The discussion in the prior thread was interesting. Let’s take it here and continue. Maybe list all your suggestions and vent your concerns, and I’ll email the thread to Stansbury.
This is the image that has people concerned. Observations are mainly that it looks like a strip mall, the roof is unaesthetic, etc.
Last year I was on the Nebraska forum talking up our new facility upgrades, and honestly if I still posted there I’d be walking away with my tail between my legs after looking at that building. Between this and the outside of Gill OSU has some major problems with aesthetics.
Do looks matter? That’s the debate we’ll have. I think they do when you’re in a recruiting battle, and to say we don’t want guys who care about that comes off as sour grapes.
All that being said, I’m going to wait until the building is complete before judging it, but right now it looks like a mid 80s strip mall.
Looks like replacing the roof was a cost choice. Everything else should look great. So if the roof is still the same, not that big a deal. Would like to see it the right color of orange though.
I’d be concerned if a recruit turned down the program because of a roof. One they’d never look at anyway. Players aren’t in the stands nor do they look at the Webcam. The inside is all that matters.
To add, if a recruit made a decision based on the roof, do you really want that guy?
Why even put yourself in a position to make that decision?
Yes, if he’s a great player I’d want him. Saying I don’t want him because he cares about an ugly roof is sour grapes. I care about the ugly roof, too, so it’s also hypocritical.
They’ll have to put up 100 mirrors in the locker room since all the guys will be so vain.
If you care that much about the roof, you probably have the wrong priorities as a player.
OSU fans tried that with the bra uniforms.
They had a great season in the sports bra unis. Last time they beat Oregon….
Maybe the bra uniforms make players play extra hard in order to prove their masculinity
The player wouldn’t make a choice based on the roof, it’d be based on what the lack of decent facilities show from the university. How would you want to play at a place that can’t show its investment in itself?
blah blah blah….
enough talk
play
Looks like SHIT !
https://ourbeavernation.exposure.co/valley-football-center/photos/2217900
http://oregonst12x12.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Inside-Shot.jpg
Whiskey!!!! There it is! That’s “the one” That bottom linked photo was being passed around on Twitter and then it was removed due to unauthorized use or something like that. I sure as hell hope that is not the final version! Nice work Whiskey!
This link you posted in prior thread is final look it will be. Matches exactly with current construction.
http://osubeavers.com/fls/30800/sites/terrace/img/orange-seating.jpg
The other is from months earlier when they were first conceptualizing a terrace. Note how both the lower and upper seats from top link match the current webcam construction.
I think the color is just off because it was rendered with the light at a angle that casts a shadow on the roof.
This is the current progress:
http://webcam.oregonstate.edu/reser/
Would like to see a little greenery added to the Terrace. Maybe some ferns that aren’t too tall but bridge together the old world & new world?
Clone a Mammoth and have it tethered nearby. Rides for the kiddies.
We get behind in a game turn it loose on the other team…they can truly say they were stomped by the Mighty Mammoths!
Well, maybe not.
Not defending the current roof but the terrace is going to compliment the low slung lines of it…if it stays. Most construction projects look like shit when they are halfway done. Maybe we should let this one burn a little bit more before jumping all over it. I do agree that color has always stood out, & not in a positive way. I also notice that the completion date for level 1-3 renovations is noted as August on the website. There may still be more demolition to come. Having the terrace built could give them better access that way as well so this could be the planned progression of things.
To your first point angry I would absolutely say looks matter. A very close second to performance. Everything matters. Overall OSU has a gorgeous campus…and I think Gill has even more potential but it seems like it’s flattened by the overuse of one color, which isn’t all that complimentary in the first place. But I like her anyways, understated. Another perfect opposite to the football team with a community college problem in Eugene.
Another perfect opposite to the football team with a community college problem in Eugene.
Their stadium and facilities are so superior to ours. You’re just saying things like this because you went to OSU. If you went to Oregon you’d admit the truth — they are better.
