Keep Paul J!

It was announced today that KBOI, also known as "Broncos Radio" has lost the Bronco sports broadcasting account. So maybe KBOI rested on their laurels when the bidding came up since they've broadcast games for about 1 million years...but to deny future Bronco generations of the soothing baritone of Paul J. Schneider would be a GROSS injustice. Paul J. has been the voice of the Broncos for about 750,000 of those million years and warts and all...we love the guy.

I implore all of Bronco nation to sign this here petition to let the powers that be know that we won't let Paul J. go swiftly into the night.

Simply put: we need more cowbell

Over the next few weeks, I'll be discussing ways to improve the overall gameday atmosphere at Bronco Stadium. The Broncos don't lose often on the blue, and that is partially because of the huge homefield advantage gained by playing at Lyle Smith field...but there are certainly things we could all do to make that advantage even greater.

Suggestion 2 — More cowbell


If you sit in the North Endzone, you are probably well acquainted with the cowbell...while those that sit on the lower west side of Bronco Stadium are more familiar with the french horn. Which instrument is scientifically proven to both rock and strike fear into the hearts of men? Why it is the unassuming cowbell.

The history of the cowbell reads like a rich tapestry. It was invented during the bronze age as a way to keep tabs on livestock in the fertile crescent of the African delta. Soon after, villagers discovered it was a useful tool in driving away invading warriors (and Rainbow Warriors to this very day). Then nothing really happened for a few thousand years until Blue Oyster Cult rediscovered this most ancient of noisemakers and suddenly: the cowbell rocked!

By viewing the above video...proper technique for bellin' can be observed. Bronco Stadium, simply put, needs more cowbell. So all of you loyal Bronco fans head on down to D&B Supply and pick up a cowbell and go home and practice. Once you feel you've properly mastered the ancient art of the cowbell—you are ready terrorize Bronco foes and raucously celebrate a Bronco victory.

*Remember, some level of decorum must be followed while utilizing the cowbell. We aren't savages.

Suggestion 1 for improving Bronco Stadium atmosphere can be found HERE.

'State of Boise State' Podcast

JT Ray was nice enough to invite me to participate in a roundtable about the state of Boise State football with Matt from Statueleft and Kevan from OBNUG. You can listen to the podcast below.
boomp3.com

An interview with Chance McClain

It's a long offseason...so for the next 150+ days we're going to be throwing out some exclusive interviews with ex-players, analysts and fans. Our first such interview is with Chance McClain, a Houston sports-radio program director that adopted the Broncos as "his team" a few years ago and whom Bronco Nation was introduced to via his youtube video: "Houston's Biggest Boise State Fan". Chance was nice enough to answer some questions and let us know just what it is that makes him passionate about Bronco football.

DREW: What was the first Bronco game you saw that introduced you to the program?
Chance: I guess it was '98 or '99, late at night at a bar. It was against Hawaii. I don't even think BSU won the game but (friend) Russell and I decided that no matter what, we were going to root for the scrappy undersized team.

DREW:What impressed you about the team and got you interested?
Chance: The undersized, over-efforted nature of the way they play football. Plus there was some randomness about it. I had never been to or really thought of Boise. It seemed like a nice enough place though. I was
impressed around 2000 or 2001 when I noticed that a buttload of the
players were from ID and ALL of the players were from the Pacific NW. It
just seemed weird that a team could be so good, so reckless, so fun, and
draw from such a selective pool of high school athletes. I also loved
the cavalier nature of the play calling. Oh and the fact that they were
always offense-oriented.

DREW: Have your friends and/or family adopted your passion for the Broncos?
Chance: Some of my buddies have. I am the program director of a sports radio station in the 4th more populated city in the country so professionally I am looked at more as a peculiarity than anything I suppose.

