A little less than a month ago, the University, amid constant speculation and criticism, officially enacted the “O” — as well as the traditional seal — as the official school logo.
The move really doesn’t affect Oregon athletics. The logo has been in place on University uniforms and other memorabilia for three years now. In fact, that’s where the whole thing started.
However, it does take away a bit from the spirit of Oregon.
The word “Oregon” is synonymous with the “Ducks.” The only college team to use Disney’s Donald Duck character as its mascot, Oregon has been a mainstay for the water fowl before most of our parents and even grandparents were old enough to go to college.
Now, with the announcement that the school will go to the more stylish “O,” what happens to our beloved quacker? Does he go the way of the dodo, making appearances at games and nothing else?
There has been no announcement concerning the future of Donald, but based on memorabilia, he seems to be in dire straits.
Don’t get me wrong. The new logo is much more stylish and bolder, and has a stronger sense of professionalism. But where is the character? Where is the creativity?
Before the Ducks went to the new logo three years ago, the only sports logo a fan could find was Donald charging through the “O,” or at least some variation.
Now, try finding more than a few pieces of memorabilia that have that logo and it might take you weeks, if not months. Autzen Stadium and McArthur Court used to have the famous Disney character displayed proudly center stage, on the 50-yard line and half court.
Not anymore. Now, two logos, one in bright yellow, and the other in dark green, are emblazoned on the fake grass and hardwood. One wonders if the Donald logo, accompanied by “Go Ducks,” will still be painted on the side walls of Autzen.
But it could be a lot worse.
About 30 years ago, Stanford University succumbed to political pressure and changed its nickname from an American Indian moniker to its current nickname, the Cardinal.
The new name is well and all, but it’s a tree.
A tree.
There is no more annoying mascot in this country than the dancing tree seen at Stanford games.
Sure, the tree mascot is the anti-mascot, made to poke fun at other schools, and has no real meaning to the school’s past. But come on, a dancing tree? The tree ranks up there as one of the worst mascots in the collegiate game.
The Cardinal should be commended, however, for removing their offensive team name. The issue has become way too overblown recently, but imagine if Oregon still had a logo that was offensive. The situation would be worse by tenfold.
Granted, ducks are not the most fierce creatures alive, and yeah, there are better team nicknames out there. Wildcats seems to be a popular one, and Bears — in its many variations — are more graphical and terrorizing.
But Oregon fans should still be extremely thankful for the Duck. The green and yellow could be the Banana Slugs (UC-Santa Cruz) or Anteaters (UC-Irvine), or the aforementioned Cardinal (ahem, trees).
And Donald is a tradition at Oregon. Donald is important to a majority of the 18,000 or so students who roam this 300-acre campus.
A little while ago, the school even tried replacing him with a fiercer, more up-to-date version. Nevertheless, the current, giant beanie-wearing water fowl still roams the sidelines at football and basketball games, so we can all be assured of where that idea went.
Donald will probably never disappear completely. The brain trust in the administration and Athletic Department, I hope, will realize that replacing the Duck at football games with a giant foam “O” or any kind of anti-mascot would hurt the school more than benefit it. But that also doesn’t mean they should take it away everywhere else.
Donald means something to the University. He is the Duck. He is what every superior athlete on Oregon athletic squads play for, braving injury and sickness, to take the championship flag home.
So why not embrace the Duck tradition instead of taking away from it?