Superfan Hangs Up Iconic Yellow Suit

Nearing the three-year anniversary of the first game where Mike Judd, A&S '13, first emerged as the iconic Yellow Man, Judd has decided to hang up his yellow suit this year to join the rest of the Superfan shirt-clad student body at sporting events.

Wearing his famous neon yellow suit to games has been a tradition for Judd since his freshman year, and has led him to be recognizable by Boston College sports fans and students alike. Instead of letting the legacy die out, Judd hopes to find the next Yellow Man who can carry on the three-year tradition.

"I'd love to pass this on right now. I tried to do it through athletics a bit, but it sort of fell through. I really don't want the whole yellow man thing to die, but I've had trouble thinking of a way to pass it on," Judd said. "I'd love to have a contest of some sort or even just magically find someone who is crazy enough to keep it going. Any freshman out there should come find me and talk to me about it."

Originally, Judd and a friend decided to go in yellow and maroon body suits to basketball and hockey games in 2010, just after winter break of their freshman year because they considered themselves big BC sports fans. Though his friend, the Maroon Man, stopped going to games because he took a position as a manager of the basketball team, Judd kept going.

"I didn't really expect to do it for over a year when I started it, it was kind of just something I wanted to try out," Judd said.

Nearly three years later, the Yellow Man has become a fan favorite from football to hockey games as Judd rallied the student section and left an impression on the student body.

"I think it's important for students to be interested in sports in any capacity, so if somebody likes BC sports a bit more because I went to the games and acted like a weirdo in spandex, that's awesome," Judd said.

As the Yellow Man, Judd didn't just leave a mark on the student body, he was also a celebrity figure to young BC fans who came to the games with their parents or siblings.

"I think being the Yellow Man made my BC experience better. I got to be a little-bit-of-a-somewhat-kind-of celebrity on campus, and I got to high-five a lot of little kids. You have to love making a little kid happy when they come out to a BC game," Judd said.

Despite hanging up his trademark suit, Judd still has one mission: finding a successor. After gauging public interest, Judd hopes to hold a competition open to the student body to find the next Yellow Man to slap on some spandex and raise spirit.

"I really hope somebody picks up this ‘tradition' and runs with it. I really enjoyed doing it, but you can only prance around in spandex for so long," Judd said. "If any freshmen out there think they're weird enough and can dance like an idiot, I really suggest trying to get this going again, it's definitely a good time."

In terms of his biggest impact on the student body, Judd said that his hope was to raise spirit and interest among students across the spectrum of BC athletics.

"I feel like we are lacking in that area," Judd said.

Echoing the old sentiment that if something isn't done right, it shouldn't be done at all, Judd said he lost some of his passion for being the Yellow Man this year after having completed nearly four semesters of games. Upon his graduation in 2013, half of his time at BC sporting events would have been spent dressing up as the Yellow Man.

"I'm really sad that I have to graduate in a year because that means I have to be a real person soon, which is absolutely terrible. I don't really mind leaving the whole Yellow Man thing behind because I feel like I did it for a long enough time, and doing it for too long would make it boring. I pretty much have stopped wearing the suit to games this year because I felt like I wasn't as into it as I was in the past. I figure if I'm not going to be out there dancing like a crazy person I shouldn't be out there at all. That's not to say that I don't go to games anymore, my clothes are just a little looser now when I go," Judd said.