What The Blue Means To Bronco Nation
Nationally, The Blue is a spectacle. One of the most recognizable playing surfaces in sports, the field has become a symbol of the program for fans across the country.
To the people who fill Albertsons Stadium six-plus Saturdays every fall, it is something more personal. It’s a backdrop for memories, family traditions, lifelong loyalty and a communal space for those who comprise Bronco Nation.
As Boise State celebrates the 40th anniversary of The Blue, Boise State Athletics turned to some of the most diehard members of Bronco Nation to find the answer to one simple question: What does The Blue mean to them?
The Twins
The Blue has played a major role in some of the biggest moments in the lives of twins Melissa and Michelle. The sisters have used the field to celebrate birthdays, get engaged, and of course, watch their favorite team play.
Since the day they were born, Melissa and Michelle had no choice but to be Boise State fans. Their father, Gary, is such a diehard fan that he is affectionately known as Buster Bronco to his friends. He’s the one that starts the family group chat with a text every game day. He’s the one that handles the details and itinerary for every away game.
“He’s been going by Buster Bronco since I can remember,” Michelle said. “Our parents have a really close knit group of family friends and all of their kids grew up with us. They all still tailgate together. They’ve always just called him Buster Bronco because he’s the one who has really led the charge in making sure we’re at the games.”
For Melissa, that fanhood led to the decision to attend Boise State, where her dedication only increased as a student. When Oregon visited The Blue to face off against the Broncos in 2009, Melissa camped out overnight outside the ticket office to make sure she got a ticket. One single ticket. Years later, she got engaged on The Blue.
Michelle didn’t attend Boise State, but her passion for the team never left. She and her husband, Thomas, joined the military, which took them to many places throughout the country. Their connection to Boise State became a topic of nearly every conversation.
“Everywhere we go, when people hear that we’re from Boise, they get excited about the blue turf,” Michelle said. “I encourage them to go visit and see it in real life because it’s even cooler than what’s on television. The stadium experience is awesome. I try to send people to my family’s tailgate because it’s a production.”
How big of a fan is Michelle? When approached to do this interview on Bronco Studios Live, she didn’t hesitate. It doesn’t matter that she lives in Sacramento, she booked a round-trip flight so she could participate in the interview together with her sister in person (her husband is a pilot so the free tickets on standby certainly helped).
The twins agreed that their favorite game together was the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Melissa was a student at Boise State at the time, while Michelle was in nursing school elsewhere and met the family for the game. It was the entire family’s Christmas gift.
As the game progressed towards its famous finish, Michelle, deep in her schooling, noticed the nervousness of the crowd around her, triggering her instincts as an aspiring nurse.
“I was certain I was going to have to do CPR in the stands because everyone was so tense,” she said. “I legitimately didn’t watch it in real life. I watched it on replay because I had to have my wits about me in case somebody actually passed out in the stands.”
“That game is just a true testament to what Boise State is all about. They've been themselves from the very beginning. They work hard. This community is true to this team. Everyone follows it. There are so many generations of families just like ours that have been believers from the very beginning. And here we still are, dominating college football really in a sense.”Melissa Sharone
That fandom has passed through generations as both Melissa and Michelle have had kids of their own. When each of Buster’s (Gary’s) seven grandchildren were born, they left the hospital in a Boise State onesie. The same Boise State onesie.
“Buster and my mom take the outfit and deliver it wherever it needs to go so that they can wear it from the hospital,” Melissa said. “Right now, the onesie is in my kid’s baby book. We might frame it. It might be a requirement for our own grandchildren to wear it when they leave.”
Though she’s a time zone away, Michelle and her family still make Boise State Football a priority. Her children have found success as soccer players, so most Saturdays in the household are spent on the soccer field. However, once those games are over, the entire family races home, either watching the game in the car or if it’s late enough, catching it on television.
“Either way, we’re cheering loudly from California,” she said.
When it came time for the twins to celebrate their 40th birthday party, the location became a no-brainer: The Blue. The duo rented out Stueckle Sky Center for the event, which involved a period where the guests were allowed on the field.
“It’s just a place that commemorates a lot of happy moments for us, so we just decided why not celebrate here?” Melissa said. “We did a whole twin-themed birthday party on The Blue. We brought our old school track jackets. We wore Boise State stuff in our orange shoes. They took us down on the field and we got a picture of us turning 40 on the 40-yard line. We had the lights on, the whole shebang.”
So, at its very core, what makes The Blue special?
“People know who Boise State is because it has blue turf,” Melissa said. “I will tell you every single work guest we have had in town, we bring to The Blue. If I can't get them here for a game to get them in to tailgate and take them with our tickets, we are at least going through the Hall of Fame to take pictures. People know who we are because we choose to be different and that’s so great.”
Michelle concurs.
