11-07-2003, 09:22 AM
Soon after Bowling Green promoted Gregg Brandon to head coach last December, he bought 10 season tickets at Doyt Perry Stadium. That in itself is not unusual. Coaches have handfuls of tickets at a lot of schools. But Brandon bought seats right behind the opposing bench.
The Falcons, 8-0 and ranked 16th last year, lost at Northern Illinois, 26-17. One reason is that the Huskies student section, right behind the Bowling Green bench, made so much noise that it affected communication on the field and on the sideline.
"Northern Illinois was louder than Ohio State and Purdue were this year," Brandon said. "I was in the press box. I kept asking, 'What's the matter? What's the matter?' They said, 'Coach, we can't hear.' They (the NIU students) had those thunder sticks. They were right behind our bench."
So Brandon bought 10 season tickets behind the opponent's bench, and decided to give them out to Bowling Green students. And not just any students, either.
"I want 10 whack jobs," Brandon said.
Brandon went to the student union and asked students to audition. The winner would get the 10 tickets, as long as he promised that his nine friends would have a screw loose every Saturday afternoon.
The winner, senior Shaun Pelley, wore an orange cape and mask, and, carrying a Bowling Green flag, ran through the middle of practice yelling.
"The kids looked at each other and told me, 'That guy will work,'" Brandon said.
Junior Nick Martin, with his face painted orange and black, called Pelley, "King Whack Job."
Pelley and his friends don't just yell at the players, although they do a nice job of that. They're original. Senior Nick Gillespie said they got the number of the sideline phone for the opposing team and called it during the first couple of games, delivering a message of, uh, goodwill. The policeman on the sideline discouraged them from continuing.
Pelley is a soft-spoken environmental sciences major, if you can be soft-spoken while wearing a pumpkin carved in the shape of a helmet on your head. He and his several of his buddies spent seven hours carving pumpkins as headgear
"This week, we wanted to get on TV," Pelley said. "Get pumpkins on our head. Be original." They did get on TV during the Falcons' 34-18 win, and the crowd of 31,007, many with thunder sticks of their own (payback for last season), made a huge difference, according to both Brandon and quarterback Josh Harris. Judging from the noise, Brandon had way more than 10 whack jobs.
__________________________
Coach Brandon, this Bud's for you.
The Falcons, 8-0 and ranked 16th last year, lost at Northern Illinois, 26-17. One reason is that the Huskies student section, right behind the Bowling Green bench, made so much noise that it affected communication on the field and on the sideline.
"Northern Illinois was louder than Ohio State and Purdue were this year," Brandon said. "I was in the press box. I kept asking, 'What's the matter? What's the matter?' They said, 'Coach, we can't hear.' They (the NIU students) had those thunder sticks. They were right behind our bench."
So Brandon bought 10 season tickets behind the opponent's bench, and decided to give them out to Bowling Green students. And not just any students, either.
"I want 10 whack jobs," Brandon said.
Brandon went to the student union and asked students to audition. The winner would get the 10 tickets, as long as he promised that his nine friends would have a screw loose every Saturday afternoon.
The winner, senior Shaun Pelley, wore an orange cape and mask, and, carrying a Bowling Green flag, ran through the middle of practice yelling.
"The kids looked at each other and told me, 'That guy will work,'" Brandon said.
Junior Nick Martin, with his face painted orange and black, called Pelley, "King Whack Job."
Pelley and his friends don't just yell at the players, although they do a nice job of that. They're original. Senior Nick Gillespie said they got the number of the sideline phone for the opposing team and called it during the first couple of games, delivering a message of, uh, goodwill. The policeman on the sideline discouraged them from continuing.
Pelley is a soft-spoken environmental sciences major, if you can be soft-spoken while wearing a pumpkin carved in the shape of a helmet on your head. He and his several of his buddies spent seven hours carving pumpkins as headgear
"This week, we wanted to get on TV," Pelley said. "Get pumpkins on our head. Be original." They did get on TV during the Falcons' 34-18 win, and the crowd of 31,007, many with thunder sticks of their own (payback for last season), made a huge difference, according to both Brandon and quarterback Josh Harris. Judging from the noise, Brandon had way more than 10 whack jobs.
__________________________
Coach Brandon, this Bud's for you.
