Howard French dresses up in as much pink as possible and celebrates alongside sororities Sunday
As the rain slowed on Bid Day Sunday evening and the crowds dispersed, one final cheer rang across the Horseshoe.
"Hey, girl, hey!" shouted a large, curiously dressed man, eliciting squeals from sorority women who flocked by the dozens to take pictures with him.
Cocky didn't make an appearance at the festivities Sunday, but Howard French — better known by his moniker "Hey Girl Hey Howie" — could well have been the mascot for the day.
"I'm not saying I'm Marcus Lattimore," he said about his near-celebrity status. "But I'm the closest thing to it."
French, heads taller than the women clamoring for photos with him, could be an imposing presence, if not for his outfit.
On Sunday, he donned a white Lauren Conrad T-shirt, a fluffy white halo and sparkling silver platform shoes — everything else was pink. A pink feather boa. A long pink wig. Pink pants. Pink breast cancer awareness bandanas. Pink armbands. Pink sunglasses.
The dressing up is a tradition, French said, one that started a few years ago, when he realized that wearing designer clothes "didn't do it for me."
He began modestly enough: He wore a Twilight T-shirt to the 2009 premiere of "New Moon." But that wasn't enough; he said nobody really noticed. So, French said he "accessorized," adding stickers and all manner of other costume pieces. By the "Breaking Dawn" premiere two years later, he was being approached regularly by strangers requesting pictures with him.
He said he's since attended countless sorority events, from Delta Zeta sorority's Turtle Tug to Chi Omega sorority's War of the Wings. He even goes to Five Points and some football games on weekend nights in his unique get-up.
"I try to have more pink than everybody else out there," he said. "I love Bid Day. I love the atmosphere; I love the camaraderie. Nothing beats this. It's my favorite event."
In his right hand Sunday, French cradled a toy horse on a stick.
"This is how I get around," he joked. "The horse is my method of transportation."
A familiar shout: "Hey, girl, hey!"
The interview was interrupted as an iPhone was forced into the hands of a Daily Gamecock reporter. "Take our picture!"
"I love your socks," French said to the group of women surrounding him, all sporting a pair of knee-highs.
As they walked off, more approached, delaying questions further.
"I'm just out here trying to increase morale," he said as a third group walked off.
As if there was a deficiency of that.
French, who lives in Columbia and said he's originally from Fort Lauderdale, claims to be a fourth-year communications student at USC; however, a search of the USC directory turns up negative.
A conversation with him is fairly erratic. Subjects range wildly and, while outrageous quotes abound, a muddled picture emerges of the man behind the character.
He mentioned that family have volunteered for both Obama and Romney campaigns. Who's French voting for?
"Whoever makes gas prices cheaper," he said with a smile, again pointing to his horse.
Why the Lauren Conrad T-shirt?
"I love Lauren Conrad," he said. "On Oct. 20, I'm going down to Alpharetta, Ga., for a book signing. I hope I get a picture with her."
Indeed, his Facebook lists her under his "Religious Views." French said the T-shirt, like the rest of his outfit, changes depending on the occasion. Justin Bieber, Carly Rae Jepsen and even Casey Anthony have all been featured across his chest. A preview of things to come, he hinted that a Barbie shirt is in the works.
"I'm very creative," he said. "I'm versatile. This is more of a Carly Rae Jepsen crowd, though."
Fair enough. OK, what's the best part about Bid Day?
"These hot girls!"
For their part, the women all seem to love French, or at least get a kick out of him.
"Hey Girl Hey Howie is a great contribution to the Greek community," said second-year business student and Chi Omega sorority member Molly Walsh.
Alpha Delta Pi members exalted his "spirit" and the mutual love between him and the sororities.
The one most pressing question they all want an answer to, though, he won't provide. Which sorority is his favorite?
"I don't claim any sides," he says adamantly. Pressed by a reporter and seemingly every other sorority member who encounters him, he acknowledges he does have a favorite. "But I can't say it, 'cause all of them know me."
When enough photographs of them and French had been taken for several new Facebook profile pictures, the women walked away, once more chanting French's name.
"Hey, girl, hey!" he responded. "See you next year!"