Tag Archives: Reser Stadium

That stupid football thing

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When Oregon State University rebuilt the east (approximately) side of Reser Stadium, they were required, as with many government building projects, to incorporate a sculpture of some sort in the design.  When the commissioned piece was initially erected, I liked it.  It was a minimalist representation of a giant football, constructed of metal tubing – like the skeleton of a football, if you will.

But wait, the fine, esthetically pleasing work wasn’t complete! Oh no! The “artist” had plans for more, to make the piece better! Attached to the framework, ALL over it, were a hodgepodge of curving arrows, Xs and triangles.  There were so many things wrong with what was done, that I will have to take them methodically:

1)      Xs and triangles?  What?  Obviously the “artist” had very little knowledge of football, had seen at some time, some where, a play diagram…but he didn’t pay very close attention to it.  Xs and Os (that’s what is meant by the phrase, Xs and Os).  Play diagrams use Xs and Os – the Xs indicate defensive players, the Os represent…wait for it…offensive players!  What a concept!  Sometimes coaches will use Vs as kind of a shorthand X.  The V has the advantage of being pointed in different directions to indicate the defensive players stance in relation to the rest of the field – if the defensive end takes a position on the edge, pointed toward the quarterback, the point of the V can be aimed at the quarterback O.  Still with me here?  The V could also be depicted as a triangle, that wouldn’t raise my hackles the tiniest bit – as long as the artist used Os and either Xs or triangles (not both).  But using Xs and triangles and no Os – well, that is just ignorant.  The triangles should be replaced with Os – and right away.  Every day we leave it as is, the Beavers look like they don’t know their Xs from their Os!

2)      The arrows seem to all have the same length and curvature – which is NOT how a play diagram looks, at all.  Different lengths, different curvature, some straight – that makes more sense.

3)      Color – when first “completed” the figures consisted of a metal frame filled by some sort of shiny material of indeterminate color…that sometimes looked green and sometimes looked yellow and sometimes looked like maybe some poor hint of orange.  What’s wrong with ORANGE and BLACK?  The orangeness and the blackness are much more important than any shinyness.  After pressure from Bob DeCarolis, the colors were changed, but not enough.  They still tended more toward green than orange.  Now the some sort of shiny material has been replaced with colored LED lights behind clear plastic (I assume it’s plastic).  BUT now the colors are red and blue and whatnot.  The LEDs make it show up at night – but it looks like something that belongs in Reno.  C’mon, make them orange and black, put a few LEDs to jazz it up just a little – like a lady you’re taking to a fancy dinner, not like the town strumpet (that is a fine, underused word) – not too much.

4)      Speaking of too much!  There are so many arrows and Xs and triangles (!!!!!) on the sculpture that they overwhelm the football shape – and that shape is more important in the larger scheme of things than arrows or figures or colors or lights.  Take about 2/3 of them down, let the football look like a football with a few Xs and Os (Os NOT triangles, mind you) to give it just a little bit of an “Oh, cool” look.

The “artist” didn’t have the requisite knowledge for the project – he should have studied their subject matter just a TEENY bit more.  Read his own description of the work by following the link in the neon football picture above – it confirms my opinion.

The “artist” sacrificed fidelity to the Oregon State color scheme for some undecipherable artistic vision – one that I think is artistically faulty, which is why I use quotes to bracket the word “artist”.  Frankly, I think the unadorned framework looks better on Parker Plaza than the traveling carnival ride we have now.

A bead-flinging update

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In all fairness to Bob DeCarolis, I need to update folks on the bead-flinging incident.  Bob has taken a lot of heat from fans this season, so I want to acknowledge something he did well.  First, however, I don’t think the reporter from   the Gazette Times ever filed a story using my interview, so I still have a 15 minute credit out there somewhere.  Mr. DeCarolis made an effort to speak with Hog and me before the Stanford game.  He had previously emailed me to tell me that he wanted to meet.  He spotted me as I was headed into Reser Stadium, and said he would meet me in the Loge in a few minutes.  True to his word, he stopped by our table and spent some time talking about the situation.

He had a very realistic viewpoint about the whole situation.  He stated up front that the whole idea is for people to have fun – his words, “have fun”.  That got the discussion off to a good start.  We put forward the promise to not “try for distance” in the future, but to fling thee beads in a kinder, gentler manner.  He assured us that handing beads down to folks was certainly OK, and acknowledged the overzealous foolishness of trying to prevent us from doing so.  He briefly mentioned the “eye” factor (ala “A Christmas Story”), but acknowledged, with a wry smile, that the same type of beads are sold in the stadium itself.

