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At first glance, Edward Rubin seems like the average University of Massachusetts alumnus. By day, he is an elected member of the UMass Alumni Association Board and the owner of Harvard Marketing Group, Insurance and Financial Services. By night, Rubin becomes a man UMass sees as one of the biggest sports fans in the arena, a man motivating both players and fellow fans to step up the game.
Edward Rubin is Sign Man.
A native of Everett, currently living in Harvard, Rubin was a freshman at UMass and attended his first football game 42 years ago in 1965 when Warren P. McGuirk Alumni Stadium was first played in.
Any student who has attended a UMass basketball or football game in the last 13 years has seen Sign Man. He is the gentleman sporting UMass apparel and holding a variety of large signs, walking around either the basketball arena or football stadium periodically throughout each game.
His first sign appeared in 1994 at a UMass basketball game against Florida State. When Rubin discovered he got "an interesting reaction" to the sign, he decided to come up with more ideas and to start getting crafty.
"I was surprised to see that people liked and took notice to my sign," said Rubin. "I remember enjoying the entertainment I was providing for the fans."
Rubin has also said that in his long career of sign-making, he has made somewhere between 450 and 500 signs. While he gives most away to players and/or their families, he has only kept about half of the signs, which remain in a collection in his basement and will soon be donated to the W.E.B. Du Bois Library on campus.
About 85 signs have been autographed by UMass alumni like Bill Cosby or former basketball player Julius Erving, according to Rubin. The library has asked for these signs, declaring that "they are part of UMass history."
For at least one game during the season, Rubin will sit out and simply enjoy the game. While he really only displays the signs during timeouts, he claims he misses about 20 percent of the game.
"I take a break about once a season," Rubin said. "People always ask me afterwards if I was out sick or if the Mullins Center workers finally kicked me out."
At Wednesday night's basketball game against St. Bonaventure University, Rubin began the night in full costume. Wearing a gray beard and a maroon robe, an outfit referred to by Rubin as his "Moses costume," Rubin held two Commandment-shaped signs demanding "Thou Shalt Dive for Loose Balls."
Later, Rubin changed into something more comfortable: a UMass tee-shirt and baseball cap. His next sign was a clever "MATH 101: A Three, Two Twos, and a Free Throw." Though not exactly hilarious or witty, Rubin and his signs have become a staple at sporting events.
"He brings a lot of energy to the games," said Mike Lucci, a UMass junior during the game. Meanwhile, Rubin walks by presenting his math sign, creating a noticeably louder crowd as he passes a group of UMass fans.
"The Sign Man is great," said Steven Coutts, a senior. "It's really nice to see someone who graduated a while ago and still shows a lot of dedication to the school. I wish the students had as much passion as he does."
Realizing that not everyone may like him or may find him a nuisance during the games, Rubin feels as though he is doing a service to the University. He believes that while showing enthusiasm, he is also promoting UMass by advertising its sportsmanship, hoping that UMass sports games will be televised more. Ten years ago, Rubin's "advertising" signs landed him a spot on the ABC Evening News.
"My real dream is to be Sign Man on national television," said Rubin. "I'm just waiting for Monday Night Football to give me a call."
As far as his sign ideas go, Rubin has said that he might wake up at 2 a.m. with an idea and write it in a book that he keeps with him. He described most of his ideas as simple, with basic information that he turns "goofy." Of course, there are his "play on words" signs that he comes up with less commonly, seeing as they are "more creative than the rest."
Rubin also stated that while fans will approach him at games hoping to work on a sign with him, he takes pride in his own ideas. He said that while he has worked with others to make a sign, he prefers to do his own work.
As long as sign ideas keep coming to him and people are appreciative, it doesn't look like Sign Man will be stopping anytime soon.
"Every game someone will walk over to me and thank me," said Rubin. "There's my motivation."
Holly Seabury can be reached at hseabury@student.umass.edu.
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