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Show ;M&i:fo& y?i l:.FF'T':.'!'l... Pupunu makes it big By Jena Voris Signpost staff writer Former Weber State University student Alfred Pupunu turned the fantasy of going to the Super Bowl into reality and made history while he was there. In the 1991 season, after catching 93 passes, Pupunu was invited by the Kansas City Chiefs to attend their combine. Three hundred players were selected to attend this NFL camp to test and evaluate their skills. He was also tested by other teams, including the San Diego Chargers. Pupunu made the final cut for the Chiefs, but then was released for 24 hours to let other teams look at him, pick up new plays and develop his technique, he said. In draft formation at 12:00 p.m. he was called by the San Diego Chargers. "I thought it was a joke. It's like I was in a whirlwind going from one extreme to another," Pupunu said. He signed on as a free agent with the Chargers starting as an halfback. He was then Versey rebuilds history everyday By Jennifer Duraisingam Signpost senior reporter Think of a person who digs up dinosaur bones and rebuilds them out of plaster and clay and you have Brian K. Versey. Versey graduated from Weber State University in June 1993 with a bachelor of fine rts degree with an emphasis in three dimensional art. "I started out with a degree in engineering and then I spoke to James McBeth and he told me 'to do what you like to do'," Versey said. "That's how I came to get a degree in three dimensional art," he said. Versey said McBeth, the chairman of the Art department, gave him the encouragement he needed. He changed his major in 1987, after he spoke to him. "Being an artist does not just mean knowing how to paint and draw," McBeth, said. "There is a lot more involved, like the math, engineering part of it and a whole lot more," he said. Versey said that a person has to be some sort of an engineer, builder, contractor and welder to do what he does. Versey first gotthe job with the Western Paleontological Laboratory when he graduated from WSU. He had worked in the science museum at Brigham Young University. "Once I graduated from WSU, I was offered a job at the Paleonto- taken under Junior Seau's wing from "one Polynesian brother to another." His life has changed but also has had its letdowns as well. During the 1992 season, the Chargers played the Chiefs and made it into the playoffs. They beat the Chiefs during the first round, but were beaten the next week. During the 1993 sea son, the Chargers kept losing games by three points. "We kept losing games we should've won. It was like we were on a roller coaster," Pupunu said. He didn't let this get him down. While at home watching the 1993 Super Bowl between the Cowboys and the Bills, he said, "Next year, I'm gonna be there. Everyone thought I was crazy, but I knew our time would come." His team started out the 1994 season 7 - 0. They then hit a dry spell, losing two games. He then Brian Versey hard at adding the logical Laboratory down in Provo," Versey said. "Having a minor in earth science really helped me," he said. When asked what exactly he does at his work he said he builds and sculpts the missing pieces of the dinosaur bones that the laboratory finds. The bones that are dug up are usually on privately-owned land. Versey said they have to lease these private lands and there is a lot of red tape they have to go V 5 ( 1 , . SS k -1 "s . J? . ' 1 r rs.. ...if- f i ..... - t yl in the NFL after leaving WSU sprained an arch which kept him out for a few games. When he ca me back, the Cha rg-ers were on a winning streak. He then twisted his knee, which got better by the end of the season. After that everything was perfect, he said. Then in the playoffs, they were trailing the Dolphins by 14 points. But at half-time Pupunu knew they would win. "We ran the ball and won in l ! I L tl me ictsi uiree seconds of the game." Weeks before the Superbowl, the Pittsburgh Steelers were talking trash, he said. "They made a video for the Super Bowl that they were supposedly going to." finishing touches to one of his through before they can actually dig up these bones. "So far we have quarries in Montana, Wyoming and Colorado," Versey said. "Right now I'm working on some bones that we dug up in one of our quarries in Wyoming," he said. Versey said these completed bones are assembled and later the whole skeletons are sold to museums.Versey also helps put up the shows in the gallery of the Colette The Chargers played the Steelers using a special pass designed specifically for Pupunu called the "Playpass 60 counter Tonga." "My play puts me in play action, then I fake a counter pass. I step back like I'm going to block the corner back, avoid him, slip underneath and run down the side line," Pupunu said. "The play worked just as we planned and I scored a touchdown. Things picked up and went our way from then on." They beat the Steelers 14-13 and were on their way to the Super Bowl. "The Super Bowl was a 7"Y nightmare. We seemed like a to tally different team," Pupunu said. The Chargers were down 14 points within the first three minutesof the game. Everyone was down by then, he said. Pupunu made history two different times during the Super Bowl. First, he scored by a two-point conversion for the first time in Super Bowl history, and also he was the first Tongan to ever play many dinosaur bones. Art Building. Students may have also seen his senior exhibit that was held at the Stewart Library next to the circulation desk, from May 5 to June 3, 1994. 1 lis senior exhibition had all of his works which consisted of his tree exhibits, pottery and dinosaur bones. Versey loves what he does and has a bit of advice for those who are at WSU or who plan on coming to WSU: "Pick a major you enjoy." in a Super Bowl. Against popular belief, playing pro-football is not all fun and games. The seasons are long and are all business, he said. "It is a nine -to - five job working six days of the week, with Tuesdays off. We don't get any holidays.We work during holidays to get the job done," Pupunu said. When the season ends after December 21, then he gets to spend time with his family. Pupunu was noticed in 1991 breaking single-season records for WSU after 93 catches and 12 touchdowns as a senior tight end. He was an All-Big Sky Conference pick and a first team All-American. Pupunu would like to come back to WSU to finish his sociology degree, but is not sure if he can, he said. "If it's too difficult for me to come back to finish school there, then I will finish wherever I can." He would like to be a counselor someday. City From page 8 very successful with several campaigns, one of which has been the "graffiti patrol," Musgrave said. The patrol paints over walls of buildings to eliminate the unsightly graffiti printed on so many downtown walls. Another important project has been turning an abandoned lot filled with litter and junk cars into an attractive downtown parking lot surrounded by grass, Musgrave said. Musgrave, who runs his office himself, enjoys being executive directorof the downtown Ogden committee. Musgrave encouraged the continued cooperation between WSU and the downtown district, noting the importance of coordination in the renovation of the Egyptian Theater and providing for performances by the performing arts in Ogdcn. Survey results reflect the need for more entertainment in the downtown district, Musgrave said. "Nowhere else does the country have mountains as beautiful as we have along the Wasatch Front," Musgrave said. Musgrave, a native of Ogden and a 1978 graduate from Weber High School, said he would like to see the downtown district flourish. "Ogden is unique be: cause of its heritage and its history," he said. Musgrave, admits he is a little prejudiced. "WSU is one of the top universities in the nation." |