Comments on: Of Politics and Football

By: Jack

Jack — Thu, 05 Jan 2006 15:06:15 +0000

What really happened to Riverfest? There is more to the story than what we know.

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 17:15:54 +0000

As for the gone (but sadly not yet forgotten) River Festival… once the float-boats were banned from the river (which was a pretty crazy idea anyway), shouldn’t it have be renamed the “Boise Commerce Festival”? It really had nothing to do with the river after that. (I can remember a couple of those early-year floats. Huge throngs of people tromping the fragile and frequently muddy/slippery river banks. IMO, it’s a miracle that we didn’t lose a young child into those swift-flowing currents. It’s usually still running high in June.)

As for Dan Hawkins… more power to him! Coaching is a job, and if he had a poor season, many of his loyal fans would turn on him like starving pit-bulls. (The ones who have been writing all the angry letters to the editor.) He saw an opportunity for a huge raise and a giant challenge to his coaching skills… and his family still gets to live in a pretty nice neck o’ the woods. (Although I think he’ll find Boulder to be WAY more liberal than Boise. A little island of “blue state” in an ocean of red states. Kinda like Hailey/Ketchum. Isn’t Boulder the place where, by city ordinance, you can’t be the “owner” of a pet dog or cat, but rather its “guardian”?) Go Dan! Go Pete! Go BSU! (The MPC ice bowl turned out to be a classic game!)

By: osprey

osprey — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 04:05:22 +0000

I have found the MPC Bowl to be a rather pleasant event in a week that is devoid of much else to do. I gave up skiing years ago. The people running this event have a business model that works as long as there is a major sponsor behind it and people (or their employers) buy up the tickets. The stadium is there, the nation is full of 2nd and 3rd tier bowl games, so why not one in Boise? In contrast the River Fest could not charge admission and which did seem to encourage higher attendance by the low-life element Fred mentions (and a lot of regular folk attended too). It also destroyed the river banks before they put the parade on the street where it belonged. Before its demise it was nothing more than a glorified state fair minus the barn animals but and plus the kitchen sink of every other community event borrowed from other cities across the west. Then Ann Morrison Park turf suffered for weeks thereafter thanks to the huge crowds. I don’t miss it, especially the hype about economic benefits.

As for Dan Hawkins, I hoped he would stay on a couple more years but I do not fault him for making the move. When those opportunities come along and its the right location, then go for it. I’m glad he was here long enough for son Cody to help BK get a couple of state championships. He did a great job with the BSU program, one that I think pays its way and provided thousands a place to spend their entertainment dollar. He deserved every dollar more than Gov. Kempthorne because he did a great job – a much better job performance than the Governor. The only thing I disagreed with was the cult-like reporting of the local news media leading up to his taking the job in Boulder. They really went overboard.

By: meglea

meglea — Wed, 28 Dec 2005 16:46:20 +0000

Fred,
I loved and miss the Riverfest, even though we live right above the rim and were subject to many inconveniences caused by said defunct festival. In my opinion it was a great family event – plagued with bad timing and worse management, but never did we find it populated with “lowlifes.”

By: Fred

Fred — Wed, 28 Dec 2005 15:00:50 +0000

Guardian–I like your comparison of the “Bronco Bowl” to the gratefully-defunct River Fest. Both are (were) particularly attractive to the low-life element of this community.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 28 Dec 2005 11:10:01 +0000

Hey Guardian, as the Sgt. in the movie Stripes would say “ligten up Francis.” Are you upset that you won’t be there taking pictures and getting paid. I take it by your idea that they play a bowl game in August that you are not a football fan. Bowl games are played in December and January. As a forgone conclusion the Broncos will play in their own bowl game, what happen the past two years? Oh yeah they were in Texas and Tenn. How come you don’t talk about USC playing in their own bowl game,The Rose Bowl or Miami playing in their own bowl game at the Orange Bowl. The WAC has an agreement with the MPC Bowl game to provide a team, and it is suppose to be the first place team in the conference, thus BSU fits that bill. I really don’t think the Chamber is trying to compete with The Rose Bowl, and I think the downtown business community kinda likes the bowl and the money it brings in at the end of the year. So “lighten up Francis.”