re: What are gameday traditions obsolete at your school?

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Thank you. I’m trying to learn old sec traditions as minor as they may be, not political arguments or confederate flag debates. The elephant is awesome. Never knew bama had one. Most bama fans probably didn’t know either.

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But it would be nearly five decades until Alabama recognized the animal as its official mascot. Which isn't to say that elephants didn't factor in prominently to gameday tradition.

During the 1940s, the school kept a live elephant mascot named "Alamite." It was a regular on gamedays, and for several years it would carry that year's homecoming queen onto the field prior to the game.

By the 1950s, keeping a live elephant year round proved to be too expensive for the university.

Instead, the school's "Spirit Planning Committee" started hiring elephants — often from traveling circuses passing through or by Tuscaloosa — for every homecoming.

And in the early 1960s, Alabama student Melford Espey went the extra mile and dressed up as the animal to cheer on his beloved team.

It was clear that Crimson Tide Nation's obsession with the pachyderm would not cease.

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