Was this South Park Character Inspired By a Colorado Wrestler?

Since its inception in 1997, the cartoon South Park has not only risen to the ranks as one of the most popular TV shows of all time, but because it's based in Colorado, residents of the Centennial State have an even more intimate and special connection with it.

Read More: Colorado’s Newest Holiday Has Loose South Park Ties |

Throughout its run, South Park has made references to numerous Colorado towns, celebrities, and staples of the state, including, but certainly not limited to, Casa Bonita.

However, not all references are as blatantly obvious as those in the aforementioned Casa Bonita episode, and some fans have speculated that an obscure, Colorado-based professional wrestler may have inspired a character featured in one of the most Colorado-centric episodes ever created.

Is South Park's Bat Dad Based on Colorado's Big Van Vader?

The South Park episode titled The Losing Edge sees South Park's little league baseball team travel around the state, desperately attempting to lose against every team they encounter.

One of the subplots sees Stan's father Randy get into fights with other dads in the stands including a large, boisterous man in a professional wrestling costume known as Bat Dad.

Get our free mobile app

Bat Dad is the father of one of the players on the Denver team, and his altercations with Randy take place at Coors Field.

However, Bat Dad bears a strong resemblance to a real-life former professional wrestler who went by the name of Big Van Vader.

Vader, whose real name was Leon White, attended the University of Colorado, where he played football and was eventually drafted into the NFL.

However, injuries derailed his football career, and White decided to focus on wrestling, where he turned pro and wrestled for various organizations from 1996 until 2012.

Unfortunately, White passed away in a Denver hospital of pneumonia in 2018 at the age of 63.

The Colorado connection, the uncanny resemblance in appearance and voice, and the fact that the actor who supplied Bat Dad's voice, Diedrich Bader, has a name undeniably similar to Vader, all serve as viable reasons that support the fan theory.