Charles Fischer Administrator No. 1 Share Posted January 21, 2022 How many times have we Oregon fans heard that or read it? We just had another new "Drive-by Troll" today sign up to write something of that nature. I am creating this post with a response, so I don't have to rewrite it every time, but simply send the link to the opposing fans. If you have something to add, (and so many of you are better writers than I) do add it in the response posts below. Thanks! For Washington Fans: Let's talk facts: the State of Washington has 21 Billionaires, while Oregon has two. Washington is the only state that has two 100+ Billion Net Worth residents, while Phil and Penny Knight are worth 55 Billion. If you are not tapping into that wealth in Washington, then that is a problem with your fund-raising/development unit of the University of Washington, because ten-times more of the staggering wealth should be going to Husky causes than to the Ducks. When did Phil and Penny Knight begin to help Oregon? Only after the football program did it themselves, as only after the 1994 Rose Bowl and 1995 Cotton Bowl did Phil reach out to Mike Bellotti to see how he could help. You see, winners want to work with winners and Phil had to see that Oregon had good leadership in their football coach and Athletic Director. Meanwhile Washington made bad hire after bad hire following Jim Lambright, thus affluent Washington fans did not want to support that. Can you blame them? Your problems on the football field are of your own making, as Phil and Penny Knight had nothing to do with your poor Athletic Department leadership or poor fund-raising by the University of Washington. For Oregon State Fans: A crossroads moment in your football history had nothing to do with Phil and Penny Knight as in 1979 the OSU Athletic Director had a choice to make between three finalists for the open Head Football Coach slot. The choices were Terry Donahue, (who went to UCLA and won the most in Westwood ever) Rich Brooks, and Craig Fertig. (Who was the OC to the National Champion USC Trojans) Think of it; had your AD selected Brooks....Oregon's history would have been yours. Brooks would have brought Mike Bellotti to Corvallis, who then would have brought Chip Kelly in to wear orange. When did Phil and Penny Knight begin to help Oregon? Only after the football program did it themselves, as only after the 1994 Rose Bowl and 1995 Cotton Bowl did Phil reach out to Mike Bellotti to see how he could help. You see, winners want to work with winners and Phil had to see that Oregon had good leadership in their football coach and Athletic Director. Meanwhile Oregon State made bad hire after bad hire following Dee Andros, thus affluent Beaver fans did not want to support that. Can you blame them? (There are plenty of business and engineering graduates who have done well and could be your next Phil and Penny, but....) Your problems on the football field are of your own making, as Phil and Penny Knight had nothing to do with your poor Athletic Department leadership. The Ducks first did it on their OWN, and then Attracted Substantial Donors 5 4 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 2 Share Posted January 21, 2022 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck No. 3 Share Posted January 21, 2022 It just seems like Husky Honks would have other things to do besides spend time moaning and wailing about the success Oregon has, and is, enjoying. Owing all the credit for that success to Phil and Penny Knight doesn't exhibit a lot of cognitive ability. Beaver Nation is trying their best to become winners. They don't spend every waking moment crying about Oregon's success. Oregon has the best facilities in the country, the finest Track Stadium in the world. Meanwhile, Oregon State is adding seats to Reser. It is what it is. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck1984 No. 4 Share Posted January 21, 2022 (edited) To be fair Charles, I cannot think of a Husky or Beaver alum as financially successful as Knight. Even so, could a less financially successful UW or OSU grad evolve enough from a culture of cheating, greed and jealousy to share any wealth? Edited January 21, 2022 by Duck1984 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck 1972 No. 5 Share Posted January 21, 2022 Also he just didn't give it to sports. And it's no different than any other schools that fundraise. Why does everyone have to be such whiners. Boo Hoo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllOregon No. 6 Share Posted January 21, 2022 (edited) On 1/21/2022 at 2:16 PM, Duck1984 said: To be fair Charles, I cannot think of a Husky or Beaver alum as financially successful as Knight. Even so, could a less financially successful UW or OSU grad evolve enough from a culture of cheating, greed and jealousy to share any wealth? Probably true. But at least 4 generations of Nordstrom billionaires are all UW graduates… OSU had Betty Crocker and Bozo the Clown as alums Edited January 21, 2022 by AllOregon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck 1972 No. 7 Share Posted January 21, 2022 And Reecers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Author Administrator No. 8 Share Posted January 21, 2022 As a side note--the two posts written this morning were not seen by many as a moderator caught them right away. So nice to not have to even read that nonsense! 3 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Author Administrator No. 9 Share Posted January 21, 2022 On 1/21/2022 at 2:16 PM, Duck1984 said: To be fair Charles, I cannot think of a Husky or Beaver alum as financially successful as Knight. This is not about fair, but factual. Washington has three times more Billionaires in their Alumni than Oregon, and a much bigger alumni base to draw from. Oregon's enrollment is 18,000 and Washington's is nearly double at 35,000 and thus twice as many donors to solicit. There are no excuses for anyone in the Tyee Club to be complaining about a lack of money in Montlake. And you do not have to be an alumni of the university to be an influential donor; Thomas Autzen went to Oregon State.... 