Now the real progress comes from admitting that and then competing. If we mess up this renovation that’s a step in the wrong direction, and would be just more reason we’re OSU and not Oregon.
Real talk!
Well said Angry! OSU is basically light years behind hole in facilities. We need to hit a home run with this facility upgrade, not just have an at bat and say we tried.
I’m not delusional. Of course their facilities are better than ours. I’m as competitive as they come; we must do better on the athletics front but we also have to work with what we have unless we all start writing checks today. I don’t feel as if the money has been wasted or squandered, then I’d have a problem. We just don’t have the bankroll yet and we need to get on that by competing.
As for my community college jab, University of Oregon’s academics are a joke compared to Oregon State’s. We should continue to increase the gap there as we blow them out of the water in innovation, placement rates, and meaningful careers.
I agree with StateU on this point. We don’t have a billionaire waiting in the wings with a 100,000 dollar cash infusion.
We’ve been pretty efficient with the money we’ve spent (Valley Center, basketball, baseball upgrades, etc.) We as fans need to stop waiting for OSU to make the gameday experience/environment, and go to games and ” be the change we want to see….”.
Show up to the damn games regardless of team play — recruits see that, competition sees that, and fellow fans see that! I have no desire to be like hole, or spend the kind of money that hole has — hole is everything that is wrong with college sports.
….100,000,000.
Sure.
Just give me dates and times, and I can tell you which ones don’t conflict with plans that we out here in the world call life.
I wouldn’t mind some 10 am games. In fact, I’d rather have all 10 am games than even one at 7+ pm on a Saturday.
Do looks matter? Yes, of course. My thoughts on this run from the pragmatic to the aesthetic. First, it would be spendthrift not to fully utilize and adapt the building constructed in the mid 90’s. It’s a well known axiom in design that diagonals create visual interest and in that regard the general form of the roof structure is salutary, though we could have a reasonable debate on how to “decorate” it. Certainly, it it’s to be painted orange, it ought to reflect the official palette. I think a flat black roof with some interesting graphics might be compelling and even the solar panels idea ought to be explored for concurrent reasons though I’d want to be careful of glare–a problem for the engineers to study.
The plaza during games played in September and October should be jammed with people and will create a constant “go to” visual for the guys in the TV trucks, much like happens with center field at Safeco. It’s a fun place, for young people especially, and certainly far preferable to what they did at UW in Seattle where the comparable outcome (I think it’s called the fan zone or some such) has the effect of taking people OUTSIDE the stadium thereby creating a visual and aural vacuum. The view from those seats won’t be great, I suppose, but I believe they will have the virtue of being shown on TV a lot and the ease of access to the party behind you will be attractive.
Then, you have to consider what this “keystone” piece represents in terms of the bigger, longer-term build-out of the stadium, which is the ultimate objective. It’s a necessary linkage creating a “whole” stadium in both the visual land transiting sense, and the bridges over the “tunnels” or “gateways” will in themselves create an interesting architectural element within the stadium and on TV.
Ultimately, however, you have to ask, does it move us forward, or metaphorically, is it a first down as opposed to a turnover? It certainly will be better than what it replaces, and the interior spaces that result are their own reward.
^This.
“It certainly will be better than what it replaces”
Agreed. Any facilities improvement is a good thing. I’ll take form and functionality over glitz and glamour. OSU is not U of O. I don’t expect them to be either. NikeU philosophy is to have PK throw money at it and expect to win. How many national championships has that brought them?
I’m reminded of holes basketball floor.
Try driving east on MLK and looking for Autzen behind the big black stack of blocks abutting the road there. And then there’s putting a bunch of large chotchkes on the side of a hill and calling it art.
No offense to Art… looks good on him.
They have completely gone with the trailer court mentality of jamming stuff in here and there because that’s the only place they have space. And very little of it makes sense. It’s like a flood washed through and lifted the individual trailers from their pedestals and floated everything into a bottleneck and left it all there.
