Carson Steele had to say “goodbye, alligator” to his beloved pet Crocky-J this football season.

The Kansas City Chiefs running back introduced fans to his alligator ahead of the NFL season opener on Thursday, September 5. After learning more about the beloved reptile, fans are in love.

During a press conference in August, the 21-year-old rookie told reporters about the nicknames he has been given since joining the team.

“My favorite is ‘Crocodile’ because of my pet alligator,” Steele said, via KCTV5. “I probably gave it to him as a Christmas present in second or third grade.”

According to the Los Angeles TimesSteele’s father had ordered Crocky-J “over the internet from an alligator farm in Florida.” When he pulled the baby alligator from the burlap sack he was using to give birth, it ran across the floor and chaos ensued.

The rest, as they say, is history.

“I’ve had him for a while now. He’s in a big aquarium at home,” he added. Home for Steele, and the 4- to 5-foot-tall Crocky-J, is Indiana. The running back clarified that Crocky-J is an alligator and not a crocodile, but chose the name because he thought it “sounded a little better.”

During the September 5 broadcast, the hosts noted that Crocky-J weighs over 100 pounds and shared a photo of a young Steele holding the baby alligator.

“Carson told me that Crocky-J has his own room at his parents’ house in Indiana. But he’s hoping to bring him to Kansas City soon,” they continued. “He just needs to fill out some exotic animal paperwork.”

Steele’s teammates are “really excited” to meet Crocky-J. And so are NFL fans.

After the alligator was mentioned during the NFL season opener, fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to rave about the reptile. “This is the best thing I’ve seen all week OMG,” one fan said.

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“I’ve heard enough,” wrote another. “Make Crocky-J the new mascot for the Kansas City football team immediately.”

A third joked: “I just heard about Crocky J and I would die for him.”

This fan seemed to sum up the general enthusiasm for the alligator this way: “I can’t stop thinking about Carson Steele owning an alligator named Crocky-J. The NFL is back.”