Pigskin Goodness

When you look at this photo what do you see? Do you see a mere stadium? Do you just see some people standing around a bowl-shaped arena? -or- Do you see an beautiful mix of turf and stands amidst the sea of fans? Do you see the euphoric union of green and yellow? Do you feel the invigorating rush of the chants of 50,000+ screaming die-hard Oregon Duck's football enthusiasts? Well, this my friends is the primary differentiating factor between you and I.

I wake up in cold sweats. I jump out of bed and look around. I look for the nearest calender. Is it August 30th, 2008 yet? Is it opening game yet? Is it time yet to set up the tailgating gear with my Oregon Ducks partner in crime Cole and bust out the retro O tees and get the game spirit started?


For those of you reading this blog right now and thinking to yourself, "Its just a game..." it's for you that I write this blog. It's for you that when I get cut I bleed Green and Yellow. It's for you that when I see you dressing your 9-yr olds with OSU hats and UO t-shirts that I laugh at you and mock your children (not a normal occurrence, fyi). It's for you that I attempt vigorously through literary format to conjure up for you some sort of intelligible-internal understanding of what pride is?

Your mini-vans laden with rivaled-stickers brings tears of rage to my eyes. How is it, that even for a second, an individual can cheer for one team in a beautiful concoction of royal green and golden yellow and in the next moment cheer for the hellaciously-foul construction cone orange and tar black team? These my friends are the actions of schizophrenic drunk people; no one cheers both rivals, that is as bad as universal terrorism if you ask me; it's like using President John F. Kennedy's eternal flame to light your Native Spirit Menthol Cigarette; it's criminal, punishable by public humiliation and vehicle defacement.

If that's not evidence enough for those who 'fail' to understand the immensely vast hierarchy of the Oregon Ducks then perhaps this would be helpful evidence. Since 1975, Oregon has won 23 out of the 30 Civil War games played. So, for those of you Oregon State fans that aren't any good at math, that means OSU has only won a combined 7 out of 30; that' s something to be proud of; not.

So, when looking forward in dire-anticipation to the glory bound season ahead of us as Oregon Ducks fans we must not fail to see the true goal here. It's bigger than winning games. It's bigger than laughing at rival fans when we destroy them on their home turf. It's bigger than screaming like schoolgirls when we here the words, "Huard back to throw....interception...Kenny Wheaton's gonna score....Kenny Wheaton's gonna score....Kenny Wheaton's gonna score!!!". It's more important that coming back at the half so Bellotti isn't pissed because 1/3 of the fans are drunk in the parking lot and not in the stands where at least they could be cheering. It's more essential than frequenting the duck-shop more often than catholic mass. This season is all about rebuilding the dynasty. It's all about reignitng the flames under the wings of our ducks and watching them yet again, soar "under the radar....undetected and unappreciated" It's all about making sure our Ducks stay Ducks, and our Duck's fans get to see yet another glimpse of the woven tapestry of awesomeness we know of as Oregon Ducks Football.