OK, I admit it. I used to be a Husky fan. But don’t hate me for it. I have learned from the mistakes of my youth.
Growing up in Seattle, the Huskies were everywhere — it was hard not to be a fan. When it came time for me to make a decision about school, however, I knew that the University of Washington was not the place for me. So now I’m here, quacking away, and proud of it.
And being a Duck isn’t easy when you’re from Seattle, the home of the purple and gold dynasty. While I was home this past summer, I couldn’t go a day without someone telling me that they hated the Ducks.
“You’re a Duck?” they’d say. “You guys suck.”
I’d even have to listen to the Duck-bashing constantly on Seattle’s main sports radio station, KJR 950 AM. Those guys can’t stand Eugene or anything remotely associated with the Ducks.
So I decided to give my favorite radio station a call earlier this week and see what they were up to. After I was put on hold for about a half-hour, a live feed was sent through the phone line and I immediately heard some quacks about the ducks.
“Duck fans are stupid,” one of the radio’s promotions screamed. “Just think how bad it would be to be a Duck fan, and live in a trailer park, inbreeding, and have Tonya Harding as a role model.”
Ouch.
“How do you get an Oregon graduate off your front porch?” one of the show’s hosts squealed. “Pay him for the pizza delivery.”
I tried my best to tell those narrow-minded radio guys that they should respect the Ducks, although I’m not sure they got the message.
Sports radio host Dave Mahler was the man on the other end of the line. His nickname is “Softy,” but he’s anything but that when speaking of the Ducks.
“You’re from Seattle and you’re a Duck, huh Adam?” he asked me on-air. “You must have done really bad on your SATs.”
I didn’t take the insult personally, but, to play along with the joke, I told him I was too busy smoking weed to care about that kind of stuff. Believe me, I’ve heard a lot worse from that guy through the years.
A ring in the background caught my attention: It was the sound of a gun shot, drilling an innocent duck. The wounded duck squealed to its apparent death. It’s easy to see that Seattle has no respect for anything that represents the University of Oregon.
Seattle’s perception of Eugene may not be totally inaccurate (cough, cough), but when it comes to football at Autzen Stadium, those Husky fans have quite a surprise in store.
Hopefully they’ll get the point on Saturday.
I don’t really know how the rivalry started, but man, it is definitely a passionate hatred from both ends. The big-city Huskies and their huge donors sure do like to pick on the small-town Ducks. Perhaps Husky fans are a little bitter about losing four of the last six meetings against Oregon. Or, more likely, the Huskies are just scared — scared of what a smaller school can do to them.
Without a doubt, Husky fans will be sitting on the edges of their seats Saturday as they watch the game on television, or in person. No. 6 Washington saw Oregon’s shellacking of UCLA, a team also ranked sixth at the time. The Huskies know what the Ducks can do, especially at Autzen, where the Ducks haven’t lost since Oct. 11, 1997.
“It will take the entire week of practice to get ready for [the Autzen crowd] and even then I am not sure we’ll be ready for the power, saw or jet engine that they say is created there,” said Rick Neuheisel, the UW million dollar man, who will make his first Autzen appearance as a coach.
It doesn’t get much bigger or much better than this, folks. To beat those arrogant Dawgs, Autzen is going to have to be rockin’ even harder than it was last week.
I haven’t seen the Ducks lose yet, and I don’t plan on seeing it this weekend. I not only want to gloat in front of my friends back home and laugh at my parents for not respecting the big green, but after Oregon’s big win I’m going to call that radio station again and tell ’em who really sucks.
But I’ll let the football team speak for itself on Saturday.