Each individually is a great facility. But together they all look like junk. It’s a weird dichotomy.
If phase three of Reser ever happens, I think the entire stadium could look pretty nice: http://beaverbyte.com/files/2012/09/Reser31.jpg
My concern is that OSU will cheap out and half-ass it. It took them forever to spruce up the facilities area on Washington near Goss, and they still haven’t done anything to improve the entrance to Gill since cutting down those hedges. It’s been years. Plant some trees there or something because it looks like the projects.
Like others have mentioned, some greenery on the Terrace would go a long ways. None of the renders have included that, but perhaps they’ll be there come September.
This double-decker mirrored design is what I want also once it is time and will be done right. Thinking in about 7 years most realistically. Say to start the 2023 season. If GA really hits his stride we may have a chance for it to be built by the 2022 season but that would take an Alamo Bowl at minimum. This design most say will gain us maybe 3500 seats. Probably enough to last OSU thru the late 2030s or early 2040s when bowling it in for a horseshoe and final capacity around 55K can be done if desired.
The mirror with the party deck Terrace will probably be the best Reser ever looks and should suit OSU well for decades. Oregon will bowl in Autzen before we mirror Reser but that at least will give us the final push to get it done.
Edit: An Alamo Bowl victory in the next 4 years would be minimum required to see a mirrored Reser by 2022. 3 decent quarters before collapsing doesn’t move the needle.
I don’t want phase 3 to happen because I know those assholes are going to jack my donation price. I’m fairly certain that with all the night games and the fact I can watch them on TV at home will be what causes me to finally give up my tickets after 15 years.
Personally, I prefer a more “curvey” looking space but I don’t know what the constraints are. It’s possible that to get a better looking outside space you have to either: (1) spend a lot more money or (2) give something up on the inside or possibly (3) take significantly longer to finish. This would be the schedule-scope-resources triumvirate applicable in any engineering endeavor. Without knowing trade-offs and priorities it’s not easy to decide if it’s the right answer or not.
Like this? Oklahoma is doing a very similar renovation of their Endzone, but they’re doing it right.
http://gfoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/CAM18_bowl_final-1844×866.jpg
Possibly, although the Oklahoma renovation is 160M while the OSU renovation is 42M. I don’t know how much of the 160M is dedicated to the piece proportionate to the VFC.
Money wise, we need a person similar to this list. Someone with “fuck you” money. Look who’s #3, suprise, suprise.
http://m.motherjones.com/media/2014/09/college-football-boosters-top-25
Hmmm. I’m surprised T-Boone pickens at Okie State isn’t on that list. Oh…
“Nike has been criticized for decades for its questionable manufacturing practices—including child labor, low pay, and worker abuse—and Knight has (sort of) owned up to it, though he tends to plead ignorance and shift blame to overseas contractors.”
That’s who I was looking for originally , I couldn’t remember if it was oklahoma or oklahoma state he donated too.
When you have a supply side economy the supply side, not the people, owns the economy.
I don’t want anyone on that list. Fuck you money builds stuff that says fuck you to the people. We’re a public school, not a sports complex. Design and function should speak to that first. Locally sourced materials, trades and artisans should be the next consideration.
What about papa johns? I don’t remember a pizza sauce shortage anytime in the recent past.
Here’s a few pictures of Valley Football Center, go ahead and join the group!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/521764517893489/
You’re an idiot. Hope you drive off a cliff while staring at facebook
Pretty pathetic to be that judgmental because someone uses social media
Yes the roof is…..not the best. But you couldn’t just take the roof off and put on something else.
1, the highest point of the roof is were all of the HVAC for the building is. Major changes like that would require an extention in height or total relocation which isn’t easy.
2, you couldn’t just put a living roof ( if that was your thought) up there and call it good, those things are heavy, and I’m not sure the building has the support for it. And I know for a fact they would not allow occupation of the building while doing major construction like that (reinforcement).
