"Go Big Red" is Still Going Strong
Big Red is still in the game. Cindy (Robarge) Esposito (1995-98) was a big part of the terrific era for South Carolina Volleyball in the mid-1990s, which established itself as a regular in the postseason. With her 6’1” stature and flowing red hair, coupled with her dominant play for the Gamecocks, she became a fan favorite.
“I’m a 6-1 redhead, and people started calling me ‘Big Red,’ and it just kind of stuck,” said Esposito, who now teaches computer science at Beachwood Middle School in Lexington and is an assistant coach for the Gilbert High School volleyball team. “We had the ‘ball heads’ at the Carolina volleyball games back then. They were huge fans, and they had a chant they made up for me. They would yell out, ‘Goooooo Biiiiiig Reeeeed.’ Then ‘Go Big Red’ very quickly. They would do that every time I got a kill. It just kind of became my persona. I was fine with it. I would walk across campus, and people would yell, ‘Big Red!’ I didn’t even know them. People knew who Big Red was, but they didn’t know who I was.”
The alter ego created by the “ball heads” didn’t bother Esposito, and she noted the impact they made at home matches.
“We had taken some volleyballs and cut them in half and decorated them,” said Esposito, who graduated in spring of 1999 with degree in media arts. “We had this group of guys that would recruit other people to come to the games, and they would wear these volleyballs on their heads. So, they were the ‘ball heads.’ They were crazy sometimes. Everybody wanted to be in that group. I think they got kicked out of a couple of games. People hated playing in Columbia. (Florida coach) Mary Wise would try to get them kicked out sometimes.
“It was exciting to have people cheering for me like that. We all got to know them pretty well. I don’t think most people even knew my real name. I still see people today every once in a while, and they’ll say, are you Big Red? So, I introduce myself and say, hi I’m Cindy!”
“I just like being around young athletes and trying to help teach them this sport that has given so much to me.”
Robarge earned All-SEC honors as a sophomore in 1996 and helped the Gamecocks reach the NCAA Tournament three times in her four seasons on campus. While she took her game seriously, “Big Red” also liked to have fun on game day.
“I was a little bit of goofball,” Esposito said. “I was always relaxed and laughing while trying to get people pumped up. The minute I got on the court, I knew what time it was, but I think when you are having fun and are relaxed, you’re playing better. Volleyball is a huge mental game, but the more relaxed you are, and the more fun you’re having, the better you play.”
While the student-athletes of her time didn’t have the opportunities with Name, Image, and Likeness, she still had fun with it.
“I think I had one t-shirt that had ‘Big Red’ on the back,” Esposito said. “The volleyball team put together an intramural basketball team, and they put ‘Big Red’ on the back of my shirt for that.”
Esposito and her husband, Scott, have a son, Vincent, who is a senior in high school, and a daughter, Gabby, who is a sophomore and is coached by her mom. Remaining a part of the game is still important to her.
“They know I was Big Red,” Esposito said of her family. “I’ve told them things.
“I just like being around young athletes and trying to help teach them this sport that has given so much to me. I love to see it when something clicks for them. It’s so rewarding to see them grow.”
Go. Big. Red.