“Not having lived here in a really long time, The Blue really represents the larger community of Boise,” she said. “People are genuine here. They actually care. They want to belong to something. Bronco Nation really embodies that. You're here, you're family. We're going to work hard together. We're going to have a lot of fun. We're going to have the ups and downs. But it really, to me, represents the community of Boise.”
The Mancave
For some fans, The Blue is woven into family milestones. For others, it becomes a lifelong calling card, and in the case of Richard Phillips, becomes the centerpiece of an entire room.
Phillips might have the most Boise State memorabilia of any member of Bronco Nation. He has 35 Bronco jerseys hung up on his wall, and hundreds (yes, hundreds) more neatly folded inside totes in his garage.
“My buddies joke with me all the time that Boise State needs to build me a museum so that I can display everything,” he said. “Someday I might go buy a warehouse so I can display it all. I have every newspaper article from 2007-2017. My grandma used to get the Idaho Press Tribune and anytime there was a football article in it, she’d set it aside knowing I’d take it. I have a tote in the garage that’s designated for that. I could cover every inch of wall space inside and outside my house and still have stuff left over.”
Phillips was also born a Boise State fan. Born in Burley, his grandparents began taking him to games with their season tickets when he was two. When he was eight years old, he moved to the Treasure Valley, eventually taking over his grandparents’ season tickets. Since then, he’s missed only four home games in 33 years (he can recite the exact games, with full details, if asked).
During that time, he has also made the trek to a good amount of road games. When the schedule comes out, Phillips sits down with his wife, Sam, and plans out which games the pair will attend. This year, he already has plans to attend Fresno State (Oct. 10), Washington State (Oct. 24) and Colorado State (Nov. 7).
“I prioritize Bronco Football,” Phillips said. “I save all my work vacation for it. My wife and I pick the games we're going to and we save up for them. We use most of our vacation every year traveling to Boise State Football games. Bronco Football is our life.”
Phillips embraces the blue-collar identity of the team by not letting anything prevent him from watching the Blue and Orange play. In 2010, he and some buddies made plans to make the trek out to Landover, Md., for the Broncos’ season opener against Virginia Tech. After arriving in Atlanta, their connecting flight got delayed multiple times, putting their arrival time in danger. The group, spearheaded by Phillips, decided to rent a car and make the 10-hour journey through the night.
“We got there on game day with a few hours to spare,” Phillips said. “Instead of going to the hotel and taking a nap, we just rolled to the stadium. We had enough energy to just keep rolling.”
Phillips has proudly attended all four Fiesta Bowls. Like many, his favorite was the 2007 edition, the 43-42 overtime thriller over Oklahoma.
“We were surrounded by Sooner fans,” Phillips said. “When the infamous interception with just over a minute left happened, Sooner fans were getting in our faces. ‘Doesn’t it suck to come out all this way to lose?’ Then after the Statue, I said ‘Doesn't it suck to come all this way to lose?’”
One of the first dates Phillips took his now-wife on was a home game against Nevada in 2013. Realizing his love for the program, she bought him a Boise State motorcycle helmet. The two broke up, but after rekindling their relationship, she couldn’t believe he still had it in his possession.
“She came back 10 years later and couldn’t believe I still had it,” Phillips said. “I was thinking, ‘why would I ever get rid of this?’ I don’t ride, but it’s still an awesome piece of gear. We brought it to a game last year and got it signed. It’s sitting on the floating shelf now.”
His fandom is perhaps best defined by his mancave. The room, located immediately to the right of the front door, is filled top to bottom in Bronco gear. The walls are covered with hung jerseys, photos and newspapers. Tables and shelves are filled with footballs, bobbleheads and other Boise State gear, including a model of Albertsons Stadium comprised of Legos.
The mancave has become a subject of lore among the most faithful of Bronco Nation, a group that Phillips is proud to be a part of.
“It feels really good to be a die-hard fan,” Phillips said. “It’s crazy the amount of people I know. I don’t have to approach them, they’re already approaching me.”
How deep does his love for Boise State go? Pretty deep.
“I have a Bronco tattoo on my chest,” he said. “Everyone asks me why I got it there. I do it so the team is with my heart all the time.”
On game days, he sets up outside the Bleymaier Football Center, routinely hosting a plethora of fans.
“We’re typically some of the first ones down here,” Phillips said. “We like greeting the team when they get here. We greet the team even on road games. We tailgate right outside the football complex. We have players’ families come join our tailgates.”
So why does Phillips go to these lengths to showcase his fandom? Easy answer. This program, and the values it stands for, is easy to stand behind.
“The way the team plays with heart and the stuff they do for the community is second to none,” Phillips said. “You get someone like Coach Danielson who brings people together in a world when everyone wants to do their own thing. This team comes together and fights as one. They don’t put blame on one specific person. When they win, they win together. If they lose, they lose together. And then the stuff they do for the community just means everything to me.”