3, just those first 2 things alone would cost millions to do even without having to resupport the building (resupport would mean 10s of millions.
4, construction would take much longer to finish then what they are doing now.
5, solar panels? You think the roof looks like shit now, wait til they add solar panels.
In all, I’m not against changing it, but you need to realize it’s not that simple. Money is the biggest step, time tables are second. Maybe a new roof will be phase 4?
Just paint the damn thing black. The off colored orange isn’t even close to OSUs color. They put a black banner over it for the VTV advertising and that looked better than the rusty color underneath.
The rust color is also a poor choice for heat deflection. I’d have to look at some charts, but I think it only deflects about 30%. That’s only 50% better than white asphalt shingles.
A pattern of orange white and black would be awesome. Maybe……….Tartan?
Or maybe they could cover it up with a giant inflatable football helmet?
An inflatable Mammoth……….in a helmet.
Maybe 30 or 40 black and orange ones of these. https://youtu.be/rHXvMcLrLSY
1. The mechanicals are beyond the roof in that area that looks like a deck space. It is one. It’s just a service deck. It doesn’t have to go anywhere to disappear.
2. This was discussed. They would have had to create a moment to carry anything with any heft. There isn’t one apparent.
3. Your numbers are high. But doing so now… as a retro? Yeah, it’s infeasible.
4. It would have been integrated and added marginal time.
5. At least it will have an excuse beyond efficiency. And it could be a stand-alone project with educational as well as promotional value.
And it could be stand alone because it is forward thinking. Solar panels are what you make of them, like any other material. You can think big…
http://completesolar.com/5-craziest-solar-panel-installations-youve-ever-seen
… or you can lay flat panels on your sunny side and wonder aloud if your utility has reverse meters.
I agree with whomever said the plaza side looks like mid-century modern. I don’t get a strip mall vibe from it. It looks more like a Ferarri dealership… with people inside judging you by what you’re wearing. It’s cold with poorly conceived hard/landscaping. Make a larger portico over the structure with native woods. Make the facade from the same. Keep all the glass and curvature below. But contrast it and the industrial look of the stadium behind it to a square timber portico… that fits with the stadium from a birds-eye view… because we can put more solar on top of it. :)
Yes, I see its shape is reminiscent of a football. That is a neat deal. It also looks like a flying saucer from above… or a pop-up range vent from the rendering.
Lose the flashy concrete mentality and make that plaza warm and inviting. I think the parking lot in front might be where people get the strip mall vibe. I would make everything between Reser and Prothro a park plaza as well.
On the front side I would have liked to see more of a natural look. Think natural wood and stacked stone of some kind. Concrete and steel gives off a Soviet Russia vibe.
I think that there is potential with the current structure. I know it is ideal to start from scratch for the best looking VFC but the university isn’t able to with the amount of money we have (or lack there of). I think a different color along with other minor changes could really prevent the roof from being an eye sore. I don’t pretend to know the plan but you would have to imagine that if they are doing all that work on the terrace and to the entrance of it that they won’t just leave that section of the roof untouched.
With that being said I think the real issue now is with the old side of the stadium. If there is anything that is un-aestheticpleasing it is that. I think that having two completely different side designs in a stadium is awful. If I were a recruit I think second to this programs lack or winning lately, the way this university has shown it is not bought in to its own program by making the necessary improvements would be the biggest turn off.
If I had the money, I would donate it. But I don’t so I just have to endure what we have now and hope some rich old guy donates their lives earnings to make this university’s facilities nicer.
Thats just me talking though…
OT, BASEBALL:
Good discussion about the VFC, sorry to go off topic, but it’s about Jake.
Kendall Rogers (who will be in town for the series with the schmucks) says this about Beavs pitching and chances to host, I think Oregon State will end up hosting at the end of the season (they will win the Pac-12) and move on to a super regional. …The pitching definitely leaves something to be deserved (sic) from a star power standpoint, but Nate Yeskie has a pretty good track record, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see these guys get rolling there, either. Thompson just needs to get things rolling mentally. I’ve heard his stuff is pretty good, but has lapses in other areas sometimes.”
