-
1 of 10
-
2 of 10
-
3 of 10
-
4 of 10
-
5 of 10
-
6 of 10
-
7 of 10
-
8 of 10
-
9 of 10
-
10 of 10
National exposure prompts color coordination
Archive
Comments
Story
High-flying offense with a sense of trick ration – that is how most the country views Boise State football. It was the program’s creativity that captured the hearts of sports fans everywhere. Behind the scenes the BSU athletic department has been working equally as hard to exude the same creative mind set as Head Coach Chris Petersen and his staff.
With the Bronco’s first nationally televised game of 2007 on the horizon BSU is calling for its fans to take part in another Blue/Orange out for Thursday’s game against the University of Southern Mississippi.
“I just think it says a lot about the football atmosphere that’s going on here when we do things like that,” Coach Petersen said. “I think it’s kind of fun and interesting and it looks pretty neat on TV.”
The first time BSU successfully pulled off the blue and orange colored scheme was last season against Fresno State.
The BSU athletic department formulated a plan to have certain sections of the stadium wear specific colors, either blue or orange, which essentially created a blue and orange striped effect throughout the stadium. It was this innovative cooperation that helped BSU gain the attention of BCS bowl committees, and not just because of the football team’s accomplishments on the field.
“Last year when they were describing it I was going, ’we got no chance, what they are talking about’,” Petersen said. “But the fans were dialed and they were on it. It looked great.”
With the Broncos entering a three-week stretch with home games being televised on ESPN, BSU is already devising a plan to incorporate different schemes for each game.
Coach Pete said in a press conference Sunday that he is particularly excited for another blue/orange out because the effect always seems to carry over onto the football field. With a team like Southern Miss coming off of big games against other nationally prominent universities, BSU fans will have a great chance to make an impact on the game.
“When you get our people riled up and for four hours hear our people go at it – its impressive,” Petersen said. “We got work to do on the field and in the stands this week to get our 30,000 sounding like 109,000.”
Following the Broncos home win over the University of Wyoming on Sept. 15, rumors began to formulate that BSU was pumping artificial sound through stadium speakers to make the crowd seem even louder. Needless to say, there haven’t been many people buying into those accusations around Boise.
What Coach Petersen is buying into is the home crowd’s ability to wreak havoc on opposing offenses.
“As the people in this area keep getting excited about it you can just feel the energy,” Petersen said. “The thing that is awesome, I think, is when those games are sold out and it doesn’t matter who the opponent is. In the old days it used to be, ‘well it depends who they’re playing’. Now they’re coming to watch our guys and that’s what is fun about it.”
Coach Pete has acknowledged since the Wyoming game that there are still areas in the stands that could use improvement.
Namely when BSU fans begin doing the wave while the Bronco offense is on the field. Coach Pete joked on Sunday that it is the only thing the BSU crowd has done that could use some work in the off week.
Other than that the home crowd’s excitement works wonders in favor of the Broncos. Case in point – BSU has won 27 of the last 28 games played in Bronco Stadium.
JAKE GARCIN
Sports Editor
