State Champs Celebrate, Circus Style
The Hurricanes brought out the tent and the elephant to celebrate their state championship win at their annual football banquet.
Photos
Coach Joe Kinnan took to the gridiron Monday night atop a circus elephant. Behind him stood a tent fit for a circus. And then the ringmaster stepped on to the field to introduce the approaching parade.
While it wasn't actually a circus, it was a celebration unparalleled by any in recent memory at Manatee High School, where the state championship football team was feted Monday night. The tent served as a fancy dining room for the hundreds who came to attend the Hurricanes annual football banquet. Grills stood in the background fired up for the feast that was about to be served.
Fans were lined up to partake in the evening's banquet to honor the team members. But before the crowd could take their seats inside the decorated and lighted tent Monday night, visitors were first treated to a parade worthy of a state championship football team.
The evening's celebration came courtesy of Debbie Crowe, the owner of the Shake Pit, located just a couple of blocks away from Manatee High School.
This was an event three years in the making. Crowe first asked Kinnan if she could orchestrate an event for the team when they were runners up for the state championship. Kinnan declined, but promised Crowe that if the team did win a state championship she could throw a party for them.
He had no idea an elephant was in his future when he made that promise.
"It was a surprise to me," Kinnan said. "I found out about the elephant at six o'clock."
Still he climbed aboard, saying the elephant seemed big and stable. And as he sat atop the elephant in his suit and tie he seemed slightly giddy, but maybe riding on an elephant can make anyone light-hearted and joyful.
Kinnan, who is the football coach and the school's athletic director, was perched atop the elephant, accompanied by the school's marching band. He was followed by the other members of the coaching staff, who were driven on to the field in Corvettes and Mustangs. Finally football players rode in on an antique truck driven by the city's fire marshal. The rest of the team and the cheer leaders followed on a pirate ship float.
The crowd was on its feet from the moment the elephant marched on to the field. After the parade, parents, boosters and fans lined up to participate in the awards banquet.
Monday's banquet kicked off a week of celerations for team members as national signing day approached. Manatee High School has seven football players set to sign with college teams on Wednesday. Those teams include the University of North Carolina, Western Kentucky, Iowa State, Tennessee State and Brown University.
3dognightshift
11:19 am on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Shame on all of the people involved for exploiting an elephant in this fashion. I'm sure the elephant really enjoyed the loud festivities and marching band. Elephants are sensitive, intelligent animals, and clearly the folks who planned and partook in this celebration have little regard for the feeling of the animal kingdom. I'm guessing they probably are ones who believe in hunting, bull riding, etc; with no regard for the feelings of an animal; but instead what can entertain them for the moment.
Tory Braden
5:28 pm on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Who gave the go ahead to let this coach have contact with this elephant? The city/county officials should ban elephant riding as has been done in the whole state of GA. Why? tuberculosis exposure and the CDC convinced the legislature it should be stopped. In 2011, 18% of all US elephants tested positive for TB, that is nearly 1 out of 5 ( and that is a statistic of those whose results were not fudged so they could /perform/work like this elephant). Can you imagine the quarantine if this were the percentage of humans? Here is the USDA/APHIS documentation. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_welfare/downloads/elephant/A%20Brief%20History%20of%20TB%20in%20Elephants.pdf . Vet Susan Mikota, who wrote this, is the world's foremost authority on elephant TB and literally wrote the book on elephant medicine. There is no greater stellar reputation in the elephant world.
Not to mention that an elephant's strength is not in its spine and should not be subjected to this kind of idiocy, not to mention also it looks ridiculous, not to mention it could be dangerous and ruin the coach's season. Here is a list of elephant incidents in the US, and it is a long one, with 135 human injuries,with 15 more fatal. The days of elephant riding whould be over, if authorities were not conned by the owners of these poor animals.
Tory Braden, PA-C
FL licensed
Tory Braden
6:04 pm on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
List of incidents here: http://www.mediapeta.com/peta/pdf/Elephant-Incident-List-US-only.pdf
Sabine Zell
6:36 pm on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Thank you for this article, Toni, it looks like a well deserved celebration. I just wanted to leave a comment I think is worth noting. Subjecting a wild animal to such noise and crowds is probably not the best idea as this is still a wild animal. I have volunteered with elephants and know from research and being in their company that elephants barely function in this capacity and it is unfair to the elephant. Elephants are used in Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and India in the tourist for trekking. Elephants wear contraptions like the one pictured in the article to hold 1, 2, 3, people which put strain on their backs. They simply cannot support the weight for extended periods. At the Elephant Nature Park (ENP) Sanctuary in Thailand, there are elephants with broken backs or dislocated pelvises from tourist trekking. Sadly, these elephants are typically euthanized. Thankfully, some are fully retired and given permanent sanctuary at the ENP. Of course I understand that the use of the elephant for the Hurricanes Banquet was celebratory and in no way mean to harm the elephant. I believe that people may just not be aware of the issues regarding elephants, Asian elephants in particular as this elephant is. Asian elephants are endangered. The Sri Lankan elephant was just listed as critically endangered. These elephants need help and should not even be captive in the U.S.. Thank you for reading my comment. I truly enjoyed your article and congratulate the Hurricanes on a great season.
Colleen Geraghty
9:21 am on Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Toni Whitt - What circus was this elephant with?
City officials of Florida - do care for the welfare and safety of your citizens? Let's get with the times.
Joe Kinnan - let's learn from this situation and become an advocate for the elephants by preventing any further riding in the future - anywhere.
Toni Whitt
5:14 pm on Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Hi all. Thanks for your comments and your concern. I'll see if I can find out where this elephant came from.
Jennifer O'Connor
7:37 am on Thursday, February 2, 2012
Congratulations to the Manatee High School Hurricanes for a season to remember. What I hope Coach Joe Kinnan and Debbie Crowe (owner of the Shake Pit) will remember for the future is that elephants who are rented out and hauled around to be used for rides suffer tremendously.
Elephants are controlled with bullhooks—heavy batons with a sharp metal hook and tip on the end. Before an elephant makes it to a venue, trainers force compliance in elephants by hitting them with this ugly device. Bullhooks are designed to break skin and can cause painful abscesses. Elephants learn to obey or pay the painful consequences.
Elephants are highly social animals who lavish affection and attention on their family members. In the wild, each day is filled with socializing, exploring, playing, and participating in other activities. Every milestone, such as new births and the rainy season, is cause for celebration. Their mourning ritual over the death of a family member rivals any we humans have. Elephants experience joy, sadness, and fear. Their level of self-awareness continues to amaze researchers worldwide.
If we look honestly at what life in captivity means to elephants compared to their place in nature, we can see how far we have degraded these magnificent animals.
Hannah
6:52 pm on Sunday, February 12, 2012
This sends the message to high school students and the public that wild animals are fun to use for shock value and party tricks. Asian Elephants are highly endangered, as well as high intelligent and social. This elephant should be somewhere with other female Asian Elephants in a naturalistic enclosure living her life as an elephant and motivating people to want to respect and conserve endangered species, not watch her parading a fat man around on her back in a football stadium. Elephants can also transmit tuberculosis to humans, and anyone irresponsible and uncaring enough to use this elephant for this, is unlikely to do the testing necessary to make sure she is not carrying TB. Way to go guys, winners all'around.
-Hannah L McCoy, Licensed Veterinary Technician, animal Trainer and Behaviorist.
Hannah
6:57 pm on Sunday, February 12, 2012
Sorry if above comment seemed harsh..directed toward city officials and school for allowing this situation to happen and not using their heads. I realize the author of this article was unaware and just doing her job...