Wish I could be as optimistic. I’d like to see KJ return to earlier season form at the plate along with continued improvement in the D. Oh yeah, Thompson rolling too. Just my .02
No matter how tacky or awful anything looks, just act like it’s awesome and innovative, and the masses will follow suit. Works for Nikegon.
I thing this is an example of finding stupid things to complain about. It looks just fine. What were you expecting?
I don’t know…..maybe a roof that has the correct color on it?
Very simple and makes the stadium look more cohesive.
I think there are low cost options to make the room look better. Massari said something about painting it or another banner in the following reply to someone asking if the roof was getting a facelift. (don’t know if this was already discussed in the previous thread)
Mark Massari ?@BennysGotMyBack 4h4 hours ago
Mark Massari Retweeted Rip City
Not really, beside potential painting at the end, we also had a good response on the #VTV banner
I still think it will take the stadium becoming a double decked horseshoe for the valley room to be transformed, and it would then be turned into some sort of housing for a scoreboard.
Didn’t think about the score board and jumbotron after they finish the south end. That’s actually the best idea, paint it black, put up another banner in orange and wait til the other end gets fixed.
Well that will never happen.
Why would it never happen? If phase 3 gets built as it has been described, as making a horseshoe with the upper level, where else would the scoreboard go?
Horseshoe is Final Phase, not Phase 3 which is the mirror. Likely won’t need the horseshoe until sometime into the 2040s. Until then the scoreboard stays where it is. By 2025 at latest we should have Phase 3 done for the mirror though which will provide ideal aesthetics for decades until a horseshoe is possibly considered much further down the road.
2025? 2040? Football won’t be football in the future. Players will be wearing skirts and touching each other with fairy wands to make a tackle by then. So…. not to far off from last year’s defense.
My point exactly.
Where do you get this info from? I have always read that Phase 3 was the final phase and that phase would extend the upper level all the way around making the horseshoe.
http://checkpointmn.com/uploads/prizes/TCF-Photo.jpg
Some plantings would be nice. We have a plaza on the open end of the stadium that functions as a meet and greet area.
They cut down the trees on the inside of the stadium so the fucking Viqueens could sell a couple thousand more seats by sticking in some temporary bleachers. Pissed me off big time.
They better put them back. They selected the trees so the leaves turned Maroon and Gold. It was beautiful in the early fall.
https://twitter.com/7era_/status/725091425218531329
Well Shurod Thompson is out. My guess is he didn’t academically qualify?
God Damn it.
So he can be a duck?
https://twitter.com/7era_/status/725091425218531329
Well Shurod Thompson is out. I guess he didn’t academically qualify?
Guess that is why he wasn’t listed on the depth chart. That sucks.
I don’t think anyone not at spring practice was on the depth chart.
Luck O………
Yikes.
GA is in trouble.
I seem to remember an anonymous source a few months ago who said he’d be lucky to qualify……
Dont know for sure if that is the reason for this news but we’ll probably find out soon enough. Luck o the beavs?
It baffles me why guys can’t figure out away to stay eligible. You get recruited with plenty of time to make your grades then piss it away. He had potential.
He didn’t like the roof.
Winner, winner….
Nice
Yeah he was a known academic liability. Still sucks shit that he couldn’t figure out a way to get it together. Off to Juco I suppose.
Sigh…..we have to learn to cheat better (kidding)
He could have already graduated from UNC.
University with No Classes
Wow a 4* from LA likes us better than any other school?!? No, it turns out we were just the only coaching staff dumb enough to offer him. LMFAO!
Anderson better get his shit squared away or we’ll be rock bottom of the conference for many, many seasons.
