As September and October roll in with their promises of colder mornings, scattered showers and shorter days, I am always a little sad to say goodbye to the idyllic summers we enjoy here in Eugene. But as the quiet streets fill once again with students and the leaves contemplate changing colors, I remember that our few warm months of the year give way to the best season of all-football season.
Whether this fall marks your first season as a Duck, or whether you can’t even remember how many seasons you’ve been hating the Beavers, the incomparable green and yellow experience of game day at the University is an essential one for any Eugenean.
Having been a Eugene resident nearly all my life, my memories of Autzen Stadium, home of Ducks football since 1967, stretch as far back as 1985 when I’d venture down to the stadium with my football-loving family. Despite knowing nothing about the game of football until I was well into my teens, I always knew game day was a wild, raucous, junk food-filled ritual to look forward to as though the Fourth of July happened every weekend.
Back in the old days we’d park our car in a large, unmarked gravel lot that once served as a parking free-for-all next to the stadium and grill bratwurst on an old Weber while launching green and yellow Nerf footballs back and forth in the jostling, drunken sea of tailgaters. Often wearing bright yellow rain ponchos, we’d spread out our blankets and picnics on unmarked, uncrowded wooden benches in the general admission end zones of the stadium and wave complimentary plastic yellow pompoms at Donald Duck.
As years have passed, Autzen has evolved. State-of-the-art training centers and soccer fields have replaced our favorite parking lots, players have come and gone, the goliath Duck Vision screen appeared, but the experience of Oregon football has thankfully remained much the same.
As has always been the case, any perfect game day begins with green and yellow. Though in recent years many Duck fans have started going for various pastel hues of green or yellow, I have always been a fan of the kelly green and shocking gold-yellow of old. And to many people’s delight, going to a game half-naked, painted like an extra from the movie “Braveheart”, remains a popular costume. These days, you’re guaranteed a cameo on Duck Vision if you go that daring and often chilly route.
Once you’ve decked yourself out in the proper colors, the ever-entertaining trek to the stadium begins. One thing Autzen lost over the years is the unlimited parking we used to enjoy, so most experienced fans leave their cars at home and join the masses trekking on foot across the bridge toward the promised land. Cheering and hollering amidst a crowd of rowdy pre-game Duck fans can be one of the most memorable parts of game day.
When the towering walls of the stadium are in view, it’s time to find a tailgate party. Given the small size of Eugene and the dedication most students feel toward Oregon football, you’re bound to know someone who knows someone who got a parking space in the small eastern lot and is having a tailgater. Like the pre-game parties of twenty years ago, these gatherings aren’t complete without some green and yellow-colored snacks and plenty of beer. Drink up, because unlike the old days, alcohol isn’t allowed inside Autzen anymore.
Finally, after hours of preparation and anticipation, it’s game time. Autzen has proudly been rated one of the loudest collegiate stadiums in the country, and game day is no time to use your indoor voice. If your vocal chords aren’t in good shape, those old-school duck whistles that look and sound like the real thing are thankfully still available and make plenty of noise. In addition, for extra cheering effect, the stadium still generously distributes complimentary yellow pompoms at many of the games.
Whether you know the rules of football or are just there for the experience, as I have been so many times, there’s nothing like taking your seat in the sold-out sea of nearly 54,000 fans, listening to the announcer proclaim that “It never rains at Autzen Stadium,” and yelling your heart out for four amazing hours.
Having experienced game day Saturdays at various other Universities, I can say without hesitation that the Oregon experience is unsurpassed in its intensity and enthusiasm. Perhaps that is why Autzen has been aptly ranked one of the top ten venues at which to watch a college football game.
So this Fall, rest up during your weekdays because there’s really no good excuse for missing one of our six home games this season. Put on your game face and join the sea of green and yellow.