The year 2020 has been anything but normal, but fortunately, one fall tradition at Oregon State returns this weekend. 

The Beavers are set to open their 2020 football season at Reser Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 8 p.m., kicking off against the Washington State Cougars. 

And while spectators will not be allowed at the game due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it may appear on television as if there are in attendance. However, those “fans” won’t be as lively as they normally are.

Like many other professional and collegiate teams have done this year, the Beavers are giving their fans the opportunity to purchase cardboard cutouts of themselves that will be placed in the stands for football games.

Fan cutouts are $30 for students, $40 for season ticket holders and $50 for the general public. Diehard fans also have the option to purchase a $150 cutout of themselves which will be autographed by the head coach of Oregon State Football, Jonathan Smith.

All fans who purchase cutouts will receive a photo of their cutout and will have an opportunity to pick up their cutout to keep at a later date following the football season.

Additionally, Oregon State is partnering with the organization One Tree Planted to plant a tree in Oregon for every cutout sold. Each tree will be planted as part of the Umpqua North Fires Restoration Planting Project, with the aim of reforesting lands burned during a 2017 wildfire near Diamond Lake.

For the fans who missed the Nov. 2 to see their cutouts featured during Saturday night’s game against the Cougars, worry not. Fans can still purchase cutouts after Nov. 2 for later games, and those cutouts will be added and featured during home games on Nov. 21 against the California Golden Bears and Nov. 27 against the Oregon Ducks.

Fans who wish to purchase cutouts can do so at shop.fancutouts.com/products/oregon-state.

A Popular Trend 

Fan cutouts have proven quite popular with the NFL, MLB and NCAA teams that have offered them for purchase, leading to some creative uses of the newly popular tradition.

An Army of One

Chicago White Sox Fan Paul Garrett hadn’t missed a season opener since 2005, so it shouldn’t be surprising to hear that he was disappointed when he found out fans would not be allowed at Guaranteed Rate Field this year. 

However, upon hearing that the team was selling cutouts – and that each cutout sold would benefit charity – Garrett convinced the team to let him purchase the remaining 100 cutouts that were up for sale. All-in-all, the team’s promotion raised $55,000 for charity.

Goin’ down to Denver, Gonna have myself a time

Some of Colorado’s most famous residents have recently been seen attending two recent Denver Broncos games. Cardboard cutouts of Cartman, Stan, Kyle, Kenny and several other South Park characters were on display during the Broncos’ games versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 27 and Oct. 25. 

The team’s marketing department reached out to Comedy Central and South Park Studios about buying cutouts for the games, and the show purchased more than 1,800 of them.

South Park takes place in the fictional Colorado show of the same name, and series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone both originally hail from the Denver area.

Who’s a good boy?

Not all fan cutouts are of people. Several fans have submitted photos of their pets to converted into cutouts. Louisiana State has received several requests for fan cutouts at Tigers games, including many of their pets. The school even placed several of the pet cutouts together in their own section at Tiger Stadium.