Man behind Big Blue's mask is revealed: A family guy who sweats off 10 pounds a night

Blue said the last thing he wants to do is make a baby cry. It just breaks his heart when babies are scared of him. Blue said it makes him want to work harder to make them feel comfortable.

Blue focuses on building many friendships, keeping up the excitement during games and gets a good work out while he's at it. At every sporting event, Blue gets about a week's worth of exercise. In one basketball game, Big Blue started out the game weighing 206 pounds and sweat down to 196 pounds. He lost ten pounds in two hours.

The suit is soaked in sweat after each game and Linda Zimmerman, the spirit squad coach, gets to take it home and wash it. She said she takes each piece out of the bag one at a time and quickly throws it into the washer with two fingers trying not to touch too much of it. Blue said the crowd calls him Snuggle Soft, so Linda must be using the right fabric softener.

Blue's suit alone weighs 14 pounds. He said it feels like a large heated blanket tightly coiled around his body. The instant he puts it on, he doesn't even have to do anything and he begins to sweat. Sometimes when Blue puts his head down to hug a child about 3 feet tall or lean down to talk to a seated fan, his face drips sweat.

When it falls on the fan Blue gets embarrassed, but at least no one can see his face turning red. Blue is easily embarrassed and also gets nervous, but behind the mask no one would ever know it.

"I get so nervous sometimes to the point that I have diarrhea," Big Blue said. "I know people can't see me and I know no one knows who I am, but I still want to succeed and have a good show."

One of the biggest secrets on campus was revealed at the men's last basketball game Friday. Big Blue took off his mask and showed spectators the person who's been behind the suit in the past three years.

His name is Bo Roundy, from Montana. Roundy said he moved to Logan and decided to go toUtah State because he was interested in the school's education program, which is ranked 38th in the top education programs among 1100 other schools in the U.S. Roundy has been working at Nyman & Reader Construction Co. in Logan while he goes to school.

He has been going to school for five years studying history and physical education. Roundy said he wants to be a teacher and isn't picky onwhere the career takes him. He said he will gladly go wherever there is a good job. Roundy has developed a love for Cache Valley and Utah State may settle here in the area.

Roundy came to Utah State with plans of trying out for the football team. But his dream fell apart when he separated his shoulder. Football was no longer an option for Roundy so he decided to do something that would keep him active while building new friendships. Roundy learned about cheerleading tryouts after seeing a seing on campus. Roundy thought, "What the heck, What can I lose?" he said.

He showed up to the tryout knowing nothing about cheerleading. Roundy said, he went and tried his best, but he wasn't good enough to make the team. Later that year, one of the members of the team quit, leaving an opening on the team.

Roundy said he went back to tryout and by a miracle he made the team. Roundy cheered for one year and said he fell in love with the program. His passion is sports and said it was great to sit right on the court. Within the next year, the Big Blue spot opened up and Roundy took a shot at the position. He went to Brigham City to a basketball game as Big Blue. The event was broadcasted on the local channel. The judges liked how he looked and interacted with the crowd. They saw that he naturally paid attention to the children. Since then, Roundy became the new Big Blue.

Instantly, Roundy said he enjoyed being Big Blue, but felt a little rusty. It took him the entire year to be comfortable in the suit. Roundy liked the fact that he could be himself and nobody knew who he was.

"It makes me laugh inside when people talk about Big Blue, because that's me!" Roundy said.

It was a challenge for Roundy to keep his identity a secret. He said his friends at church knew he went to every game, but couldn't figure out why they never saw him. Roundy said he had to lie, so they wouldn't figure it out.

Another obstacle, Roundy had to overcome, was remaining quiet while in the suit. For someone who could always start up a conversation and keep it going, this wasn't such an easy task. He could talk to the cheerleaders on the side, but once the suit was on, Roundy became Big Blue and had to remain silent.

For Roundy, performing behind the mask, was a confidence builder. Roundy has performance anxiety and Big Blue's mask could take that away. He would still get nervous, but the mask helped him relax, be himself and perform to the best of his abilities.

Roundy said he puts everything he's got into his performances. With all the tumbling across the floor, flips in the air, slithering through the basketball hoop and standing on top of pyramids, you would like to think he is just a little guy, but the cheerleaders' arms don't lie. After a few small tosses the cheerleaders who throw him have big purple and yellow bruises right where he lands. Roundy is 5 feet and 11 inches tall. He weighs 206 pounds.

Behind that mask, this big guy always has a smile stretching from ear to ear. He said the mask doesn't stop him from smiling, because he is always having fun. Roundy said, every time people ask him to take a picture, without fail he puts on that smile.

One of Roundy's happiest moments was when he met his wife Malia. They had a class together. Folklore 4700.

"We did the unspeakable," Malia said.

The books were sold out at the game, but another order will be placed in the USU Bookstore. Roundy said he is mostly going to miss the people and the memories he has made at Utah State. He will miss the good memories, bad memories and the scary ones.

