Alabama students spend most fall Saturdays at Bryant-Denny Stadium cheering on the Crimson Tide football team. On the sidelines, beloved elephant mascot Big Al can be found dancing and roaming around.
Big Al has become a typical sight around all of campus: Bryant-Denny Stadium, the Quad and Coleman Coliseum. Even though he is a public figure in Tuscaloosa, much of what he does is not widely known.
On a football gameday, Big Al can be seen everywhere from the Quad to Bryant-Denny Stadium to the President’s Mansion. His day, of course, starts in Bryant-Denny Stadium before the Elephant Stomp on the steps of Gorgas Library.
“Big Al leaves the stadium about an hour before that, and he has a couple key appearances to go to. Sometimes he goes to the President’s Mansion to see people,” said Reed Fowler, who serves as Big Al’s security. “Once he’s done that, he loves to ride around on the Rammer Jammer golf cart around the Quad hyping everyone up, blasting his music, seeing all the tailgaters.”
Once he has made his appearances, he goes to the Elephant Stomp and performs with the Million Dollar Band, then makes a mad dash back to Bryant-Denny Stadium for pregame. During pregame, Big Al wears his iconic hat matching the Million Dollar Band and carries his baton. He even just got a new hat to match the band’s new uniforms.
“He really loves it,” Fowler said of the pregame routine. “He gets to march the drum line out, he gets to be on the field when they do the cheers, a little pep rally again on the side line. A part that he likes is that he gets to be in the elephant as it marches down the field.”
During the game, Big Al is always up to something. During the first quarter, he can be seen on the sideline near the student section with the cheerleaders in his usual red jersey to match the football team.
The second quarter is when Big Al gets to wear a fun costume, which he typically wears for the whole quarter.
“He loves all of them,” Fowler said. “Years and years ago, he came out in his popcorn costume. It was a costume he had in his big closet, and we were playing Ole Miss. Their coach made a comment of ‘y’all better get your popcorn,’ and then we beat them. So Big Al came out in his popcorn costume, and the crowd went crazy.”
Big Al’s costumes are often over the top. This season, he debuted a brand new butterfly costume to show a metamorphosis theme. During the Tennessee game, he could be seen as a ninja bodyslamming an orange on a table, a reference to the mobile game “Fruit Ninja.”
After Big Al runs around in his costume for a quarter, he spends his third quarter a little calmer. That’s when he goes around the stadium and meets people in box seats. After that, he is back on the field for all of the fourth quarter traditions.
“He will always switch to his white jersey for the fourth quarter. If he’s going to crowd surf, that’s when he does it,” Fowler said. “He loves when they play Dixieland Delight, and at the end of the game, when we win, he runs the big flag down the end zone and back and waves it in front of the student section during Rammer Jammer.”
However, things are a little different for Big Al during away games, bowl games and homecoming, or if SEC Nation or College GameDay are here.
If SEC Nation or College GameDay is in Tuscaloosa, Big Al will be there the whole time. He can be seen hyping up the crowd and interacting with the band, cheerleaders and dancers.
“Sometimes the production crew is like, ‘We want Big Al up on stage. Let me get him over here for a shot,’” Fowler said. “He’s always paying attention, always in tune. But his big purpose there is to add to the atmosphere.”
For Homecoming, Big Al’s big thing is the parade on the morning of the game. He can be seen riding on his Rammer Jammer cart during the parade with the cheerleaders, dancers and the band.
For any football game, home or away, Big Al will always be on the sideline cheering on the Crimson Tide. If he is hyping up the student section, he can be seen performing his favorite dance move, the belly shake.
“His favorite thing is the university and all the students here, and being able to be with all of them,” Fowler said. “He calls them his friends for a reason.”
