The Beavers entered the Phoenix Civic Plaza through a lobby filled with orange-clad Oregon State fans and officials, with a portion of the OSU band playing the fight song near an ice sculpture of the Beaver logo. Players and coaches from the Beavers and the Fighting Irish were scattered among the tables in the immense convention hall. After season highlights were shown on a trio of big-screen televisions, the head coaches and five players from each team were interviewed live. In introducing OSU head coach Dennis Erickson , Levy reviewed the lengthy list of honors Erickson has earned this season. The Kickoff Luncheon drew fans from both schools and from the Phoenix area, and included performances by the marching bands from OSU and Notre Dame.
College football is as pure as it gets.
More and more Oregon State fans can be seen pouring into the Phoenix area in recent days, and those at the luncheon frequently broke into applause for any positive mention or video highlight of the Beavers. We don't need to make an exclamation point for the critics, we need to make it for ourselves. The Media Day on Friday morning included the entire Beaver team in their game jerseys. It's going to be great. It's going to be watched nationally.