{"id":28158,"date":"2019-02-01T10:15:06","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T15:15:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=28158"},"modified":"2024-07-02T17:10:31","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T17:10:31","slug":"tar-heel-at-the-super-bowl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=28158","title":{"rendered":"A Tar Heel at the Super Bowl"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carolina alumnus Alex Floch is no stranger to being on the sidelines of big games. On Sunday night, he’ll be on the field for Super Bowl LIII as the mascot manager for the LA Rams.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Alex Floch sits on the steps of South Building with Rameses in 2017. (Photo by Kimberly Rivers.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There\u2019s not a sports fan in the world that wouldn\u2019t be envious of Alex Floch\u2019s seats when it comes to the biggest games.<\/p>\n

He regularly finds himself just mere inches from the action.<\/p>\n

For Carolina\u2019s 2017 national basketball championship, Floch stood on the end line as Carolina took home its seventh national championship. And now, on Sunday, he\u2019ll be just as close to the most viewed sporting event in the country.<\/p>\n

The mascot manager for the Los Angeles Rams, Floch will be with his new friend \u2014\u00a0and Rams mascot \u2014\u00a0Rampage on the field in Atlanta as the team competes for its first Super Bowl title since 2000.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think many people get this opportunity,\u201d said Floch, who graduated from Carolina in 2017. \u201cI\u2019m blessed to be in this position. I\u2019m excited and ready for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just like for everybody else who will be sporting blue and gold on the field, Floch\u2019s journey to the Super Bowl started years before kickoff.<\/p>\n

Becoming Rameses<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Growing up in Winston-Salem, Floch was never much of a college sports fan. That changed after he arrived in Chapel Hill as a first-year student majoring in U.S. history and exercise and sports science.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know everybody in North Carolina has their by-birth allegiance. I wasn\u2019t really one of those,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I think that you step foot in Chapel Hill and you just kind of get sucked into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a stint on Carolina\u2019s club baseball team didn\u2019t work out, Floch was looking for another way to get involved on campus when he saw a social media posting about tryouts for the Rameses mascot.<\/p>\n

He figured it was worth a shot.<\/p>\n

For the next three years, Floch viewed some of Carolina\u2019s biggest games through the eyes of the Tar Heel\u2019s beloved Rameses mascot \u2014\u00a0a muscular anthropomorphic ram sporting Carolina blue. Whether it was interacting with fans at games or meeting children in the community, Floch and Rameses were the face of Carolina athletics.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a role that Floch cherished \u2014\u00a0anonymously, of course, as the mascots aren\u2019t allowed to reveal their identity while they were students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole idea of being a mascot is understanding that you\u2019re taking on the character,\u201d Floch said. \u201cIt\u2019s somewhat of an art to be able to adapt and acclimate yourself to a different persona. You have to go into it with the understanding that you\u2019re taking on something that is much greater than yourself. \u2026 Being a mascot is a very special thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rameses was valuable for Floch as a Carolina student, as well. Becoming Rameses helped shaped his college experience. He compares it to being a member of a fraternity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mascot community calls itself the fur-terinty,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re tight-knit and we get along really well. When you\u2019re able to be able to be a part of a team and be part of a group, it adds so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

The highlight of his career came on April 3, 2017, when the Tar Heels defeated Gonzaga in the NCAA National Championship. At the end of the night, Floch stood on the court as Carolina blue confetti fell from the sky.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoments like that don\u2019t come by very often,\u201d he said. \u201cYou cherish those.\u201d<\/p>\n

Building a fan base<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Fortunately for Floch, he\u2019s prepping for another moment like that.<\/p>\n

At the beginning of this NFL season, Floch took over as the mascot manager for the Rams and became closely acquainted with Rampage \u2014\u00a0another anthropomorphic ram, but this one donning a darker shade of blue.<\/p>\n

He moved from Philadelphia to take the position.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you find something that you enjoy doing so much, you\u2019re willing to do anything it takes to get to that point,\u201d he said. \u201cI can say that I\u2019m very happy with the opportunity that I have.\u201d<\/p>\n

For months, Floch and Rampage went into the community to help build a fan base for a team that had returned to LA in 2016 after two decades in St. Louis.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was trying to not only reengage with that market of original fans who were fans before the team left, but also that younger generation of Los Angeles that still is looking for a team to root for,\u201d said Floch, who also handles many of the logistics for events Rampage attends.<\/p>\n

Things have gotten a bit busier for Floch and Rampage as the Rams head into Super Bowl LIII on Sunday night. With dozens of appearances leading up to the game, they\u2019re interacting with thousands of football fans and serving as a valuable asset and ambassador to the Rams organization still looking to build roots in their new hometown.<\/p>\n

After all the sendoffs, rallies, fan events and community projects that come along with Super Bowl week, the pair won\u2019t be hard to spot come game time. They\u2019ll be in the place Floch always is: right next to the action<\/p>\n

\u201cIf somebody were to tell me five or six years ago that I was going to be on the floor for a national championship win and then get to be on the field for a Super Bowl\u2026\u201d Floch said, thinking of the upcoming experience. \u201cI\u2019m very fortunate. I\u2019m very lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n

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By Brandon Bieltz, University Communications<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carolina alumnus Alex Floch is no stranger to being on the sidelines of big games. On Sunday night, he’ll be on the field for Super Bowl LIII as the mascot manager for the LA 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