A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go visit my daughter who is attending Oregon State. This was special for two reasons.
First and formost, this was the first time I had got to see my daughter in 10 years.
Second...she got us tickets for the Oregon State/UCLA game. I was very excited about this because 1) I was getting to go to a Pac 12 game, and 2) I had always wanted to experience Reser Stadium, considered the loudest small stadium around (I'm sure that can be disputed somewhere).
I arrived on Friday morning and we spent the day going to breakfast, talking, going to see her horse (yeah, she is a horse person), and generally just enjoying each others company...it was a great reunion. There were some small inklings that there would be a football game the next day, as my hotel filled up very quickly with Oregon St. fans travelling in from all over the state and beyond. Also, classes were starting on Monday, so the whole student body was returning to campus on this weekend.
Saturday morning, I woke up and went to get breakfast. Megan (my daughter) was picking me up at 9am to go tour the campus before the game. Football was already in the air as I walked out of the hotel, and saw kids in Oregon State jerseys and helmets running around the parking lot playing catch and generally making a lot of noise. With the crisp air and overcast skies, the whole ambiance of it just made me smile.
Megan arrived promptly at 9am and we proceeded over to the campus. Getting there this early allowed us to get relatively decent parking for a relatively decent price, $10...as opposed to the $30 I spent for parking going to a Cal game, and being farther away.
We spent three hours touring the campus, which I found very impressive from an architectural standpoint. It had all the feeling and flavor I would attribute to an eastern campus. There were newer buildings recently built, and some still under construction, but the university did a great job making sure the architecture of the new buildings fit in with the old. The only two blemishes I found was this one building, which Megan infomred me was going to be demolished, that was this hideous 70's monstrosity of green glass, and the Forestry building, which was built in the 80's style. The Forestry building was ugly, but there is not much redeeming about 80's architecture. After spending two and half hours touring the campus, we went over to Memorial Union Hall, which is gorgeous inside and out, where I bought my obligatory "Beaver" t-shirt and had lunch.
Noon...game time, or just about. We walk from Memorial Union Hall to Reser Stadium, the crowds are crazy, and festive, general good spirits all around despite the early season disappointments. We made our way into the stadium and up to our seats which were in the south end zone under the big screen. The stadium was not large (it only holds about 46000), but well set up...not a bad seat in the house. It took no time at all for the stadium to fill with orange and black wearing, screaming fans. There was a small contingent of UCLA fans to our left in the corner...looked to be about 2000.
Pre game:
The pre game festivities were generally good. Can't ever complain about cheerleaders...and contrary to popular "Oregon" propoganda, the Oregon State cheerleaders do not resemble bovines in any way, and neither does the student body for that matter..."yowzer!".
The band was good, but I have to consider Cal's pre game a notch above. Cal just seems to have a little more "panache". And yes, I think I am being completely objective.
I was, though, beginning to feel the evidence of the stadiums accoustic qualities, as the noise level rose and rose. Any moment now...game time!
Game:
The game began well enough for Oregon St. as they moved down the field and put up a field goal after their offense sputtered inside the 20. After that...it was all UCLA for awhile. I was having a hard time with the beavers defense and what they were...or were not doing. It was strange to watch a Rick Neuhiesel coached team not run a pro style attack. Instead they ran a read option offense...wierd...but effective, as Oregon State rarely ever took away option 1. The UCLA quarterback was never...or rarely ever forced away from the dive option. He did not appear to be a very mobile quarterback and I was taken aback by Oregon State running what seemed to be a read style, non blitzing defence. They just allowed UCLA to dictate the game. UCLA would mix in just enough of a passing attack off of the read, or a pro set, to keep the beavers honest. 10 minutes before half, UCLA was up 21-3, and a few locals headed for the exits...but not many. Just before half, the beavers ran a punt back for a touchdown, and for the first time my eardrums recieved the punishment I was expecting. I actually had to cover my right ear, as the noise against my ear drum was starting to inflict pain...I am not kidding.
In the second half the beavers came out in total control, scoring a touchdown and field goal in the 3rd quarter to bring it within 2 at 21-19. I swear I thought my ears were going to bleed. The 4th quarter was a back and forth tussle for control, with Oregon St. having 2 chances to take the lead, but instead turning the ball over on a fumbel one time and downs after a botched 4th and 1. With 6:15 left in the game, UCLA scored for the last time but missed the extra point taking it to 27-19. Oregon State had one more chance to score and could have tied with a 2 point conversion...but the beavers just couldn't pull the trigger.
All in all it was a relatively decent game from a football standpoint, and a great experience from a stadium standpoint. One of these days I'll get to Autzen and really find out what loud is.
How this compares to football across the rest of the country...I don't know, I have nothing to compare it too but Cal, Stanford and San Diego St., which are the only other stadiums I have been to. One thing I can say is that Oregon State fans are much more passionate than Cal fans. The last game I went to, which was 2 years ago against...Oregon State, I found Cal fans to be generally lacking in enthusiasm...which is sad considering that Memorial Stadium is an awesome place to watch a game. The rest of the weekend turned out to be recovery from game day...there was no drinking...but I'm old, and a 3 hour campus tour along with spending 3.5 hours on your feet at a game takes it out of you. My daughter and I spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and talking and having a great time doing it. The weekind ended to quickly, and I found myself wishing I could have come up with some plausible reason to stay longer.
I would definately see a game at Reser again as it was a great experiernce, and the fact that I plan on making multiple trips to see my daughter will afford me more opportunties.
This is your CFP Pac 12 reporter, Grayghost, signing off from Reser Stadium in beautiful Corvallis, Oregon.
Have a great day everyone.
