Bands, fireworks, costumes highlight Alabama parade festivities

By: Bill Bordewick

Posted: 1/7/08

MOBILE, Ala. - Believe it or not, Mardi Gras didn't originate in New Orleans, La. It originated in Mobile, and the good people of southern Alabama were determined to show why they were the first revelers this past Saturday.

The city's Mardi Gras parade was filled with extravagant floats, numerous high school and college marching bands, and various GMAC Bowl assorted items - and let us not forget about those colorful plastic beads.

"I love the beads," said Shawna, a bartender at Pat's Downtown Grill, who declined to give her full name. Pat's was virtuously taken over by BG fans before the parade. "We all have a good time and it is good family fun."

The beads are what make Mardi Gras the event that it is. These 10-cent quality plastic beads are like gold down here - everywhere you look, people are wearing different sorts of beads.

People stationed on the floats hold all the cards because they are the ones in charge of dispersing the much-coveted beads.

Dispersing is kind way to put it. These guys throw Jake Peavy-like 95 mph fastballs at the patrons behind the barricades and it becomes "every person for themselves" at that point - duck, cover, throw a hand up and hope for the best.

Many of those parade-going patrons ducking out of the way of oncoming beads were decked out in all kinds of BGSU shirts, jerseys and hats.

"It was definitely a good turnout this year - a lot more orange on the streets tonight than usual," Shawna said.

The Falcons made their presence known all night long. Whether it was the pre-parade party at Pat's or the numerous chants heard throughout the night, Falcon fans turned Mobile into BG South and definitely outnumbered the Tulsa contingent on this night.

The "BG…SU" chant was heard was probably uttered more times on Dauphin Street in downtown Mobile than on Main Street in BG.

Across the street from Pat's at Boo Radley's, the Falcon fight song of Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba was even sung by a group of Falcon fans - and some converted Alabama fans for the night.

That, to go along with the chants, may have made for a very irritating night for non-BG supporters.

"These BGSU chants are really starting to get annoying," said Jeff, one of the bartenders at Boo Radley's, who also declined to give his full name.

At that point, it did not matter to these Falcon supporters. They were celebrating the Mardi Gras festivities and cheering on the Falcons in the process - nothing wrong with that.