Oregon Softball: Getting a Sign to Texas

While at the University of Oregon, I've been known to make a sign or two. It allows me to show support, offer words of encouragement, and brings attention to those who truly deserve it (unlike the attention that some of our athletes get).  My original sign simply stated that Liz, #6, was my favorite player on the volleyball team. Not particularly funny, but it was a solid, efficient and clean sign designed to do nothing more than state a fact. Both supportive and encouraging, no sign I've ever made has ever been more true.  Little did I know at the time of that original sign, the fact of Liz being my favorite would not be limited to just the University of Oregon Volleyball Fan Base. No, this knowledge would end up broadening to multiple sports across multiple schools. 




"What do you mean, 'multiple schools?'" You (the one other person aside from Dan reading this) ask.


"Well," I reply, "Let's start with the sign at Stanford."


Dan and I approached Nick via email, requesting an identical replication of my original sign. I was very hesitant to ask him, as at this point it seemed as if I would be creeping on not only Liz, but the entire volleyball team. To make one thing clear, my goal is to support the athletes at the University of Oregon, not to make them feel uncomfortable, which is why I was originally pessimistic about the idea. However, Dan's compelling argument of "It would be funny" eventually had me sold, and the plan was carried out . Nick successfully delivered the exact same sign down at the Stanford Game.

Photograph courtesy of the Volleyball Athletic Trainer (A story for another time)

"And what did you mean when you said 'multiple sports'?" You inquire.
"Stop asking questions," I reply.

A nearly identical situation arose for the Softball Super Regional this past weekend. As luck would have it, the University of Oregon Softball Team (of which Liz is now on) drew the #6 seed in the University of Texas. Dan has strong family ties to the school; at this point it seemed as if God himself were nudging my shoulder to have another sign made. That's the kind of thing God would do... right? Anyways, Dan and I had the exact same idea in that his Sister and Brother-in-law would be able to replicate the sign and show their support. Using his award winning pitch of  "It would be REALLY funny," Dan convinced both Katie and Rich to go to the game; sign included. 


So, without further adieu, here's Rich Lee's report on how the 3rd sign was presented:


Just as we entered the stadium, we walked by the visiting bullpen and saw none other than Liz #21 catching and throwing like a pro. We were caught a little off guard, but decided to improvise and unfurl the poster while we had her in our sights. We didn't get any pictures or video of the encounter, but she definitely saw us and responded favorably, though nothing could sway her from her bullpen catching duties--she had the focus of a champion. We also tried to get the sign on tv, but I don't think we had much of a chance standing in the very top row. We didn't watch the whole game, but saw some homeruns, some bad defense, and some even worse sportsmanship from UT's Taylor #6. I ate a texas-sized corndog and katie had frozen lemonade. A good time was had by all and Liz #21 is now my favorite player too.
Oregon is moving on to the WCWS and I'd like to think that our presence played a small role in their success (0-1 on days we were not in attendance, 2-0 on days we attended).

Attached is a picture of katie holding up our sign outside of the stadium, and a bonus picture of texas fans counting strikeouts at the always unfortunate 3 mark.

Although the syntax is a little different, the sign is definitely recognizable

I really don't think I can one-up this one. One sign, 3 Universities, ranging from Oregon to Texas. My originality hasn't shined, but the effort has definitely has (although all credit to the Mahoney's on this one). The only question is... how can I improve off this for next year?

Also, a big thanks to Rich and Katie for coming through!