The Homecoming Streaker, His Bear-Shaped Bag, and a Century-Old Tradition

By: Elijah Dapkus

The weather is mild: 61 degrees Fahrenheit, mostly sunny, and a gentle breeze blowing from North to South. It’s perfect weather for pink tights.

Ryan Alvis is standing at the 50 yard line of the football field at Stoffer Stadium. He straps on a pink headband and tosses his Party City referee costume, revealing neon leggings, several yellow hankies and a peculiar chunk of leather. The thundering footsteps of Defensive End Kyle Brabec remind him he’s not supposed to be here. To avoid certain destruction, he ducks away from a Brabec takedown and instantly regains his footing. As his time in the limelight ticked away, he held up his bear-shaped leather bag—the Bruin Jr.—for all to see. Then he fled.

It was a Bruin Flash, the first in many years, right in the middle of the Homecoming Football game.

So, what is a Bruin Flash, who is Ryan Alvis, and why did he streak at a football game?

According to the George Fox Journal, A Bruin Flash is “the moment the leather pillow-shaped Bruin Jr. is exposed on campus.” Bruin Jr. has been dropped from helicopters, revealed from ambulances, and signed by British Royal Guards, but Alvis treated us to a mid-football-game flash. A flash commences the Bruin Brawl, a chaotic episode in which students from all classes enter a mud-soaked scrum in pursuit of the leather sack. The objective of the Bruin Brawl is straightforward: gain possession of Bruin Jr. and get it off campus, and your class gets all the bragging rights.

The Bruin Brawl isn’t what it used to be. Now, “Bruin Brawls are prearranged and supervised, and teams are coordinated by living area,” if they happen at all. In 2019, the event was nothing more than a tug-of-war over a stuffed teddy bear which was quickly torn to shreds. The watered-down fights, COVID-19, and relentless passage of time have rendered this tradition all but dormant. Asking around, no students seem to know the rules or even any stories about it.

Ryan Alvis aims to change that.

Alvis attended George Fox University (GFU), graduating in 2000 with a B.S. in business accounting. He was a four-year starting pitcher for the baseball team and he still holds school records. He resides in Washington state, but visited Newberg in October for the Class of 2000’s postponed 20-Year Reunion. Most importantly, he’s a man with a plan to rejuvenate your new favorite century-old GFU tradition.

Well, “plan” is a generous way to put it. But he certainly had an idea, and that idea was flashing Bruin Jr. on Homecoming weekend while his old classmates watched.

Alvis wants to reignite the Bruin Brawl and rehash some of the mystique and hype surrounding it. “My original purpose was to simply recapture some of the wonder and excitement … with a surprise, unsanctioned, semi-disruptive flash in front of the whole school at the game,” said Alvis. If nothing else, Alvis hopes people don’t forget about the Bruin Brawl any time soon. “I want people to talk about it. I want people to ask questions.”

The Bruin Jr.’s presence is as old as the campus. It has generated countless dance parties, rivalries, and lifelong memories, while fueling class pride for generations. That’s why the current state of the tradition is so disappointing. “Upon learning about the state of the tradition today, and that there hasn’t even been any flashes the last [several] years, it felt like I had an obligation that went beyond my graduating class … to do something,” said Alvis. “So I did.”

A 1963 Crescent article about the Bruin Brawl claims “Bruin Traditions Never Die; They Just Change with the Times.” History proves this tradition returns from hiatus stronger than ever. Whatever has halted Bruin Brawls can be overcome, but the responsibility to revive it can’t rest solely on Alvis.

It’s up to us to decide the fate of this tradition.