Audio By Carbonatix
The study of neighbors through their lawn ornaments
Figure 3. Wash Park West: Pigskin-O-Lantern
Football Festoonery has had a long and rich history in Denver. Most often it is displayed in orange-and-blue banners purchased at a premium by Broncos fans. Occasionally, the more fervent of these followers will paint their entire home in team colors, and some will proudly hang Broncos sheets as window treatments. It’s the showy yard art of armchair quarterbacks and flat-screen forwards.
Conversely, the Pigskin-O-Lantern is carved from a real football and re-laced to wittingly smirk from the center of its screened front-porch perch (which apparently doubles as a garage for an expensive mountain bike). The grinning gridiron gourd is the perfect yard art. The triangular eyes slant just enough to scare away the local dullards, while simultaneously appealing to likeminded smart alecks with its mischievous simplicity. This super-ball looks like it’s wired for late-night fun and overlooks a yard that is strictly utilitarian. The entire tableau suggests that these are neighbors who are out living life as active participants, and not as mere spectators. — Kenny Be
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