Usually I try to write blogs that I think most people will find interesting. This will not be one of those.
I feel like I'm a pretty big OSU fan, and I feel most people would agree. But I feel I have a secret that most people would view as a traitorous viewpoint.
I don't hate all things Duck.
There, I said it. I call them the Ducks, not the Ucks. I refer to the city they play in as Eugene, not Spewgene. And I call them the University of Oregon, not Whoregon. I don't particularly have anything against the colors yellow and green.
It seems these days you have to prove your fandom by denouncing everything related to your rival. Even before I decided to go to Oregon State, I was a Beaver fan. A lot of that has to do with my family being from Corvallis. From me going to games at Parker Stadium as a kid. From getting to high five Gary Payton as he left the court as an eight year old.
Sure there's a few things I don't like about U of O. I think the football coach has an extreme aversion to complimenting the success of others. I think their announcers show a bias more extreme than most. I really have nothing against U of O's basketball team. I think Ernie Kent is a good coach, I think they have exciting players that are fun to watch. I root for them every time they aren't playing the Beavers. Does that make me less of a Beaver fan? I don't think so.
One thing Beaver fans like to bag on is Oregon's jersey collection. The baseball team just unveiled their new jerseys....all six of them. Here's a news flash for you though: OSU also has six baseball jerseys! Here's some other things that people like to bash Oregon for that I don't agree with:
*Ducks are copying the Beavs by wearing black. This makes no sense to me. By that logic, who was Georgia copying when they wore black jerseys? Who was Duke's basketball team copying when they unveiled black jerseys? What school hasn't had a "blackout" game this year? OSU fans are lucky that black is one of our school colors....saves the department money when we have a blackout. Speaking of money......
*Oregon is only good because of Phil Knight. So? Phil Knight started out selling shoes out of the back of his van. Is it Oregon's fault that nearly every person in the known world now contributes to his pocketbook....including everyone who wears official OSU gear. He gives $100 million that he wants spent exclusively on athletics.....so guess what? U of O spends it on athletics! They spend it on new uniforms, new facilities, and new sports. Speaking of which......
*Oregon was jealous of OSU's baseball success so they brought baseball back. Again, no. Oregon State's success made it easier for U of O to bring baseball back for sure, but this had nothing to do with trophy envy. This has everything to do with money. Which sport do you thing generates more revenue, baseball or wrestling? When's the last time you saw 10,000 people show up at an Oregon wrestling meet? Amazingly, that's probably how many people are going to show up with Oregon plays baseball in Portland. OSU's success made its own baseball program turn a profit for the first time ever. Why shouldn't Oregon try to capitalize on that? Oregon State is thinking about bringing back track and field. Does that have anything to do with the popularity of Oregon's track program? Probably. Are they doing it because they're jealous? You won't hear any self respecting Beaver fan say that.
Oregon fans do the same thing. They refer to OSU as OSewe, a clever pun referring to a football player stealing a sheep who happened to be part of a study on animal homosexuality. I don't think I've ever stopped someone wearing green and yellow to yell at them or berate them. Yet this will happen over and over again in a few weeks when the Civil War takes place.
As usual, a few bad apples ruin it for everyone. Unfortunately, this vocal minority always gets the most publicity because of the noise they make. And now I've fallen prey to their trap too. I've spent an hour crafting this blog to respond to their lunacy.
Guess that makes me a lunatic too.
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