A look into what it’s really like to be Big Blue
Big Blue is a familiar face to many at Utah State University. Few realize how much work really goes into bringing life to everyone’s favorite Aggie.
Not only does he attend every sporting event, university and community events, and morning cheer practices, but he also has to maintain a schedule as a full-time student.
“We typically have two Big Blues that share the role because the job of being Big Blue — it’s so demanding,” said Morgan Watts, the USU Spirit Squad head coach. “He is by far the busiest member of our team, but he’s also offered a full-ride scholarship, so that helps.”
And speaking with the student who played and hopes to continue to play Big Blue, they said it does get overwhelming.
“Keeping up with events and everything kicked my trash at first,” they said. “I have a wall full of sticky notes, that’s how I keep track of when I’m supposed to be places, but keeping up with it is a whole other ordeal. You give and you take because I have a full ride, but having that full ride means I need to work that hard, so I do enjoy it. It is hard, but it’s worth it.”
Not only is the job demanding time-wise, it can also be extremely physically taxing. Anyone who has been to a football or basketball game knows Big Blue is not one for sitting still.
Kashton Sullivan, the other student who played Big Blue this year, won’t be continuing.
“The hardest part is just being in the suit. It’s so hot, and there is no airflow in the mask,” he said. “15 minutes in there and you’re already head to toe drenched in sweat,”
Big Blue is, of course, anonymous, which can be difficult for some and a relief for others.
At the end of their career as the mascot they are allowed to tell people, such as Sullivan for example, who will not be auditioning again. The other student will be auditioning again, and is therefore remaining nameless.
Both mascot actors agreed on the rising temperatures in the suit.
“They say when your feet get warm, that’s when you should be done. My first couple of football games, I went too hard and I was just gassed. I didn’t think I was going to be able to make it,” the other Big Blue said.
Due to the demanding nature of the role, auditions are held each year to make sure students earn their spot on the team. Auditions consist of an online application, and an in-person performance.
Applicants prepare a two-minute skit to perform for the panel judges, which is made up of Watts and various other community and university members. Then, they are asked to show how they would react to common situations, like a scared child, or someone trying to take off their mask.
They are also asked to perform various tumbling moves and a minute of freestyle dancing.
“The primary characteristics we look for is a really high energy,” Watts said. “I especially look for guys that are good at acrobatics, basically any guy that can see a wall and want to climb it.”
Each person has their own reasons for auditioning.
“You’re just a well-liked individual and that was something that I wanted. Not to be put in the spotlight, because Big Blue is anonymous, but to be known by everybody, to be a celebrity in a sense,” Sullivan said.
He added that Big Blue really is a celebrity.
“There’s kind of a prestige Big Blue has that everyone looks up to,” Sullivan said. “Whether that’s at a game or at a social event you’ll get little kids coming up to you that want to be your best friend — and college kids that want to be your best friend.”
The other Big Blue said they’ve wanted to be in this role for a long time.
“I grew up here and we’d go to basketball games all the time when I was little, and I have this problem where I don’t like to sit still,” they said. “The only people there who weren’t holding still were the basketball players and Big Blue, and I would just watch him the whole time. I’m an awful basketball player, so when I saw the tryouts for Blue I knew what I needed to do.”
And they said they’ve never regretted it since.
“You feel like a superhero. You feel like the biggest man on campus, and then you take off the suit and you’re just like everybody else and sometimes it takes a second to adjust,” they said. “It’s really hard not to tell people that I get to do all these amazing things. I want to tell people about what I get to do but I can’t do that without telling them I’m Big Blue.”
According to Sullivan, it’s the people who make it worth it at the end of the day.
“Believe it or not, I’ve gone to hundreds of events as Big Blue, but even today I still get nervous,” Sullivan said. “But right before you walk out onto the field or the court you just take a deep breath and you just run out there. You hear the crowd screaming for you and all that nervousness just fades and you are Big Blue. You just go out there and have a great time. It’s a blast.”
-Maggie.Erekson@usu.edu
Featured photo by: Katera Barlow