Boy, only if he were Riley we wouldn’t have to worry some much about 4* players showing up. They wouldn’t give him the time of day.
Do the other potential recruits know he won’t qualify? No. But signing a high level talent early does potentially draw attention to the program in other recruits mind. I see no problem with GA rolling the dice to gain traction in recruiting P12 caliber guys. Too bad it didn’t work out. But was it a win or win win strategy? I really don’t know.
Numbers is right on with his assessment. Other recruits see dude’s stars and his offer sheet. A small percentage probably realize that he has bad grades, but to the rest he just looks like a great get. If he actually ends up on campus, bonus. If not then he was a recruiting aid up til that point.
Only coaching staff dumb enough to offer him? You know he got offered by 18 other schools, right?
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/maple/153899
At least he got him to commit, unlike Riley, who wouldn’t have even tried.
Every pac12 team minus hole and tree. Yup no one wanted that guy at all.
And most other schools already backed off him because of the potential academic issues. This is the same sort of stuff that everyone criticized Riley for, signing 4*’s that were never gonna qualify, but now that it’s happened to GA it’s seen as a positive. Bunch of hyprocites LOL. But then again logic isn’t a requirement here on AB. Always good for a laugh though!
No… Riley was criticized for never going after highly rated players and only getting academic casualties. If this was Riley’s class, Wallace wouldn’t be showing up either.
And zero interior D linemen would be showing up despite having undersized walk-on O-linemen on the two deep for those positions.
If you see hypocrisy, then it’s fair to point it out. And there is a little here despite Andersen not being established here after several recruiting cycles and some on-field successes. But let’s not pretend Gelakoska was a better college QB than Kellen Moore.
Where are all the hypocrites who hate Angry, who came here talking shit and demanded he and Nice out sources who said Thompson would most likely be an acedemic casualty. Then chastise him for being a downer after landing a 4*?
Thanks, Dwill. I didn’t have to do another “I told you so” because you took care of it for me. It’s better than way, as I get tired of doing it, too, and only do it because the people who accuse me of things never man up and do it themselves.
I don’t think that’s hypocrisy. I think that’s just plain old being wrong.
Regardless, I’m almost as tired of the i-told-you-sos as I am the you-said-last year-something-i’m-pooma-right-nows.
Gee Golly Yakuza you’re correct, I wouldn’t have tried; I’d go after Keyshawn Johnson Jr instead.
Jiminy Christmas! Don’t listen to this guy! He’s a gosh darned fake! I can prove it by the wads of cud and gum in my gaping mouth. Geez, these intertubes doohickies… anyone can pretend to be anyone
Is losing Thompson a bummer? Yes it is. Is it really that big of a deal? I don’t think it is. Thompson was most exciting because he was a sign the coaches could recruit. No one knows how he would have panned out at OSU in reality. It sucks to lose a 4* but I think we will be ok because we have some pretty decent young safeties as well as Payne coming in.
OT: I love guys with “football” names. Too bad his first name isn’t “Max.” Waiting for a LB named Marcus Beatyup.
Why not Will Beatyup?
Then for the CW we can call him Bill.
Couldn’t OSU get Thompson signed up for the same classes Chad Johnson took?
Oh wait…………
I was in a Psych class with Chad Johnson. Never actually saw Chad Johnson attend a single class, however.
What term? I was in a sociology class during fall term and he attended at least as much as I did, which was 75% of the time. Once winter term started he was basically gone.
I took Writing 121 with James Newson, highlight of my day was to see which velour track suit he was wearing that day.
Was that the extent of your education?
Stevie J was my lab partner for some bio class in 2000. He was a genuinely nice dude. I let him have my notes if he missed classes and he did the same for me. He had good notes.
Matt Roloff was my lab partner once, still got his phone number. He’s just a short call away.
Who?
LOL, nothing like a midget joke to brighten up your day.
Those MGs were terrible cars. I’m not getting the joke. Is this Roloff guy a super secret engineer of 70s era Brit cars?
