Why We Hate the Ducks

There’s not a team I despise in all of sports than the Oregon Ducks. Frankly, I can’t write about them very much because it would turn into an ugly rant and I would start writing things that I shouldn’t.

The first experience I can remember with Duck fans is as a youngster, around 5 or 6. I was simply walking to my seat, my dad behind me, and had yellow and green clad fans yelling words I didn’t understand at me. My dad has later since recounted the event and has informed me that those words were cuss words. Needless to say, this was not a good first impression.

I have more than one problem with them, though. A few days ago the Seattle Times ran a poll, asking why people hate the Ducks. They listed too many good reasons, so I picked 4. The first was their smug, rude fans. This is what I hate most. The second one I picked was Phil Knight’s deep pocket books that run straight to Oregon’s athletic department. The third was the uniform combination’s. And the fourth reason was that stupid Ducks mascot.

So, this week we’re going without Husky predictions. Yes, we all would have picked the Ducks (even Dick Baird picked them). The thought of them killing the Huskies drives me crazy. The thought of them playing in the national championship puts my stomach into knots. Jay Torrell said it the best in his Dawgman prediction today:

“Win or lose, I hope that this team is strong enough to rise to the challenge and make Husky nation proud. As a Husky fan who grew up in Oregon, I hope this team understands what THIS rivalry means to so many in the northwest. I hope that the NCAA investigates how many improper benefits Oregon receives from Uncle Phil. I hope the Duck meets a cook from Beijing. I hope that Jeremiah Masoli texted Sark the playbook. I hope that the the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams…I hope. I just can’t pick Soylent Green over the Dawgs. Prediction? No prediction, just hope.”

Someday, things will return to their normal order. The Huskies will reign over the Northwest like they did for decades. Someday. But for now, we have hope that something miraculous can come out of a defense that’s been under-achieving and an unknown quarterback from Compton who seems like one of the most likable player in college football. That’s the beauty in sports, there’s always a little bit of hope. And we sure need that right now.

We also have these.