Stealing the Marker would make waves

Talk about it

FARGO — Two members from North Dakota State’s Blue Key National Honor Society gave a presentation on the importance of the Dakota Marker trophy earlier this week. They talked about going to various meetings to promote the rock that goes to the winner of the North Dakota State and South Dakota State football game.

Wearing their blue sports coats and ties, the two students started with the rock’s origin. They promoted an event where people will be invited to take a picture with it. They said they hope the publicity will help increase awareness of the Marker.

Dear Blue Key: I’ll give you a sure-fire way to promote it.

Steal it.

That’s right, take it, without violence or property damage, from the winner in some clever fashion and bring it to the game today.

Dear students: I’m taking one for the team here in this day and age, advocating trophy shenanigans. Let the emails begin on how immature that is.

Last week, Blue Key member Nick Welch said two society members were moving the rock through the NDSU Memorial Union when they were stopped by a couple of Bison football players.

“They wanted to make sure we weren’t SDSU players who dressed up as somebody from NDSU,” Welch said.

“That’s right,” said Blue Key member Jace Beehler. “We’re crossing our fingers. We don’t want to have a ‘Nickel’ situation.”

Ah, the Nickel. It’s getting to be as distant as Teddy Roosevelt’s Big Stick proverb.

“Borrowing” the symbol that went to the NDSU-UND winner was a regular occurrence for decades. A picture of it taken in front of Mount Rushmore showed up one day on my desk.

An anonymous phone call led me to meet student shysters at a local hole-in-the-wall bar on another occasion. They told the story of how they dressed up as UND janitors, walked into the Sioux locker room at Memorial Stadium and took it.

It was classic.

The problem with stealing the Marker, however, is multi-fold: it weighs a ton (actually 230 pounds), the distance between Fargo and Brookings makes for a much bigger buffer than Fargo and Grand Forks. And the rock, when in Fargo after business hours, is locked in a glass-enclosed case that is located in a locked NDSU football office, which is located in a locked Fargodome with security cameras.

It would take something out of a “Mission Impossible” movie to take it.

“That’s what they tell us,” Beehler said.

Back in the day, the Nickel was displayed in the NDSU Memorial Union, where it was probably held in place by a couple of Phillips screws.

It’s a student trophy. It should be in a place where students should see it. Put it back in the Union at either school.

Yes, absolutely. Put it there.

Kolpack is a sports reporter for The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, which is owned by Forum Communications Co. Email him at jkolpack@forumcomm.com and read his blog at http://bisonmedia.areavoices.com.

Tags: ndsu football, sports, bison