“Little person”
Thompson must have screwed up pretty bad academically, he didn’t even get in as a partial qualifier. Recruits usually have all summer to become eligible. They can take online or summer classes to make up for bad grades.
Because he announced it now leads me to believe he probably won’t be graduating high school (on time that is). That’s why he won’t be able to make it up during the summer.
And yes, this is a big deal. The team is at a point right now where one player can make a big difference.
Conforto is raking with the Mets right now. At the beginning of the season, he was set to platoon and face RHP. If he can show some consistency vs lefties, he’ll be the everyday LF.
D1 projects Beavs as #2 seed in Minneapolis regional.
Tonights civil war is on PAC12 at 7pm; Stanford series on the school live feed.
Surely worth a new thread (?).
Eh, a thread for a mid-week baseball game?
If you guys want it I’ll do it.
I was thinking one thread for the civil war AND the Stanford series. I have noticed not that many AB’s comment on some of the baseball threads, so maybe it is a waste.
However, with the recent discussions of pitching depth, I would expect a reasonable amount of interest in tonight’s civil war. Additionally, I don’t know how many guys like to read the in-game comments/updates on the action. I know sometimes a reader who has no other access will comment that those comments are the only way of keeping up with the action. Don’t know how any conflict with the Blazers tonight factors into all this.
Anyway, Go Beavs………Go “Too Late” , and………Go Connie!
That would be good for me. Beav’s would feel right at home. Siebert Field has train tracks going past left field.
New basketball commit Ronnie Stacy pg/sg.
Looks like maybe a decent depth guy.
Finally decided to check in to see how Spring Football went and came across this gem about the All Blacks and a book GA read:
http://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/index.ssf/2016/04/gary_andersens_culture_change.html
I saw that mexibeav already posted it, but his/her opinion of it was much higher than mine. I can hardly stomach this type of non-sense.
How are a set of dog tags and cheesy names for position players supposed to make a difference? Seems to me that this will just promote players to inflate their ego because they have tough sounding buzzwords to throw around. The article doesn’t say that they are implementing any sort of strategy or real life lessons… I question Anderson’s intelligence buying into this garbage.
You have to try and motivate a group that hasn’t seen success on the field. This method is a way to boost morale and show there are building blocks being put into place in order to win. You can’t just sit around and yell at kids and expect to win; not in this day and age. Will it translate into success? I hope so.
Then you have to question any sports fans intelligence watching non-sense in the scheme of life, am I right? If the players buy into it that is all that matters. It creates competition and pride within certain skill groups, extra motivation in practice, etc, etc.
The simplest answer would be that GA knows the depth of untapped talent in Pan-Pacific cultures. And the pinnacle for any one of them would be to play for the All Blacks. Emulating that legendary program can’t hurt… unless you completely botch or make a mockery of their haka.
I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t tear down the old Valley Football Center and “start from scratch” to better “fit” with the new construction. I am keeping an open mind that the designers and engineers will do a good job of “putting lipstick on a pig.” I talked with Todd Stansbury this week and I think his vision is great. The idea of the Terrace as a “State of Oregon” show case. It will be a photo op. during games and discussion about all the local Oregon products and tying them with Oregon State Football. He also said that renovating the old side of the stadium is TOP priority. I don’t think he was joking. Since the Valley Football renovation is pretty much paid for free and clear, it doesn’t weigh down the Athletic Department with any more debt. I think they are aggressively trying to get funding and early drawings. I’ve heard no earlier than 2020, that seems reasonable but maybe sooner? Gil is not going anywhere but I think they are considering a massive internal overhaul. A lot of the old buildings on Campus have been completely renovated from the inside out while maintaining their historic look on the outside. I kind of wonder if that is what they are thinking with Gil. Gil is on the National Registry of Historic Places and I know it would literally take an act of Congress to change anything on the outside but I don’t know if that limits what they can do inside. GO BEAVS!