At the annual 2023 Winter Sports rally, Riordan’s first mascot, Big Purple, made an appearance for the first time since his “death” in the 1990s.
Big Purple’s roots trace back to an old Riordan fight song in the 1960s. Recited by Michael Vezzali- Pascual ’88, English teacher and House of Bolts provincial. It went along the lines of, “Roll on big purple, roll on big gold, roll on big purple, fight fight fight.” Upon Riordan referring to themselves as “Big Purple” from the chant’s lyrics, Riordan’s mascot was born.
With the school student body size continuing to grow, there’s a desire to have a group of characters representing Riordan, rather than just the Crusader.
Consequently, this heavily influenced the comeback of the Crusader’s previous mascot. More plans for Big Purple are currently in the works, and Crusaders anxiously wait to see what Big Purple has to offer.
Ultimately, as Riordan transitions into a new era with exciting changes, Big Purple’s presence brings more prospects to Crusader life.
The return connects tradition from the past with Riordan today, bridging together two eras with more traditions to come.
Maddalena Dito ’26 said, “I thought Big Purple was a stunt for the school to get a fun sense of attraction.”
She added, “It reminds of the character Grimace, in a way but overall I think it was a one hit wonder.”
Vezzali said, “Some things are naturally going to get left behind, but some of the ones like Big Purple are wonderful, and you guys get to make up new legends about him, and that’s how it all continues.”
