Posted on: Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Broncos' turf leaves impression
| • | UH giving record new spin |
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist
Ever since Boise State installed tidy-bowl blue artificial turf on its football field, enduring legend has had it that confused water fowl, mistaking Bronco Stadium for the nearby Boise River or a lake, have plunged to their deaths by the dozens.
"I'll neither confirm it nor deny it," is athletic director Gene Bleymaier's stock, tongue-in-cheek, response.
More curious, however, are the growing number of verifiable sightings of humans, some of them traveling from far afield, who make pilgrimages to see, touch and be photographed with the "smurf turf."
Thanks to Boise State's frequent television appearances, such as Friday's game with the University of Hawai'i on ESPN2, "The Blue" — as the Broncos refer to their home — has caught people's imaginations.
"It has turned into quite an attraction for visitors," Bleymaier said. So much so that tourists posing for pictures have become as routine a sight as the out-of-state license plates on the cars they pull up in.
If "The Blue" isn't exactly the "Field of Dreams" Iowa cornfield, it has still helped give Boise State a niche, the kind of identity that Bleymaier only dreamed of 18 years ago.
Boise had long played a good brand of football on the junior college, NAIA, Division II and I-AA levels, the last including a national championship and 17 playoff appearances. But tucked into the southwest corner of Idaho, well off the beaten college football path, the Broncos had little identity beyond the Big Sky and Big West conferences to show for it.
When it came time to replace the existing turf in 1986, Bleymaier decided to gamble on instinct. "We had green AstroTurf and, just because it was green, didn't mean it was fooling anybody into thinking it was real grass. If we were going to spend that kind of money (nearly $750,000), I wanted people to notice. If we had stayed with green, nobody would have noticed. There was no reason it had to be green."
So, with the school colors blue and orange, he opted for a blue field with orange end zones, a radical idea. First, he had to convince the maker, Southwest Recreational Industries Inc., he was serious. Then, he had to pledge his staff to secrecy, lest public debate scuttle the daring project.
It has been replaced twice since, most recently with AstroPlay in 2002, but each time retaining the trademark blue that a poll by the Idaho Statesman said is now favored by 90 percent of respondents.
But the popularity doesn't extend to opponents who have lost 23 games in a row and 77 percent on "The Blue" overall. Some coaches have dismissed it as a "gimmick." Others, concerned about the blue-upon-blue effect of the Broncos' uniforms and the field, have reportedly had their scout teams try to simulate it by practicing in green uniforms on green turf.
The Broncos' success, however, is more due to the players who wear the blue uniforms. Even if they enjoy taking advantage of the mystique and opponents bewilderment.
As for the legend of perishing water fowl, a school spokesman said, "In (18) years, I've never seen them have to dig a bird out of it."
But plenty of visiting teams have left their hopes of a victory imbedded there.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.
"It is something people want to see for themselves and we're glad to have them," Bleymaier said.
