Charles Fischer Administrator No. 1 Share Posted December 3, 2022 With what I've seen posted in the last week or so...pondering the existence of a "real" Oregon fan is worth contemplating....right? FishDuck Ponders the Loyalty of Oregon Fans ... FISHDUCK.COM Charles Fischer presents an plausible alternate reality that challenges Oregon fans over their loyalty to the team under all conditions. And this was four years ago? 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Author Administrator No. 2 Share Posted December 3, 2022 Another interesting take on being an Oregon fan.... Oregon Fan Loyalty: "Is Our Way the BEST WAY?" FISHDUCK.COM In this off-season I am pondering the Oregon fan more than I am the Oregon football team. In order to build a forum (which will be released in the next month)... 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckdude No. 3 Share Posted December 3, 2022 IMHO: A fan is a fan. Just depends as to what kind. Maybe winning just brings out the “inner” fan. Either way, we root for the Ducks to perform well, and win……and are disappointed when they don’t. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Author Administrator No. 4 Share Posted December 3, 2022 On 12/3/2022 at 3:01 PM, Duckdude said: A fan is a fan. Some aren't unless the Ducks win enough. A ton of people will not read about the Ducks anymore because of how two games went. How loyal is that? 1 2 2 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log Haulin No. 5 Share Posted December 3, 2022 Many different levels of fans. Bandwagon fans are fans like everyone else. Some are just more fanatic about it. I am a football fan. Ducks are my favorite team. Dont watch other sports. Doesn't make me less of a fan than anyone else. When the Ducks are playing poorly and dropping games. Bandwagon fans aren't cheering them on, neither am I. Only Difference I am still watching. When the Ducks are winning? Eugene, the whole state starts vibrating. We need fair weather fans to make that happen. 2 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EzDucksIt No. 6 Share Posted December 3, 2022 Charles, Do we now have the OBDF, Oregon Bandwagon Derail Fan, say it is not so. As much as I was disappointed with the loss to the Dawgs. WHAT A GAME! Glued to the TV was I. SHHH, love me some Star Wars. Then the win against UTAH, sweet Oregon Duck! Followed by a Beavers COME BACK WIN, Say It Isn't SOOOOO! Telling my wife of the Ducks Tragedy in Corvallis, her walking around the House with a big smile on her face! In our 28 years together, I have only seen her teeth 9 times, oh there was that one time. . . So many years of Flying High over Oregon owning the Rodents! She really has a nice smile. No Bandwagon Fan here, just a smiling wife. Sigh. GO DUCKS, there is always next year! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LADuck No. 7 Share Posted December 4, 2022 Last time a college football game ended in a zero - zero tie was 1983 and it was the Ducks vs Beavers slugging it out in laugher. It was dumping rain and overall just a miserable day. Very few of us there but I stuck it out to the bitter end. Not sure if that is loyalty or stupidity but I have never been one to give up on the Ducks no matter what is going down. I also traveled from Indianapolis in 1989 for another miserable bowl game versus Tulsa in Shreveport. Freezing rain and a crappy stadium and the city isn't much. The Ducks did get a win so at least that part was good. For both basketball and football there used to be years where the hope was that we would at least be competitive against the stronger teams. It was still a lot of fun going to games and being part of the college experience. I also remember students being excited to watch the Ducks play Santa Clara in the 1984 NIT. It was a loss but still fun to be part of and Mac Court was awesome. Rambling but point being that the players are giving their best and I formed a tight connection to the U of O while going to school there. No matter what happens will always support the Ducks win, lose, and hopefully never a tie again. 1 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie No. 8 Share Posted December 4, 2022 Then there are what I would call Reverse Bandwagon fans. That is, they don't say anything or post anything until the Ducks have a loss or two. Then they seem to come out of the woodwork to complain and criticize. 2 1 1 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrw Moderator No. 9 Share Posted December 4, 2022 The word fan is derived from fanatic, and fanatics don’t let bad times stop them from staying attached to their team. Criticizing if need be, cheering when possible, but staying attached. I sure ain't going anywhere. But, casual followers come and go, depending on won-loss records, and as Log Haulin says, those folks are needed, because fanatics are not numerous enough to keep the money flowing. Except maybe in Alabama. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Author Administrator No. 10 Share Posted December 4, 2022 On 12/3/2022 at 5:16 PM, Annie said: Then there are what I would call Reverse Bandwagon fans. That is, they don't say anything or post anything until the Ducks have a loss or two. Then they seem to come out of the woodwork to complain and criticize. Oh Annie...you have no idea how well you nailed it. A fellow got steamed at me a year and a half ago and stormed out of the first version of the forum. I realized that I was rude to him, (this was before I really had the rules solidly in place) and apologized to him--but he was going to punish me, and leave. (Now how does that work again?) I heard from him recently and he was clearly looking for another apology and an opening to return. I graciously apologized again, and invited him back. So what did he do? His first post was effectively venting his frustration over the two games lost. An over-the-top post that just made me shake my head, and respond with something to help put things into perspective. He then put up a maligning, attacking post at yours-truly, and I deleted the post and banned him. He just wanted a pool to pee in, and my experience has shown that if someone operates like that up-front, then I will continue to have trouble with this person who has no consideration for our community and civilized discussion. Had not heard from him all this time until now, and your Reverse Bandwagon Fan description is perfect. I will borrow the term and give attribution credit to you. Thanks! We have nice people here... 1 1 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EzDucksIt No. 11 Share Posted December 4, 2022 You look back at the Brooks and Bellotti days of the Pac 8 and Pac 10, you see an Oregon School that played the Blue Bloods as part of their Regular OOC Schedule. This was how the BB would get some warm up games in for their teams and wins to influence the polls. Oregon did it for the pay checks those BB teams gave to help keep teams and sports alive at Oregon. Even when Chip came as OC, Oregon was building a reputation as a blue collar school competing against Blue Bloods. I believe a lot has changed, thanks to hard work, help from a go getter in Phil Knight and his lovely wife and a Nike belief of "Just Do It" and "Bo Knows"! With Michael Jordan and Bo Jackson leading the way. But Oregon has never backed away from competition. So Proud of that, where others believe it hurts their chances at NCP or other high tier bowls. Blue Collar Oregon against Blue Bloods that take lesser opponents, it's what America and Oregon Ducks can be Proud of still. Misbehave and I pull the PLUG! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJacksPlaidPants Moderator No. 12 Share Posted December 4, 2022 (edited) On 12/3/2022 at 6:06 PM, Charles Fischer said: Some aren't unless the Ducks win enough. A ton of people will not read about the Ducks anymore because of how two games went. How loyal is that? Some folks get disinterested when their team doesn’t win enough (see Stanford, Cal, Miami, etc.). They just don’t make the effort to show up if they feel the team isn’t making the effort to win. Why throw your heart and souls behind a bunch of dudes who just don’t care (once again, see Miami). From a national perception, Duck fans are the epitome of fair weather fans. You can see it on TV during home games. Empty seats everywhere except for a big game and even then the stands will have 25-35% opposing colors (see Nebraska, Tennessee, BYU, etc). Not to mention, getting outsold at bowl games by a 3 to 1 margin. However, the Pac 12 scheduling gurus can take some of the blame as well. As far as readers go, I don’t blame somebody for not reading about the team after two losses like the fuskie/Beavis games. Nobody wants to re-live those games in print or on the PAC-12 Channel “Football in 60”. Sometimes it’s best to take a week off and decompress. Edited December 4, 2022 by DrJacksPlaidPants Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
12Duck72 No. 13 Share Posted December 4, 2022 I'm a lifelong 49er fan so I've seen this story before, it's not just Duck fans. But like you were saying Charles the comments I've seen on this site the last week or so have been disheartening as a Duck. I get being disappointed in the close losses and yes the coaches and players need to learn from this but my goodness this team went 9-3 not 3-9. The sky is not falling, Dan Lanning doesn't need to fired, and the progrum is not falling apart. LADuck has been around as long as I have it seems. I remember all of that so I've seen the best and worst of times with my own eyes. To me being a fan of any team is supporting that team through the good and the bad no matter what happens. Bandwagoners will come and go for any team, it's just the way it is in sports. But I would hope that folks who post here would understand that as much as we would all like the Ducks to win every game 100-0 and win the title every year that sports is a competition and there will be times when the Ducks lose a game. I think it was the Schonz who once said "The other team practices too". 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake Moderator No. 14 Share Posted December 4, 2022 Fans don’t bail when the times aren’t so great. There are people that will follow if the team is doing well. However, fans are there through the good and bad times. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pocketchange No. 15 Share Posted December 4, 2022 Having standards on what you spend your budget on is a good thing. For example, I stopped watching the ducks during the Cristobal era. Checking the score online and reading the forums was more exciting than watching the Mari Offense which was enjoyable as watching paint dry while periodically hitting my hand with a hammer. On the other hand I have watched all of lanning’s games. you are a fan if you root for the ducks and we become toxic fans when we become jerks. Otherwise life is short, if the ducks are producing a poor product and you go for a walk instead of watching them, more power to you. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nw777b No. 16 Share Posted December 4, 2022 My great, great, great grandfather came to Lane county by wagon via Meek's cut-off. So, I consider myself an Oregon wagon fan. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kamikaze Kid Moderator No. 17 Share Posted December 4, 2022 Bandwagon fans fill stadiums, go nuts in the stands and buy merch. They do have an important role to play for successful teams. They just don't contribute much when the chips are down. I kind of like when my teams struggle at times. It shows me who the other real fans are. One of my favorite Autzen stadium moments was during a game with UCLA in '79. UO had the ball with a minute to go down 35-0. On forth and long they faked the punt and got their 6th first down of the game. All 5000 or so fans that were still there in a pouring rain storm immediately started going berzerk and doing the wave. The UCLA players all were looking at us as if we'd lost our minds. In those days there was no bandwagon, just fans, and I still loved it. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PittDuck No. 18 Share Posted December 4, 2022 On 12/3/2022 at 9:29 PM, 12Duck72 said: the comments I've seen on this site the last week or so have been disheartening as a Duck. I get being disappointed in the close losses and yes the coaches and players need to learn from this but my goodness this team went 9-3 not 3-9. The sky is not falling, Dan Lanning doesn't need to fired, and the progrum is not falling apart. My sentiments exactly 12Duck72, and you said it much more eloquently than I can seem to say it. Thank you. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lownslowav8r No. 19 Share Posted December 4, 2022 (edited) Ah, a “purity” argument. Luckily this is sports not religion and the group is pretty mellow. Given what I’ve seen where purity arguments get heated (very ugly and often deadly dangerous) I tend toward saying a person is a fan if they say they are a fan. If we aren’t careful only folks who attended the Toilet Bowl and still root for Oregon will be considered “real fans.” Edited December 4, 2022 by lownslowav8r Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Author Administrator No. 20 Share Posted December 4, 2022 I am raising my hand, because I was there. We have a lot to be grateful for… Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