DREW: What is it about Bronco Football that may be appealing to fans around the country?
Chance: The things I mentioned before. They are spunky. They work their asses off. There is none of the superficial bull**** that you see oozing off
of the tier 1 D1 schools. They are college kids out there and don't seem
as unapproachable and bullish as the guys at the FSUs, the UCLAs, the
Notre Dames, the USCs. They seem like they have to play the game and get back to Boise so they can get ready for classes or a pledge retreat or
whatever else college kids do. Play video games and drink beer.

DREW: You produced a Boise State song called "Majestic"—how long did that take to produce and what gave you the idea?
Chance: OK. Majestic. I have wanted to do a BSU song since about 2001 it just never materialized. When I finally had my ducks in a row I wrote it and we recorded it in one night and then spent another couple nights mixing and mastering. I titled it Majestic because Lani Ordone, the guy playing lead guitar, is like a wicked gifted guitar shredder. He asked what I wanted the guitar to sound like and I said, "I want it to sound majestic." He stared at me incredulously and I stuck to my guns. He produced majestically. Frank Bullington is the other guy I did the track with. He is a fellow Longhorn fan and did not quite understand my obsession but I am winning him over. Can't help but. If people would just watch this team they will love this team. Unless they are dirty Vandals.

DREW: What has been the general response to your first youtube Bronco video "Houston's Biggest Boise State fan"?
Chance: Love and affection from Boise Nation. Dismay and snobbishness from Longhorn nation. I catch a little grief for corny-ing it up at the end
but whatever. I was proud of it. Still am.

DREW: You visited "the Blue" last year for the San Jose State game; what were your impressions of Boise, Bronco Stadium and the fans?
Chance: OMG. Awesome. That is now an annual trip for Russell and I. And we are going to Hattiesburg this year for our first ever Boise State road game. We plan to be obnoxiously drink and raise all kinds of hell in Mississippi. I can't wait for that game. We are still picking another game for this year's hajj. My impression was exactly what I expected: stellar people, fanatic supporters, a whole town bathed in blue and orange.

DREW: 2007 Fiesta Bowl or 2006 Rose Bowl?
Chance: Not even close. Fiesta Bowl. That was the greatest moment ever. The whole thing was surreal. I bought the video on iTunes and watch it
weekly. It was the best. The Rose was awesome, too. It was seemingly
insurmountable. But it did not even take a year. Again, I still like the
horns. Just not nearly as much as my horses.
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Chance's "passing of the bracelet" vid
Majestic music video

Really?!

To say that Boise State Offensive Coordinator, Bryan Harsin keeps things close to the vest would be a slight understatement. To say that Harsin is a liar would be a slight overstatement. To say that Harsin is being extremely vague and diplomatic with his info would have squarely hit the nail on the head. Harsin yesterday insisted that no quarterback has really established himself as the frontrunner in the highly publicized QB race yet (roll eyes). He did, however, once again fail to include junior Nick Lomax's name among the QBs that he praised for their Spring progress. Not generally one to read too far into things...I am confident that Lomax's repeated exclusion from Harsin's interviews is a good indicator that at this point Lomax is sitting in the #4 QB spot. I also believe that by the end of spring ball on April 11th, we will have a clear favorite.

Luckily for us speculative fans, Harsin gave us a small inkling of how we might figure out the current pecking order:

He plans to give all of them time with the first-team offense this week in practice and reward the guys who play the best with more playing time in Friday’s scrimmage at Mountain View High in Meridian (3:30 p.m.).

Hear that? Take out your stopwatches to Mountain View High on Friday afternoon and determine who is getting the most time in the 2nd scrimmage...already knowing that Lomax is in 4th place (according to my calculations), we should accurately be able to determine the remaining top 3. After the first scrimmage, it looks to be 1. Kellen Moore 2. Bush Hamdan 3. Michael Coughlin and 4. (sorry) Nick Lomax.

One more impressive scrimmage out of Moore and he will be dubbed "the People's Starter"

Not-so-informative Statesman Article (step it up, Cripe)