Before Miley, There Was Family Force 5
Photo credit: Family Force 5/Spotify
Sometimes good ideas arrive at the wrong time, or are never given a shot for one reason or another. Buckminster Fuller designed a 12-seat car in the 1930s that got 30 miles to the gallon on an alcohol based fuel, but an unfortunate crash at the Chicago World’s Fair derailed the project before it could get off the ground - literally. Fuller’s Dymaxion vehicle was being designed to eventually be able to fly as well.
Oregon State stumbled across such an idea in 2013, when someone found the song “Chainsaw” by Family Force 5. By this time, OSU had been using the chainsaw noise for well over a decade whenever a third down stop was needed. The noise had become a staple of gameday in Corvallis, and it was as loved by Beaver Nation as it was loathed by the rest of the conference.
Family Force 5 seemed to come from that same vein in they were well received by those closest to them, and everyone else…well didn’t get it. I mean, you either love a band with members named “Soul Glow Activatur,” “Fatty,” “Nadaddy,” “Crouton,” and “20 Cent” or you really, really don’t.
The union of a football team from the Pacific Northwest and a Christian rap/rock band probably wasn’t the most obvious decision, but according to Sara Elcano, Senior Associate Athletic Director for External Operations, there had been a growing demand for a change in the 4th quarter song (which was then, as it is now, TNT). A song that tied into the most recognizable sound effect at Reser Stadium made sense. The football team was coming off a fairly successful season in 2012 as well, climbing as high as No. 7 in the AP and making an appearance in the Alamo Bowl vs. Texas. The athletic department probably felt like it was the time to go big with some new ideas.
And so, in late August of 2013, OSU dropped a video on YouTube featuring the OSU cheerleaders and clips from the Family Force 5 music video imploring Beaver Nation to “learn the dance” and crank it like a chainsaw at the next home game. The original video has long ago been scrubbed from the OSU Athletics YouTube page, but thankfully the internet will never let us forget:
OSU Cheerleaders Present Chainsaw
I know, I know. It’s not great. Nobody cranks a chainsaw over their heads, guys. It’s hard to do, but as I’ve said before, things don’t have to make sense to make sense. Remember that, before that video went online, there were multiple discussions about using the song, someone choreographed a dance/hand motion to go along with it. If people were like “maybe we shouldn’t do this, guys” it doesn’t show on the faces of the cheerleaders in the video, who are ALL IN. Remember this was 2013 as well….the same year a video of a few firefighters dressed in costumes doing the Harlem Shake generated almost 8 million views.
At least locally, the reaction was fairly positive, but about 48 hours after launching the video, national outlets had found it, and boy did they hate it. The Big Lead called it “an amazing new low” for college football songs and dances.
Then the season started and the team lost to Eastern Washington. Much like that first song you danced to with a significant other who would go on to break your heart, Beaver Nation collectively vowed to never Crank it Like a Chainsaw again. It limped along for a few more games, but in the end it was replaced by an even more unlikely anthem: Psy’s “Gagnam Style.”
Like I said, it was 2013.
What if OSU had beaten Eastern Washington? The Beavs had been ranked 25th in the preseason polls, and would go on to win their next 5 games before falling to No. 8 ranked Stanford. Would Chainsaw have been embraced the way Miley has been thanks to her now nine-game unbeaten streak over the past two years? Would we still be cranking that chainsaw “back back” to this day? Probably not. But then again, AC/DC’s TNT has limped along for two decades now, and has recently been remixed with a techno beat I’d contend is even more awful than anything Family Force 5 put together, so who knows?
‘Bows to the Knees, Beaver Nation!
Things for Beaver Fans to Gnaw on:
Men’s soccer extended their unbeaten streak to six games over the weekend, knocking off top-10 ranked Stanford, and escaping with a 1-1 draw against Cal after having two players, including goalkeeper Luis Castillo, red carded. Despite playing shorthanded for almost an hour, OSU held strong. Backup keeper Jesus Sanchez did well against a barrage of second half shots from the Golden Bears, conceding only once. He’ll likely be called into play this week against San Diego State, as Castillo and midfielder Adria Capdevila will have to sit out.
The Beavs continue to climb in the rankings, moving back into the TopDrawerSoccer Top 25 for the first time since week 3 of the season at No. 16. Their RPI lowered to 18 from 22 as well.
Congrats to the women’s soccer team for picking up their first conference win over the weekend, a tidy 3-1 victory over the Sun Devils as Bryana Pizzaro and Amaya Bautista tallied their first goals of the season and freshman Lindsey Antonson recorded her first career assist. The women’s soccer team will conclude their season Friday down in Eugene against the Ducks.
Basketball is back! Both the men’s and women’s teams held exhibitions over the weekend, with the men beating Lewis and Clark 98-49 and the women topping Western Oregon 82-66. The teams will start their season in earnest next week with a doubleheader Monday night when the women take on Hawaii and the men welcome Tulsa.
