Fifteen years ago, no one in Saraland would have imagined a Spartan mascot stealing the spotlight from Santa Claus, much less outshining an Elf on the Shelf, at a pre-Christmas children’s breakfast.

Today, the city’s youngest fans cannot wait for it.

That is the kind of welcome 17-year-old Savannah Jane Bexley expects next weekend when she steps into the Saraland High School mascot costume and arrives at a children’s breakfast as “Sparty Claus.”

“I would honestly say that Sparty is more in demand,” said Bexley, now in her third-year portraying Sparty and serving as a student council ambassador. “The little kids of Saraland love them Sparty.”

Championship or not, the Spartans are again among Alabama’s high school football powerhouses and Sparty has become a beloved symbol in a city that

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