Two years ago during the men's basketball game against the Cougars, Big Blue got so dehydrated that he collapsed to the floor. Walking up and down the Spectrum stairs in the 14-pound suit along with a thick velvet Santa suit overtop, Blue said the hype of the sold out crowd did him in. The energy from the fans, made him sweat even more, he said.

Linda Zimmerman, Dr. Jim Davis and some of the athletic trainers filled up several bags of ice and piled them onto Blue. Since the bags weren't getting liquid into his system fast enough they threw him into a freezing shower.

Blue, who was lying flat on the floor made everyone nervous. He was always in motion. There had been times where he was desperate for a drink, but not like this. Every game at half-time Blue goes up the tunnel to take a water break and get down as much water as possible to make up for the ten pounds of sweat he loses. Fortunately, there were experienced people helping him and Blue was all right.

Throughout the many years with Big Blue, many experiences have helped establish who he is today, but it wasn't until 1989, that he was born to Utah State. It all started out with a student that wouldn't take no for an answer.

According to the Utah State Alumni web page, the tradition started when a young man wanted to try out for the mascot position. The year he graduated from Ricks College he contacted Linda Zimmerman for information on
the tryouts. With no former Big Blue there was no official information. Big Blue had not been created yet.

This student whose name can't be disclosed, since he is now the professional mascot for the Denver Nuggets, came up with the idea to make a mascot for Utah State. When he proposed his idea the majority of the people did not like it and he was quickly shot down.

It was too much of a hassle. The only event left for the year was the Big West Tournament. The young man called the school over and over until the athletics department let him go to the tournament as the mascot. In his ugly royal blue suit he dazzled the crowd. They loved him. The spirit squad had no choice, but to take him in.

This young man brought USU a special tradition. Utah State now has a position and scholarship for Big Blue. The scholarship Blue receives is like an athletic scholarship, where he receives full tuition, books and fees. With all the time Roundy puts in, he said his job becomes worth a lot more than money.

A normal day for Roundy is packed full of activities. His day begins at 5:30 a.m. to make it on time to practice by 6 a.m. Practice usually ends around 8 a.m. and he gets ready and heads over to his student teaching, where he
teaches three eleventh grade classes. School ends at 3 p.m. and Roundy goes up to the University for his class until 6:30 p.m.

Then, depending on the night, he has a Big Blue appearance to make. Within the past week there were
seven events Big Blue performed.

With all the time Roundy spends as Big Blue for elementary school visits, Utah State events, community service and more his scholarship adds up to be about a quarter an hour.

Since the beginning of Big Blue, only six students have worn his costume. Four of them have gone on to become professional mascots, ranging from the Salt Lake Golden Eagles hockey team, to the Indiana Comets, Cleveland Cavaliers and a Denver soccer team. In all those years Big Blue's suit has never been filled with a female.

Over the years Big Blue's suit has evolved to what it is now. When Big Blue first became the mascot the costume didn't take much effort to make. It was a fluffy white and blue suit that looked more like a giant stuffed elephant than a bull. It resembled a stuffed animal you might win at Lagoon.The second suit looked more like a large cow with bulgy eyes and a scary, jumbled up smile. The head had floppy ears and hard horns that were dangerous. Blue would accidentally poke people with them since he could barely see. Zimmerman changed the horns to make them soft and fluffy and the kids really enjoyed them.

Major changes were made and thousands of dollars were dropped in order to make the suit Big Blue wears now. The head alone costs about $3,000 and the blue suit that covers his body costs about $1,000. Overall, to get Big Blue the look he has today, added up to be about $5,000. Two thousand of it went to pay for the trademark that was bought for his head, to make Blue one of a kind. Utah State owns the mold and no one can copy it. The athletics department wanted to make his head match all the Utah State logos.

Each year Zimmerman said she spends more money on Big Blue's suit to repair the damages. Blue has two heads to choose from, and this year Zimmerman needs to remake one of the heads because its nose and eyes are too dark and they seem to scare the little children away. She also has to repair the ears, which have started to tear and the hair, which is getting fuzzy and thin from all the stunts Blue performs. Zimmerman said the mascot has many important appearances, so he's got to look good.

Blue's appearance is also the main focus in the tryouts. Judges include representatives from the athletics department, alumni and a group of students.The Judges look for the person, who looks the best in the suit, shows talents such as stunts, gymnastics, dancing or even making the crowd laugh.

Participants must be ready to do a three-to-five minute skit; interact with the crowd, especially the little ones; and pull out some impromptu jokes, moves or short skits on the spot. This will all be done inside Big Blue's suit, so the Judges don't know who is behind the mask, until the personal interview. A final cut, if necessary, consists of an appearance in public at a broadcast basketball game to see how the participant performs under pressure.

"It takes someone with very special talent who is willing to do everything behind the scenes," Zimmerman said. "Today Big Blue is someone very special who gives it all he's got, definitely one of the very best mascots that has come out of Utah State. He is very personable with kids and people, so he will be greatly missed."

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