Painting day in the books
Things finally got going Saturday on painting day as the time on the clock got closer to 9 than 8. After a quick team meeting led by assistant superintendent Miguel Yepez, who, make no mistake about it, was running this show, a team of about 20 that included some folks borrowed from other departments set off on their assignments, painting yard lines, hash marks, sidelines, end lines, logos and 10-yard markers.
There's a definite buzz of urgency in the air as the crew preps for what is annually the most-watched college football game that is not part of the College Football Playoff system. Nearly 17 million people watched the 2019 game between Ohio State and Washington.
For someone who has been to thousands of sporting events, what took place on painting day was like a maestro conducting a symphony.
The conductor in this case is Yepez. He's driving the field striper, laying down sidelines and end lines and watching to make sure everyone else is doing their job the way he wants it done. He's constantly off and back on the striper, checking on numerals, hash marks and anything else that is getting painted. He notices and sees things on this field no one else does.
Yepez has developed a reputation as an accomplished painter, both with the striper and freehand. Schnell calls him the best field painter he has seen and probably the best in the business.
My hope was just to not get in his way, or anyone else's, or foul things up. As I told superintendent Will Schnell and his assistant Miguel Yepez: "What I don't want, is for you and Miguel and five others standing in a circle wondering how to fix my handiwork."
"Don't worry. We're not going to let you do anything like that," Schnell replied.
Exhale.
In fact, there are many people involved in this process who make this an annual ritual, including retired Pasadena police officer George Wiley and his grandsons Jonathan and Evan. Wiley also invented a hydraulic mechanism that allows goalposts to collapse so fans no longer can tear them down, but that's a subject for another post.
The team also includes brothers Reggie and Walter Beasley, Chris Chang and Ian Gray, who is in his third year at UCLA, which is no easy drive from Pasadena even though the Rose Bowl has been the Bruins' home field since 1982.
Among Gray's duties this day was the all-important task of painting the red rose at midfield. It takes a steady hand to color in a logo that will be seen, scrutinized and judged by millions.
"Pressure? Yes, there is that," Gray said.
"It definitely takes concentration."
Walter and Reggie Beasley have been doing this for about seven years. Walter is a master with a paint gun filling in lettering in the midfield logo while Reggie leads a team painting the numerals on the 10-, 20-, 30-, 40- and 50-yard lines as well as the goalline "G".
"It's not hard," Walter said. "It just takes practice. It took me about two years get really good (at painting letters freehand).
Chang is a Cal Poly Pomona grad and when it comes to freehand lettering, he wields a paint gun like Bob Ross with a brush. When the midfield logo is complete everyone is helping finish sideline areas or hash marks.
"It took a lot of practice," Chang said. "It's like anything else; once you do it enough it just flows."
Hash marks are a long process - there are two sets down the middle of the field and one along each sideline. They are filled in 5 yards at a time thanks to what is essentially a large stencil that takes two people to lift and carry and one to spray.
Finally, 4.5 hours later, everything is finished.
"Good work. Good work."
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