Rigby gets NFL-sized U.S. flag for Homecoming
RIGBY (KIFI) - The Rigby Trojans will unfurl Idaho's largest American flag before its Homecoming game Friday.
The flag is 150 feet long and 75 feet wide. It'll stretch from one 25-yard line to the other and cover nearly the entire width of the field.
With that much cloth comes substantial heft. The flag weighs 500 lbs., or about as much as a grand piano. It takes 80 people to carry.
Rigby High School athletic director Ty Shippen once helped wave a much smaller flag at Minico.
“I remember holding the flag myself, and it was kind of a special moment," he said. “It just brings things back. It’s almost spiritual to a certain extent.”
“I wanted others to experience that as well," he added.
Shippen said it took about six weeks to map out the logistics of the Trojans' pregame tribute to veterans and victims of September 11th.
“I reached out to Great American Flags, who do a lot of the NFL games," he recalled. "And I said, ‘Hey, how would you like to come to Idaho for the Homecoming game?’ And they said, ‘Well, we’ve actually never been to Idaho before.’”
The school's contact from Kivett Productions, which manages those pregame ceremonies, is in South America to coordinate the flag unfurling at the NFL's first-ever game in Brazil.
“And he said he’ll be here," Shippen said. "So he'll go from Brazil, Eagles-Packers, to Rigby, Idaho.”
The flag Rigby will use is actually larger than that one. According to shipping receipts on the side of its crate, it was last used by the UFL's St. Louis Battlehawks and MLS's San Jose Earthquakes.
Local News 8 asked Shippen if it's the largest flag in Eastern Idaho.
“That I know of," he confirmed. "For sure the biggest that we’ve ever had here.”
Of course, a piece of red, white, and blue that big takes a lot of green.
“It’s more than we could afford," Shippen admitted.
State Representative Rod Furniss ended up paying for the flag in full. However, he asked Local News 8 not to reveal the total amount.
“I just reached out to him, and then it happened really quick after that," Shippen said. "He didn’t really hesitate. He was like, ‘Yep, I’d like to help.’”
Local News 8 reached out to Rep. Furniss for an interview, but he was unavailable.
"Ty's enthusiasm is very contagious and couldn't disappoint," he relayed in a statement.
Local News 8 asked Shippen if the school gets to keep the flag.
“No, it’s a one-shot deal," he said. "They come in for the weekend, and we get to have it for Homecoming.”
That Homecoming game will be played Friday, September 13th at 7:00 p.m. against defending state champions Bishop Kelly. The flag will be unfurled at 6:45 p.m.
