrote a story on October 8, 1930, describing Alabama's college football team after watching them pound Mississippi, 64-0, on October 4. Dickey: "The tryout for Big Al -- he's a very creative guy. We work out every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 in the morning. Big Al is the costumed mascot of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Take a trip to Tuscaloosa and you'll find Nick Saban, who is undoubtedly the greatest college football coach of our generation. 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. On October 8, 1930, a sportswriter for the Atlanta Journal, Everett Strupper, wrote about the previous weekend's Alabama-Ole Miss football game. Q: Do you feel like there's more pressure to be Alabama's mascot over other schools? 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.. We have a round that is just the walk. But it would be nearly five decades until Alabama recognized the animal as its official mascot. He became Big Al in the spring of 2019 and is currently one of five students on the Big Al team. Needless to say, Alabama opponents in the SEC aren't nearly as fond of seeing the Crimson Tide's elephant mascot. "Coach (Bear) Bryant thought it was not representative of football players," Gaddy said. ", Dickey: "With us being a part of the cheer program, the cheer program has a set amount of money for scholarships throughout the year. The "Big Al" mascot officially debuted at the 1980 Sugar Bowl, when the 1979 Alabama Crimson Tide football team defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks. Most of our traditions happen in the fourth quarter. Big Al was named by a student vote. The history of the Alabama Crimson Tide's elephant mascot is a long and storied one. Aubie (a tiger) and an eagle. Q: Something tells me Big Al is pretty busy on Saturdays. What Is The Difference Between Bonding And HardWall. 167.114.26.66 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. The Alabama elephant is the state animal of Alabama. Q: OK, what's it like wearing that suit? That was not the image of his players he wanted to portray.". Usually, if you're a first-year on the team you get a little bit less than everyone else on the team. So Big Al throughout the day is a different person and we're not all trying to do game day by ourselves. Big Al was named by a student vote. Like the team's nickname, it was the brainchild of a sports writer . [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. 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. 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