A Lasting Bond

I went down to a football game last Saturday. The University of Oregon Ducks versus the hated University of Washington Huskies. Of all the football games I've been to of my alma mater, half of them have been the Huskies, and we've won all but one. I was there in 1994, my first game actually, for "the pick", a play that just about any semi-serious or above Duck fan could explain, and one that vaulted the team into the Rose Bowl and helped push the program into prominence. Two years ago ESPN reported that bowl games they televise involving the Ducks are consistently among the highest rated, even in lopsided games. We are a loyal bunch, I guess.
The intra-state rivalry between the Ducks and the Oregon State Beavers is cited often during Council meetings, not only work sessions but actual Council meetings. I am surprised that it never gets hold, to be honest. When Spirit Mountain Casino's marketing team brought the SMGI board their proposal for advertising during the Ducks and Beavers games, I proposed that in the interest of cost-cutting we should axe the Beaver portion of the package, as it would halve the overall costs. I also joke frequently about giving extra scholarship money to Tribal students goinng to UO, and constantly propose green and yellow colors for whatever projects are brought before us. While Chair and reading the announcements during Wednesday night meetings, any announcement involving UO I would precede with "Oregon's finest university and home of the state's brightest students" or something like that. A handful of vendors at the pow wow often pre-make necklaces or other crafts with green and yellow, knowing that I or Jack Giffen will probably buy it.
Saturday's game was interesting because by chance I was seated next to a fan who exemplified the concept of a person taking a game way too seriously. There were smatterings of Husky fans dotted throughout Autzen, and a couple of trios were in front of me and in back. It dawned on me throughout the game that this fellow and these fans did not know eachother, and what I thought was friendly ribbing quickly escalated into hostility, loud enough that people for other aisles were glancing over and smiling nervously. I am very surprised that a fight didn't break out. Come to think of it, I left early once the Ducks went up by 20-something. Who knows what might have transpired afterwards?
I am not desparate to write something here. Being a UO alumni is a bond, one that you see even within the Tribe. I never fail to get applause at our Eugene General Council meeting when reminding those present of just where I earned my degree, which these days seems like an eternity ago. The last potluck I attended at the Eugene satellite office during a saturday had the game on the radio, and not visit down there isn't complete without talking Ducks football with local members. Plus I realized last year just how much my job affects my thinking while watching a Duck game, a point where two different segments of my life actually intersected. I generally watch every televised game, whether locally or nationally, and last year what got my attention was the advertisements for Three Rivers Casino that were peppered throughout the stadium, notably above the passageways leading on to the field. My first thought of course was, "why aren't we doing that?" Evidently the marketing team at our casino thought the same thing. Eugene is not that far away.
It goes to show that you can form a bond with something abstract, like a school, and not only just Tribes. And when you've formed that bond it never goes away, and it bonds you to other people who've had a similar experience, like some sort of brotherhood. Call me crazy, but I think any Tribal members who also went to UO would agree, maybe even Beavers or Huskies.