Uniforms, that is. At home.
Especially since Boise State has become a player on the national scene, some individuals have privately and publicly complained about Boise State’s blue turf and the unfair advantage it gave the Broncos.
“I think they ought to get rid of that blue turf. I think it’s unfair,” first-year San Diego State head coach Rocky Long whined in April. “[I]t takes the visiting team a quarter or two to get used to that different field.”
While the blue turf is not going away at any point in the near future — and even as I continue to believe the football program has progressed well beyond the turf gimmick — the matching uniforms will be. Well, at least for conference play.
According to the Idaho Statesman, one of the stipulations for the Broncos admission into the Mountain West Conference this year is that they will not be permitted to wear the blue jerseys at home for MWC games. Commissioner Craig Thompson hinted Tuesday that some current members of his conference wanted to make ditching the smurf turf a condition of BSU’s inclusion, but ultimately the membership settled on the jersey issue as they — the coaches — deemed it “a competitive advantage”.
While the higher-ups signed off on that part of the deal, don’t count the Broncos’ head coach as a fan of the ban.
“It’s a tragedy of college football,” Chris Petersen said according to the Idaho Statesman‘s Brian Murphy. “I thought it was ridiculous. … That’s our colors. That’s who we are. That’s who our fans have wanted us to be since I’ve been at Boise State. That’s what it’s been through and through.”
Since installing the blue turf in 1986, the Broncos are 69-2 at home, including 32 straight home wins and an unblemished 40-0 mark in their old conference, the WAC. It’s only natural, then, that the current membership would look to rid the new guys of the perceived advantage before admitting them.
Doesn’t change the fact, however, that that’s some penny-ante, petty bullspit right there.
