Nobody questions Duck fans’ spirit. The University of Oregon has the coolest mascot, state-of-the-art athletics facilities and an entire student section that believes that on any given Saturday during Oregon’s fall, it will never rain.
Senior Cody Karlin is more than just a fair-weather football fan. He attends games and meets of almost every sport UO offers, cheering his heart out with the Pit Crew, UO’s official student cheering section, of which Karlin is the vice president of operations.
His favorite sport? It’s not football or basketball, but UO’s acrobatics and tumbling team.
“It’s a really fun environment and the team loves (the Pit Crew),” Karlin said.
Karlin was captain of his spirit squad in high school, so his nomination as the best Duck fan on the UO campus comes as no surprise. Karlin has crafted a celebrity identity for himself as Chef Cody, sporting a chef’s hat at many sporting events.
“It takes a lot of courage to go out there, dressed like a chef, and successfully attempt to energize an entire arena,” said junior Bryan Kalbrosky, the Pit Crew’s media director. “Cody continues to grind at every single game, and it’s a bit of an impossibility for me to imagine Autzen and Matt Knight without him in the front next year.”
In addition to working for the Pit Crew, Karlin works for the Quack Cave as the social media intern. The Quack Cave serves as UO athletics’ social media hub and Karlin is responsible for everything from posting from sports accounts to monitoring trends.
“He definitely deserves it. Knowing him, he’s one of the most passionate and respectful fans I know,” said senior Cory Cullen, Karlin’s roommate.
Cullen attended every football game this season with Karlin, showing up six hours early to games to ensure front row seats.
Karlin will graduate this year, but he has undoubtedly inspired plenty of spirited and respectful Ducks to keep cooking up spirit in the future.