Yesterday, I attended my first game at Reser since Oregon State/Stanford of the 2015 season. Not much has changed in those 2 years. The “Fall 2016” banner remains on top of the Valley Football Center. The stands were about half full/empty. The chainsaw/cow sound effect showed up every 3rd down. The sideline for the visiting team continues to stand in the shade while the home team stands in the direct sunlight all game long.

Despite all of those things, I actually had a good time at the game. It was also both of my kid’s first games, and they had fun as well(they were more attracted to oregon and the duck before yesterday, but now they love Benny) OSU was competitive and the crowd, despite being small, was actually pretty loud at times and remained engaged throughout the game. It helped me realize that we’re really not that far from making a trip to Reser an attractive way for people to spend their Saturday. Imagining the enthusiasm that I saw yesterday, in a stadium that is actually more than 75% full seemed like a realistic expectation if the team can remain competitive in their next few games.

So what happens next? Does Cory Hall have what it takes to keep the team engaged and competitive against Stanford/Cal/Arizona/Asu/Oregon? Or, was this his best shot at capturing lightning in a bottle after the team was ditched by Coach Andersen?
If Cory Hall is successful, do the Beavs give him another year (or more) or do they then hire a new coach and return us to the land of perpetual “rebuilding”? Rebuilding to me just feels more like an excuse to live in state of low expectations. We’ve been there for long enough. I can only hope that we can harness the energy of yesterday finally build a little momentum around the football program. Otherwise, I’m afraid we’re stuck in groundhog day and we’re going to be looking forward to “Fall 2016” for another year. Go Beavs?