Probably too much to pull together for this year. One obstacle is dormancy of the mechanics club. No one knows how to get it going and operate it.
But this was a great feature that was part of our tradition. The Case buisiness is still going on, making farm and construction equipment. They just had a 125th birthday. Perhaps they could provide support. We’re on TV quite a bit, more so in future. Good way to promote their story.

Mechanics easier with cow bells. :cool:

A default plan, (for the future...). If someone can get the engine up and running, film it and play the film on the display on the scoreboard...

Does it have to be in the bowl where steam, smoke etc., may pool and set off public health alarms? Are there places "on the rim" where it would still be visible, effective, etc.?

In response to some of the earlier points, based on the timeline the accident at Berkeley functionally closed the Antique Mechanics club, (they have a lot of hazardous machine shop equipment out there), but the steam engine was banned long before the club closed its doors. Further, Lorry said that there are alums around who are perfectly qualified to run the engine. Hence (it appears) that if the administration asked for the steam engine back, it could probably return quickly.

Where would I put the steam engine? Up on the promenade, in the vicinity of the student section. You want everyone to see it, especially the students.

Who runs the whistle that’s at home games?

Great question!

If I recall, was it only at Toomey for the playoffs, or also Sac?

I recall a few playoff games with the fog, stands packed, temporary bleachers packed, the North Endzone defensive stand against North Dakota State (4 downs? Inside the 5?), cow bells, steam engine, winning, and celebration afterwards. The Bison looked HUGE.

Solution: more cowbell.

Hawk knows about the steam engine, as it was most prominent when he played here. A call from him to Blue could get this all going IMHO. Liability issues are really insignificant. Let’s get some spirit going!

Can AST and other tweeters Tweet it?

Maybe Dr. Mike or others can post it to the football alumni mailing list and Facebook page? We may only have one playoff game, time to act.

Sorry for going a little off track here. Banning the steam engine because of complaints from other schools reminded me of an effort to ban the Aggie Band. Back in the early 70s, the SF State basketball coach tried to get the conference to ban the Aggie band because of the hex that we did during free throws. He claimed that his players believed the hex; causing them to miss baskets.

It was true thoug...it actually jinxed them! :naughty:

fwiw - Big West specifically prohibits bands from traveling to away basketball games, unless it is televised and the host school agrees and there is not a home game of any sport the same day, in which case you can bring 30 or fewer members. The rule was specifically targeted at the Aggie Band and came in the Warzecka years. I never got the sense these kind of battles were his priority.

There is a backwards mindset here from our NCAC days... they prohibited us from having baseball games on Picnic Day ... too many fans, unfair ...

Don’t worry Dr. Mike, if I use it I’ll go down to the bottom of the bleachers!

the over/under on you getting your cowbell taken by security is 1:00 into the 1st quarter.

as an aside...i have a friend who has some special needs. he and his buddy love going to the high school football/basketball games. i gave them a ride home the other night from the playoff game and just as i was about to hit the gas, the guy in the back starts clanging his cowbell. about drove off the road. so, you'll be in good company!

as a second aside.....do you remember when my son was sitting with us and brought a duck call of some sort? the guy in front of us (who hasn't shown up more than twice in past 3 years) was CLEARLY not amused! i think he ratted Brian out to security!

I was in town for a game a year or two ago and I was on my feet cheering the whole game. Nothing obtuse but apparently too animated for section 120 because I had Aggie hosts follow me like white on rice, even to the restroom. Can’t imagine a cow bell would have lasted long if yelling “watch the game, ref!” got me on the watch list.

With all the winning and increased hype, they've stepped up patrols and are watching (and listening) very closely. There is no substitute for a good family environment to watch football, so if they get on a couple of guys for being overly enthusiastic (drunk) it might be for the best. If it gets too Gestapo, it'll become apparent...will likely comment on it on AST.

That being said, I want to see a packed house and a little unruliness just the same.

As of right now, these are the tickets sold (blue sections are largely unsold, the grey areas are basically sold out)

Isn’t there an NCAA rule against artificial noise makers, such as cowbells?

Plenty of seats available in the visitors section

“For Whom the Cowbells Toll”
For you, dear Steam Engine. For now, sadly, we will all have to be satisfied with our memories of you in all your Privious glory. May you rest well in the peaceful solitude of the now dark and silent Antique Mechanics garage. Perhaps someday bolder persons than we are will seek you out, wipe off the cobwebs, check out all your bells and whistles, and fire you up once again. But for now, your once mighty whistle will remain silent and only a dimming recollection of its past greatness will live on.