A Beaver Blowout

Time for football game number two!  Last Saturday, I traveled to Corvallis for another OSU game.  Roger was on a hunting trip for the weekend, so I asked Cody if he wanted to attend the game with me.  To my surprise, he said yes!  (Cody isn't usually a huge sports fan)  I did a short detour to Mt. Angel to pick up my son before heading to Corvallis.



My kids enduring another photo session

This particular weekend was Father's weekend.  Denise had her entire family come down - except for her father!  She joked that Cody was her dad substitute and we were going to have to paint a mustache on him.



Denise and I having lunch before the game

When my kids get together, it is always a lot of fun.  We had lunch at McMenamin's and I was entertained by the back and forth banter between brother and sister.  Cody is the straight man, and Denise has a wicked sense of humor.  They had me laughing in no time.

Both bands play the National Anthem

One of Denise's friends joined us for the game.  The girls headed to to student section, and Cody and I found our seats near the south end zone.  We were running late, and walked into the stadium just as both bands were playing the National Anthem.  We paused on the stairway until it was finished.

They brought a huge American Flag on the field

Our opponent was the Washington State University Cougars.  They usually have the worst football team in the PAC-10 conference, so the Beavers were expected to win.

Benny Beaver, OSU's mascot, hangs with the band

Our seats happened to be right in front of the WSU cheerleaders, with their band in front of the adjacent section.  There were quite a few WSU fans sitting around us, too.  This was gonna be interesting.

I model my orange attire

The game started out with a lot of trading possession of the ball.  The Beavs couldn't seem to move the ball very far and the 4th downs came quickly.  Our quarterback got sacked a few times.  The defense seemed to be asleep at the wheel.

Football action (always near the other team's end zone!)

Most of the action was near the WSU end zone.  The Beavs couldn't seem to move the ball very close to their side of the field.  By the second quarter, the Cougars had scored twice, and we were still a big fat zero.  There was one really obnoxious WSU fan sitting right behind me.  When his team scored their second touchdown, he whistled so loud, I had to cover my ears.  There wasn't much noise coming from the Beaver fans in our section.  Not a whole lot to cheer about.

Benny Beaver joining OSU's band for the halftime show

It was a relief when halftime came.  The WSU band took the field first and did a boring show to the music of "Spartacus."  Cody, a former marching band member, provided commentary on the band's form and sound.

The band played Van Halen music!

Then it was time for OSU's band.  They did a set to the music of Van Halen.  I'd never heard Van Halen music done by a marching band before, but they pulled it off.  The show was lively and fun, even if their marching wasn't precise (according to my ex-marching band kids).

High-kickin' Dads on the jumbo-tron

Since it was Dad's weekend, all the fathers of the marching band members joined the band on the field for a dance number.  That was hilarious!  They showed close-ups of the dancin' dads on the stadium's jumbo-tron screen.  I especially like this photo.  The dads are doing a Rockettes impersonation.  Denise said later it would almost be worth joining the OSU marching band, just to make her Dad dance on the field.

Cody and I watching the Beavers get creamed

The second half of the game was even more dismal than the first.  Although the Beavs did manage to score a couple of touchdowns, WSU scored 17 more points.  I don't know what happened to the team we saw whip Cal two weekends ago, but I think someone snuck in and switched all our players!  They certainly did not play like the same team.  I later told Roger it was as if OSU had forgot how to play football.

Denise and her friend model their makeup

With two minutes left of the game, the score was 31-14, WSU.  There was no hope of a win.  OSU fans were leaving the stadium in droves.  I told Cody to call Denise and ask her if she wanted to leave.  About that time Cody's cell phone rang.  It was Denise and she was ready to go!

Even though the game was less than perfect, it was still a wonderful day.  I got to spend time with both Cody and Denise.  Any day I get to be with my kids is a good day!  It's so nice that they are both close by.  I'm really looking forward to having them home for Thanksgiving.


:)