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 10 Share Posted January 21, 2022 I will also say there are a lot of people who complain and make excuses. We don't want to give them too much attention or they will just keep believing the nonsense. The reason Jonathan Steward came to Oregon was because they were and are terrible. They need to take care of their own house, and can't. That is the root of the whole problem up north. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Ducker1 No. 11 Share Posted January 22, 2022 Theres a ton of wealth in the Seattle area both corporate and personal. Portland has 3 buildings above 500 ft tall Seattle has 21 not incl the Space Needle. That represents a whole bunch of possible corporate sponsorships. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Duck No. 12 Share Posted January 22, 2022 Time was when Duck fans envied the UW Tyee Club. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyToBeADuck No. 13 Share Posted January 22, 2022 Fact of the matter is since mid nineties, Ducks have a had better coaches, better continuity and have butt whipped the whiners. Fact, the Ducks have better facilities, better doners and maybe even better whiners. Fact, better players. Scoreboard counts you butt sniffing, toilet drinking, academic ignorant.......... Fact this forum rocks.......... 2 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WiseKwacker No. 14 Share Posted January 22, 2022 "Oregon's success was BOUGHT by Phil Knight." Yeah, I've heard (and mainly read) similar comments for years. My response is always a shoulder shrug accompanied by, "So what? What's your point?" The Knights basically bankrolled Matt Court and the new Hayward Field. They've also funded the Law School and the university library. The way I look at it, Oregonians should all be thankful to the guy for donating so much for so many to enjoy over the years ahead. Is there any single aspect of the Knights' largesse that's "bad?" It seems obvious to me that the only reason somebody would be critical of the Knights' generosity is simple jealousy. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Author Administrator No. 15 Share Posted January 22, 2022 What I wrote above is not directed at Oregon fans, as we agree with you and are quite thankful. I have a whole section of nice articles about Phil Knight in the Oregon Football Repository. But yesterday morning we had two posts written by a new member who was here to do the usual, "you are nothing without Phil," and since I've seen and heard that so many times, (and will continue to get it in emails and posts by Trolls) I decided to have a "template" made above where I can copy and paste it or send them the link. While some of it is jealousy, a big part of it is a rationalization as to why THEY are not doing well, when Oregon is. It is their "Go-To" excuse, as they do not want to face the truth of their own fund-raising or bad decisions stacked up for years by their athletic administration. People are critical of Rob Mullens, (and yes he has made some mistakes and is not perfect) but without him and the ADs before him....we would have the record of our neighbors to the north. BTW....95% of you did not see what the Troll wrote, as our Moderators do a great job catching the bad posts, and hiding them from public view until I deal with the violator. So nice to not have to read that crap! 1 1 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhioDuck No. 16 Share Posted January 22, 2022 (edited) Yeah, Oregon has a really wealthy guy give a lot of money. So do lots of other schools. The question is what do you do with it? Oregon has used a creative, innovative spirit to improve steadily in all sports, from track and field to football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball... it goes on. You can have a bunch of money given and screw up how you use it. Oregon has used it to get better and better. BTW, this is coming from a non-Oregon alumni who just recognizes when someone is doing things the right way and appreciates it. Edited January 22, 2022 by OhioDuck 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrspenney No. 17 Share Posted January 23, 2022 Oregon donors have been extremely generous over the years, more so than Husky donors, that along with Knight donation and a few others have been significant. Also a couple of Washington billionaires wives are Oregon Ducks. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck 1972 No. 18 Share Posted January 24, 2022 As has been shown our track record of having the right people, being the most innovative and having the most success is why we have been better in fund raising than the other schools. Can't peel the onion any further. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 19 Share Posted January 26, 2022 It could be argued, rightly, Phil Knight wouldn't have amounted to much other than being an accountant if it hadn't been for the Oregon Track and Field Program. What Phil Knight did was leverage that program's success into Nike. He then helped that program and others. This is the formula for success, success builds success. Other programs don't have that synergy, thus the jealousy. It can certainly be argued Phil Knight has helped the Oregon Athletic Department, but Phil Knight benefited the most. I doubt Phil Knight would argue that point, but our opponents just drone on and on. Next time somebody bring up the point Phil Knight had a large, too large of an impact on Oregon Athletics, just nod and point out Oregon Athletics had an even bigger impact on Phil Knight. The same can be said for most involved in Oregon Athletics. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
