By Rodney Zwahlen and Eric Christensen
rod@newsroom.byu.edu
Details, details, details.
It is the intricate things that matter to the hordes of people who prepare Cougar Stadium for each BYU football game.
The preparation requires hundreds of workers and hours of work, all in the name of BYU football. The bottom line, of course, is that 65,000 people are dying to cram the stadium each game day and many more tune in on radio and television.
The weekly process of preparing the stadium begins with the grounds crew.
Aside from everyday turf maintenance, the crew begins the painting process two days before the game by painting the basic lines and text on the field. The next day, the crew paints the borders, and on the day of the game they do the finishing touches. And the finishing touches really are touches.
For example, grounds crew member Rayann Forsythe spent time before the Utah State game painting over even the smallest patches of dead grass on the field with green paint.
She said the crew also removes pieces of sod from the sidelines to fill in holes on the field.
The grounds crew also mows the grass the day of the game with a mower that has special brushes that turn the blades of grass in the direction of the mower. This function allows the crew to achieve a striped look on the field.
Then there is the television production. The television broadcast process is a game within the game.
When the national networks or cable stations do not broadcast BYU games, SportsWest does the television coverage. SportsWest employs seven cameras and 35 to 45 workers during a typical game along with many volunteers.
Workers arrive six or seven hours before the game to lay down and connect cords, set up cameras, test the sound and picture quality and complete a multitude of other preparations. During the game, while the producers and technical experts work to ensure a smooth broadcast, the 'grips' are on the field to keep cords out of the way of the camera operators and players.
During the game, the stands are scattered with events staff workers dressed in neon orange uniforms.
Jennifer Taylor, a junior from Centerville, TN majoring in elementary education who works on the events staff, said people are misinformed when they view the events staff as nothing more than enforcers.
'People think you're a cop, but I'm here to make sure everyone has fun,' she said. 'I like working with people -- that's why I do it.'
While Taylor and her co-workers are keeping an eye on the fans, the concession workers are busy at work.
Bob Zart, who has been the head of concessions at Cougar Stadium for 14 years, said there is much more to be done than the average fan might imagine.
Four-hundred fifty to 500 workers man the concession booths, where fans devour 400 to 700 bags of ice each game.
But Zart said his job is more difficult this year because of the four evening home games. At evening games the crew sells hot chocolate, which puts a strain on the entire process.
'Hot chocolate is a pain because we aren't set up for it,' he said.
Whatever the weather or the time of day, the fans just keep coming. They are drawn to the game by the competition, the excitement and the pageantry.
'I like the spirit that's involved with college football,' said Duane Price, an Orem resident who has attended games for over 50 years. 'There's a feeling that you don't get from other sports.'
Nick Toyn, who adorns himself in BYU garb for the games, agreed. 'It's a great feeling knowing that the spirit is in the air and everybody's ready to root for the Cougars,' he said.