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Dave Wilson, ESPN Staff Writer
While No. 2 Texas and No. 5 Georgia are getting ready for a rematch in Saturday’s SEC championship sport, there isn’t any such luck for one more assembly between mascots Uga and Bevo.
Bevo, who famously made information in 2019 within the mascots’ pregame photograph op on the Sugar Bowl when he got here charging out of his pen and knocked over a police barricade, was not permitted to journey to Atlanta for this weekend’s sport.
The measurement required for an enclosure massive sufficient to accommodate Bevo XV, who’s greater than 1,700 kilos with a horn span of 58 inches, was the problem for Saturday, in keeping with an SEC spokesman. Bevo traveled to final 12 months’s College Football Playoff semifinal on the Sugar Bowl, however the convention felt the area in Atlanta wasn’t appropriate.
“When we acquired the request for Bevo to be on the sideline in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, our workers checked out a number of alternate options together with the sideline location,” the SEC stated in an announcement. “The actuality is there’s restricted sideline area on the stadium. We cannot jeopardize the security of Bevo or the sport contributors. With the slim sidelines, location of a number of units for tv and digicam carts, there’s not sufficient area. While we wish to honor custom throughout the convention, the area limitation is a actuality.”
The Silver Spurs, Bevo’s handlers, say he is the “largest reside mascot in faculty athletics.” Colorado’s Ralphie VI is estimated to be about 850 kilos.
Uga XI didn’t make the journey to Austin with the Bulldogs throughout Georgia’s 30-15 victory in October. Uga XI is predicted in Atlanta, a few 70-mile journey from Athens.
His proprietor, Charles Seiler, instructed the Austin American-Statesman that journey logistics for the 2½-year-old English bulldog made the journey troublesome to Austin. Uga XI additionally did not journey for Georgia’s sport at Kentucky this season.
“That’s a variety of put on and tear on the canine,” Seilee instructed the Statesman. “… Those video games manner out in the course of the nation are laborious for us to get to. This canine that we have now — properly, he is not new — however he is solely 2½, and we have not flown him but, and he hasn’t been on a group bus but.”
Uga XI took over in 2023 for his predecessor Uga X, who had the run-in with Bevo in 2019.
While revisiting the 2019 assembly, Seiler instructed ESPN earlier this 12 months that he did not assume Bevo had any difficulty with Uga however was simply bored. He stated he and Ricky Brennes, govt director of the Silver Spurs, later took footage of the 2 collectively.
“Rick referred to as me and apologized,” Seiler stated. “He stated he thinks that, as a result of Bevo received to the world like six hours earlier than the sport began and hadn’t moved from that spot, he simply received worn out from gazing a wall. He simply wished to go for a stroll. I do not assume the cow ever even noticed the canine, as a result of there have been too many individuals round.”