What gave me the greatest reassurance was his acknowledgement of what we all had concluded during the time immediately following the prohibition – someone without authority or control of their lives or circumstances seized upon an opportunity to exert some measure of authority and control over someone else.  He wasn’t referring to the State Police – he was referring to the person who initiated the complaint.

We agreed to sit down and talk about the situation once the football season was over and the holiday hubbub behind us.  Several times he stated that he was certain we could arrive at a solution that would make everyone happy.

Throughout the discussion he was amiable, concerned, willing to listen and, most importantly, seemed intent on reaching a conclusion that would enhance the fun of game day at Reser.  I am looking forward to sitting with Bob again in the next month or two and putting this whole incident behind us.

Interviewed by Gazette Times

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I was interviewed earlier today by Emily Gillespie from the Gazette Times.  She is writing a story about the fan dissatisfaction with the game day experience at Reser Stadium. She had heard about our bead-flinging-fiasco and wanted to hear my story, so I told it.

She has invited fan comment, and ask me to post her email address: emily dot gillespie at gtconnect dot com

She was cordial, and seemed interested – we’ll see how the story turns out.

Reading her profile (linked to her portrait) I see she is a graduate of duckland university!  This causes me some bit of angst.  I will give her the benefit of the doubt, even though she is a duck, and wait to see the article she produces.

I wanted to make sure that she understood that it isn’t all the Oregon State Police, but that there are other areas of dissatisfaction also; that OSP contributes to the damper, but they aren’t the whole Maryanne.  I mentioned the duck noisemakers, that are against the rules – we’ll see if THAT makes it into the story.  I encouraged her to visit Pure Orange to get a feel for the fan opinion. I also asked her not to make the beads the focus of the story, but instead to view the overall picture, and include ideas from the supporters and fans for enhancing their experience.

Of games and scores and beads and such.

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Update:  This is an a more thorough description of events that were described in less detail on the Oregon State Sports forum, PureOrange at this link.

My buddy, Hog, and I have shared a loge in Reser Stadium for the last 7 years.  For the last 7 years we have been throwing mardi gras beads out to the fans below us after a score.  It has been a big hit.  Folks in the section below us will turn around when the Beavers score and wave and jump for beads (No, they don’t do that – it is Corvallis, not New Orleans!).  Kids love them, ladies scream for them, and the guys will make an extra effort to catch them.

Several years ago, he and I donated our loge seats to the family of a young man fighting cancer.  He had come to our attention after he sent letters of encouragement to the OSU kicker after he had missed 3 extra points against LSU, during a game in Baton Rouge that the Beavers lost by 1 point! They are Washington State fans, so when they came to Corvallis for a WSU game, we offered our seats.  We instructed the family and the young man that one of the requirements of sitting in the Loge was to toss beads after every Beaver score.  They complied with style and enjoyment.  They enjoyed playing the part and were worthy representatives of our tradition.

Alas,  as I posted here, last Saturday a uniformed patrolman marched up the stairs near our seats and informed us that such antics would no longer be tolerated. We grudgingly agreed to cease, and I must confess to a less than Christian attitude about the whole thing.

We handed beads down to folks below us after the next score, but there isn’t any exuberance expressed in handing beads to someone, like there is in flinging the beads out.  We then went to the front of the section and handed them out there.  While doing this, folks would ask us what happened, and as I explained, I pointed to the female security person who initiated the action. She said she felt threatened by our actions – Hog and another friend went and talked to her, and she said she felt threatened by that as well.  I can understand, to some degree, her feeling.  But we did nothing to intimidate her.  We mugged and pointed and talked to her.  In retrospect, I should not have acknowledged her in any way, and I wish now that I hadn’t.

While we were passing out beads, OSU scored again.  I was in front of the section, and Hog was just below me on the walkway, so I gently tossed him the beads in my hand in celebration – about a 2 ½ foot toss – and was promptly told if I did it again I would be removed from the stadium!

I spoke to athletic department representatives about the matter, and she expressed agreement with my position, but she, of course, is bound by the rules.  She assured me that this would be discussed in Monday’s meeting (last Monday) and she would get back to me.  She did – and this was the ruling: No more bead tossing.  They did say they would allow us to hand the beads to folks…I am open to suggestions for exuberant, celebratory bead handing; I just don’t know how to do it. But more than that, how presumptuous of them to “allow” something they do not have the authority to prohibit in the first place!

So, I am contemplating making a sign that says something like this:

“We are no longer allowed to toss beads. Please express yourself to bob.decarolis@oregonstate.edu”

I’m not sure if that would be the right thing to do – but I do want to have some explanation for the folks who have come to expect beads.