Rallying a different legend

By: Kye Johnson

Posted: 5/23/08

I see on osubeavers.com a press release from Athletic Director Bobby D. that was issued recently, reassuring everyone that the legend is indeed being rallied. "About 800" people have signed up to rally this legend so far. By the way, who is the legend? I've been thinking about that a lot lately.

It begs the question: How much is it going to take for Oregon State basketball to bring itself to a level of respectability, let alone to the level of the University of Oregon? I see the Ducks doing all these crazy things in football, year in and year out, sort of masking the fact that their team isn't that good just to draw a lot of attention to the program. It got me thinking: If OSU basketball turned itself into the U of O of college football team, would we be better off?

And I'm not talking about just doing a few things completely out of line, I'm talking about going all-out here.

It starts with the uniforms, of course. So for the home uniforms, the shorts are completely orange with no stripes or anything on them. The top piece could be half white, half orange with a giant logo of Benny the Beaver chasing after something streaking across the chest. Like Wile E. Coyote chasing the Roadrunner or something.

Remember in the 1990s when every NBA team set a new level for horrendous uniform trends? That's where I'm thinking OSU should go, because even if they lose, if they're wearing uniforms that leave fans speechless, they can at least walk away from the game knowing that half the people watching paid more attention to the uniform rather than the poor play on the court. And if they win, then they can be called trendy.

It seems like the overall mentality of OSU basketball is changing with the new addition of head coach Craig Robinson, and with him, hopefully more wins. So why not try to be trendy? It seems to work for Duck football. They go 6-6 and the national media call them the most underrated team in a bowl game. They lose three out of their final four games in a season and the national media say they are the best team not playing in a national championship game. Are they ever really that good? No. But because they're so outrageous it brings them some pretty good attention.

Also, Gill Coliseum is a thing of the past. We need new, fresh sponsorship capabilities for the upcoming renovation. Think fresh beef, packed with potatoes, cheese and hot sauce, all wrapped up in a wonderful tortilla. That's right, I'm talking about La Conga Arena. Think about the marketing possibilities with that one. Besides, the last time we had one of our stadiums sponsored by someone who makes authentic American-Mexican food, it worked out pretty well. But this would be even better because I'm sorry, Reser, but La Conga's Mexican food is much better than yours. And just like at Blazer games when they score 100 points and everyone in the stands gets a free chalupa, at OSU games if the Beavers score 80 points, everyone in the crowd gets a free Oregon burrito.

By the way, the Mariners just lost again. And I'm pretty sure I watched Richie Sexson strike out three times in the time frame in which I wrote this column. Can Ken Griffey Jr. just hit home run No. 600 already? Because as soon as he does you know he'll be traded to Seattle and end his career as a Mariner.

Look, all I'm saying is that the University of Oregon takes a year-in and year-out mediocre football program and brings it to the forefront of the national sports media because of its out-of-control antics and oddball uniforms. At no point has Oregon ever been good enough to compete for a national title, yet the Ducks have gotten to the point where their school gets kicked around among the nation's top 15 every now and then.

So why not us? OSU basketball is in dire straits right now. They just set a record for the most regular season losses ever by a Pac-10 team. And guess what? That record will always belong to OSU. So let's give it a shot. Let's see what we can do by masking a potentially not-so-good team with out-of-control uniforms and new sponsorship. It couldn't hurt, could it?

Kye Johnson, sports columnist

sports@dailybarometer.com