The Exponent - special


09-03-2004	Previous edition: 09-02-2004

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Players turn into superheroes on cards passed out at games

By Jason Parsons
Assistant Sports Editor

Growing up kids look up to comic heroes and athletic stars.

At Purdue home games this season those two will merge into a set of collectible cards that will be handed out at games.

The cards will feature players such as senior quarterback Kyle Orton, senior cornerback Antwaun Rogers and junior kicker Ben Jones with superhero powers.

For instance, the Orton card features him with a plasma hand and Jones’ card represents him with a cyborg kicking leg.

Associate athletics director Jay Cooperider said that the reason for this venture was for the fans.

"Football players and coaches to our fans are larger than life," Cooperider said. "We wanted to improve the show in a way that showcases these larger than life folks. We wanted to mold that together. This year it has grown more and we decided to provide for free of charge a 24-card set of collectibles."

The cards will be passed out at the Ross-Ade Stadium gates to kids 13 and under. If you are older than that you can still pick up your free cards by sending an e-mail to jumboheroes@purdue.edu.

The cards were made by a joint venture between Purdue sports and the Elliott Hall of Music productions.

Steve Hall, director of Elliott Hall of Music, said that last year’s poster at the Iowa game helped make this possible. The posters were gone before the kickoff of the game.

The cards will be handed out in four-card increments and will feature four different players at each game.

The cards that will be handed out for Sunday’s game include Orton, Jones, Rogers — who’s superpower is flying — and senior receiver Taylor Stubblefield — who shoots ice.

Hall said that the players stood in front of a green screen and were videotaped doing different things. Hall said that the players were cooperative

"They loved it," Hall said. "Some of them were natural and they got into it. They assumed the JumboHero persona. But a few were bashful."

Once the players were done being taped the job had just begun for the workers at Elliott Hall.

Hall said that more than 1,000 hours went into making the JumboHeroes this season.

"Each cell is its own drawing," Hall said. "It’s a time-consuming process. Animators take the pictures and turn them into animation."

The animators of the JumboHeroes, which is in its third season, work on more than just the animation. They also work on the JumboTron — a place where JumboHeroes can be seen, also.

The JumboHeroes make their animated debut on Sunday.

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