The man behind the mascot
Slim Fast, anyone? Big Blue won’t be grabbing one. During a two-hour basketball game, Big Blue can lose anywhere from 10 to 14 pounds said Linda Zimmerman, USU spirit squad adviser. Add in more than 200 USU sporting events Big Blue attends, and that’s a lot of lost weight. Zimmerman said a research project was conducted a few years ago to record how intense a workout Big Blue can get during games. “I was shocked,” Zimmerman said. Big Blue, USU’s mascot, can be seen during home games getting the crowd excited about being an Aggie. Who Big Blue is, however, isn’t as easy to see, Zimmerman said. The cheer squad, athletes and a few members of Zimmerman’s staff know who he is since they work directly with him in coordinating events and practicing together. But the rest of USU’s student body may have trouble finding out Big Blue’s real identity. Zimmerman said the secrecy of Big Blue is extremely important for two reasons. “We keep it a secret first off, to protect Big Blue because everywhere this person goes, people will want to say, “Will you come do this, oh you’re Big Blue,'” Zimmerman said. “Also, keeping it secret keeps everybody guessing, you know, is it male or female, all different questions. So it’s a combination of security and keeping the excitement up.” At the last home game of each school year, Big Blue takes its head off to let the crowd see who it is. “A lot of people are shocked,” she said. “They’ll be in classes and that person may have sat right next to that person.” USU’s furry mascot isn’t allowed to talk to anyone while in character, Zimmerman said. So, this also helps to keep Big Blue’s identity a secret. Big Blue’s schedule is unbelievable, Zimmerman said, especially since Big Blue attends elementary schools for service opportunities in addition to attending USU sporting events. Big Blue attends volleyball, football, soccer, gymnastics, and men and women’s basketball games. This position lasts the academic school year, and Zimmerman said students who have been Big Blue all seem to have a common personality. “None of them are scared of anything,” she said. “They’re fearless people. They just thrive on being in the suit and coming up with ideas for it.” Megan Darrington, athletics vice president, said Big Blue has a key role in promoting Aggie pride. And Big Blue and the cheer squad share that team effort to create a spirited atmosphere. “(Big Blue and cheer squad) take it by storm at every single event,” she said. “Some of these students have families, a social life, so it’s a very hard balancing effort, but they do it well and are so positive.” Zimmerman said both male and female students have tried out for the position of Big Blue. Currently, this is USU’s ninth Big Blue. Zimmerman said Big Blue started out with real bull horns on its head and the head mask has evolved through four different heads since then. Zimmerman, who was a USU student until 1979, said there used to be a white bull brought to home games that served as the Aggie’s mascot. She said she would spray paint him, along with her fellow cheer peers, and they would take turns riding him during their performances. “He was the best-looking bull,” she said. A local radio station also hired someone to come dressed as a chicken and entertain at games. But Zimmerman said both mascots eventually faded out. Big Blue finally entered in 1989, she said. “There was this kid from Ricks College that just kept bugging us about a mascot,” she said. “We didn’t have a mascot at the time, and he was bugging us so much we decided we would take him down to the basketball tournament and check him out just to get him off our backs.” A royal blue suit was rounded up for the student to wear, and Zimmerman said nobody wanted to wear it because it looked so ridiculous. The suit, however, didn’t hinder the performance. “(The student) was a hit,” she said. “Unbelievable. We just fell in love with him and had to have him. Gary Chambers (Interim Vice President for Student Services) was there with me and we were like, ‘we’ve got to find a scholarship for this kid.'” Throughout the next few years, Big Blue’s outfit went from royal blue to navy blue. Zimmerman said one of the heads had a huge toothy smile that scared kids too much. Eventually, Zimmerman said USU had the final head trademarked so no one else could ever use the same mold. The head has been replaced three times since it becomes old, stiff and smelly, Zimmerman said. Big Blue’s head mask, however, isn’t the only part that needs to be taken care of. After games, Zimmerman said she has to wash Big Blue’s suit since it holds sweat like a sponge. “I’m talking I could squeeze it,” she said. “It’s disgusting.” The suit is washed on a delicate cycle and then hung to dry. Since the suit is soaked with so much sweat after a game, Zimmerman said the Big Blue student always prepares their body beforehand to make sure they don’t lose too much water. This, she said, is one demanding part about being Big Blue. Another reason why being Big Blue is difficult is because of the training, she said. Not only does Big Blue have to be in good physical condition, but Zimmerman said Big Blue has to learn about the limited field of vision in the mask. Big Blue’s vision is through the nostrils instead of the eyes, she said, so there is no side vision. “Big Blue spends a lot of time learning this,” she said. “(Big Blue) is always having to turn its head to see everything so it needs to practice dancing, doing stunts, with the head on.” Zimmerman also said because the suit is so heavily padded, nobody would know if Big Blue landed wrong or was hurt during a stunt or performance. “Big Blue can land softer because of the padding, but we’ve had our share of injures,” she said. “Nobody would know though, because they rebound and then we take Big Blue up the tunnel.” Some students who once donned the mask and suit of Big Blue went on to become professional mascots for different national teams, Zimmerman said. The first Big Blue student is currently the mascot for the Denver Nuggets and the second Big Blue, she said, went on to be the Golden Eagle mascot in Salt Lake City for awhile. The third Big Blue student became the mascot for the Cleveland Cavaliers, which, Zimmerman said, was the first mascot for the Cavaliers.-brittny.jo@aggiemail.usu.edu