Big Blue: The face behind the suit
The secret of the man in the Big Blue suit is no more.
Big Blue was revealed to be Jordan Rampersad during the final men’s basketball home game at the end of his four-year Big Blue career.
From the beginning of his audition for Big Blue, Rampersad was determined to become the iconic symbol well-known throughout the valley.
Four years ago, Rampersad broke his arm doing a back-handspring during round one of a two-part audition. He was determined enough to push past the pain of a broken bone.
“Not only did he come back down and finish it, but he did what we call a diamond head,” said former head cheer coach Linda Zimmerman. “It’s where a guy stands on top of a guy and then they hold up two girls – that’s a lot of weight on his arms. He’s the top guy, so he’s actually got somebody holding onto his arm and pulling on it at the same time.”
After finishing his performance, he was rushed to the emergency room where his arm was confirmed broken.
“This kid wanted to be Big Blue so bad,” Zimmerman said. “It was unanimous that he was the Big Blue chosen. He was back from the ER and in the locker room when we made the announcement that it was him.”
That first impression Rampersad made carried through his Big Blue career.
“Jordan’s dedication and love for being Big Blue ranks as one of the highest in my eyes,” Zimmerman said. “You do have to be very dedicated to this. It is unreal how many people call and need Big Blue at birthday parties, openings of stores, anything. His schedule is really, really intense, but I have never heard him complain about being overworked. It’s almost like he just loved to be in the suit.”
Rampersad loves representing the university and loves the chance to connect to USU’s audience through the famous Big Blue.
“Big Blue kind of embodies everything about a Utah State student and the entity itself – caring, kind of funny, willing to ride that line between what’s appropriate,” Rampersad said. “It’s like the Spectrum. We’re not shouting profanities at you, but we’ll give you a hard time. Big Blue is kind of that embodiment of class and everything that you would expect out of an Aggie.”
The challenge that comes with representing Aggies is the ability to throw personality aside. Big Blue requires a certain set of characteristics that need to stay consistent no matter who is behind the mask.
“They’re all unique, yet they all have to have the same mannerisms,” Zimmerman said about previous Big Blues. “They’re crazy and spontaneous. They want to please, they want kids to love them, people to love them. That’s the type of person you’re looking at when you’re looking at Big Blue – someone that from birth to a 90-year-old will like them.”
For Rampersad, this task isn’t as difficult as it sounds.
“I’m not necessarily a person that loves a huge amount of attention on myself,” Rampersad said. “For me, to put on the mask and go out and do my stuff is easy once the mask’s on. He gets all the fame. It’s fame you can turn off.”
Time commitment is the true challenge of being Big Blue. In addition to representing USU at athletic events, Big Blue appears at many other events including birthday parties, new store openings and even some of the lobbying events USU students hold at the capitol building.
His favorite extracurricular activity was an event held at Lehi High school to raise funds for charity organizations. Mascots from around the state played full tackle football against eighth graders.
But while dancing in the Big Blue suit, Rampersad has maintained a full-time status at school – a requirement of the position – and works a full-time job.
His answer to the demanding schedule is incredible amounts of task prioritization.
“I’ve gotten very good at prioritizing tasks,” Rampersad said. “What do I have to do, what do I not have to do, how much time do I have to work on this? For the last four years I can almost tell you every fifteen minutes in a day, where I’m supposed to be and what I have to do.”
Zimmerman appreciates the level of commitment given by Rampersad and his ability to maintain a busy schedule.
“No matter what program you’re involved in, it’s easy to get burned out, but I never felt that with Jordan,” Zimmerman said. “I’d call him and ask if he could do an appearance and he’d say absolutely. There was not even a hesitation. He truly appreciated the opportunity of being the icon of the institution. As a coach, I appreciated that I didn’t have to deal with the burn out, he was just always positive.”
Zimmerman expects Rampersad to move on in the mascot career and succeed because it’s what he loves to do.
“I see him going on in the future,” Zimmerman said. “I hope he gets the opportunity to become a professional mascot somewhere because I think he has the personality for that. Jordan fits that, he could do that for the rest of his life and be happy.”
– daniellekmanley@gmail.com
Twitter: @daniellekmanley