Thursday, November 8, 2012

Beaver Believers

My daughter attends Oregon State University.  Roger and I love OSU football games, even though the Beavers have been notorious for less-than-stellar teams.  Despite this, OSU has many "Beaver Believers" - loyal fans that show up in force to every game.


Size matters!  Click on any photo to enjoy a larger version.

A family of "Beaver Believers"

After a dismal 3-9 record in 2011, expectations for this year's team were low.  Pre-season, OSU was ranked at the bottom of the PAC-12 conference.  However the first two games this season were victories over nationally ranked teams.  Eight weeks into the season, the Beavs had an incredible 6-0 record and were ranked 8th nationally.  This Cinderella story caught the attention of many who follow college football.


The OSU team arrives!

Although they had one loss to Washington in week 9, the Beavs came back fighting. Last weekend's game was a redemption match.  It happened to coincide with OSU Dad's weekend, so Roger and I made a trip to Corvallis to watch our beloved Beavs take on Arizona State.



They even have a special drink for Beaver fans!

Game day in a college town is great fun.  First up, a late lunch/early dinner at the Flat Tail Brewery, one of the best brewpubs in town.


Daddy-daughter pre-game drinks

Then a trip through one of the parking lots outside Reeser Stadium for some tailgating.  My friend Chuck introduced us to Darrell and Sandy, wonderful alumni who welcomed us into their tailgating crowd.



Our wonderful tailgating hosts

Darrell loves to create jello shots for each game.  This week, the shots included a bonus gummy worm.


Hmmm.....interesting jello shot

After making merry in the parking lot for a hour or so, Beaver fans began to filter into the stadium for the main event.


Havin' fun with my daughter

Roger and Denise love football, and understand the game way better than I ever will.  But I enjoy the noise and pageantry of a college football game.  It's great fun to be in a stadium full of 46,000 screaming fans (especially if your team is winning).


Game time!

Although the game got off to a slow start, the Beavs picked up steam, and by the 4th quarter were leading ASU, 29-19.


Good times in Reeser Stadium

In the end, the Beavs beat ASU 36-26, and bettered their record to 7-1.  Although the rest of the season's games have tough opponents - including the annual "Civil War" with our rival the Oregon Ducks (currently ranked #3), all of us in Beaver Nation have confidence our team will persevere.  It's been an incredible season so far.  Whatever happens, we are and always will be, Beaver Believers!

GO BEAVS!



Linking to: Orange You Glad it's Friday and Sunny Simple Sunday.

5 comments:

  1. Sounds like a fun time! :) How about those gummy worms !!

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  2. It is so great to see fans having so much fun at a college football team!!! IT is one of my favorite pasttimes to do....tailgating is a blast!!
    Laurie

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  3. A real cultural immersion for me! I don't understand a thing about American football, but as you say it must be amazing to soak up the atmosphere of a game.

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  4. Go Beavers! Nice shots and the orange really pops out! It will be fun to see how the college season ends...you never know. Thanks for stopping by!

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  5. Awesome post! Up until this year, my husband and I have been season holders (Had to skip buying this year due to the birth of our son). We will be back though! GO BEAVS!!!!

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