Douchers Ahoy!

Leach’s Revenge sets sail at RaiderGate
By Carrie Thornton/Staff Writer

Leach’s Revenge towered over fans Saturday morning as its flag rippled in the wind, bearing a menacing skeleton pirate and the words, “The beatings will continue until morale improves.”

Joseph Campos, a senior mechanical engineering major from Dallas, built the 12-foot long ship on wheels.

“We built it in honor of Mike Leach, that was the whole point,” Campos said.

The ship was built from scratch, he said, and most of the parts were donated from Mike’s Hobby Shop located in Dallas. The company contributed supportive advice and parts.

Since August, Campos and his friends have been working to bring the ship to life, he said. They are not part of a fraternity or student organization, but a group of friends working to “creatively express their love for Texas Tech.”

“We achieved our goal: it works, and people are loving it,” Campos said.

Campos’ friend, Kyle Bassett, created the original concept. He envisioned something like a Power Wheel that could carry around a cooler.

“The idea came from us being lazy and thinking, ‘How can we get drinks to ourselves through a manner that is quick and easy?’” said the junior English major from Dallas.

And after sharing his idea with Campos, the vision for Leach’s Revenge was born. And after more than three months of work, the creators have more in store for the ship.

“We have someone sewing sails, and we want to have a bunch of white Koozies and make them look like pirates, so when we put drinks in them and set them on the ship, it will look like a bunch of pirates are standing on it,” Bassett said. “We will build a crow’s nest and maybe even drink cannons.”

Although the ship will undergo many changes during football offseason, Bassett said he is happy with its current state, and it has received a positive response from many fans.

“This thing is epic. I can’t believe it actually happened,” he said. “People have been taking pictures with it all morning.”

Leach’s Revenge is powered by two motors and a car battery, Bassett said. Up to the day before the game, the ship’s builders were unsure of whether they had clearance to bring the ship to RaiderGate.

“We were worried because we got calls from (entities on campus), there were copyright issues with the masked rider we had put in the back,” he said. “And the Facebook group alluded to the fact alcohol would be involved.”

'Leach's Revenge' eh? I guess 'Leach's Shameless Self Promotion' was taken? I'm tired of hating so I'm going to give the pirate and the ship's crew a reprieve. I just hope they know that offseason overhaul may include a name change to 'Briles Bruisin' Boat.' What a waste of time and resources.

P.S. - There was no photo on the DT story online. I'm going to give this girl the benefit of the doubt and assume there was a photo with the print edition of the story but if they didn't get a photo of this thing someone should be getting fired.