All the money they get, the pre-season hype, and different uniform combos don’t make any difference when the game clock starts. Thats when you figure out who has the better team. Past games don’t matter and past off the field events don’t matter, its just pure determination to see who is the best in the state of Oregon.

:’(

Especially at home. This state is divided right down the middle between Duck fans and Beaver fans. A lot of the valley is Duck fans, but you go to eastern, southern, or coastal Oregon, and the majority is Beaver fans. It makes this state go nuts, and I love it. Having the Civil War at Reser means a lot for a number of reasons.
1. It is indisputable how important home field advantage is in this game. Even last year, when we should have blown Oregon out of the water (and nobody should deny this) the Ducks hung with us and came back and nearly won. Even though Eugene and Corvallis aren’t far, and many times the teams stay in their respective cities the night before the game, it stills mean a lot.
2. Aside from Hawai’i a couple years ago, this is the last game for our seniors. Having it at home means that much more for these guys. It’s the last chance for them to play against the team they (should) hate the most. Seniors have always been a huge key to our teams, and this year is no different. We should never forget that. I’ll write a post about what seniors we need to remember later this week.
3. It is a special time of year. It’ll be perfect Oregon weather being at the end of November every year. Whether it’s pouring down rain and freezing, or sunny and low-50s, we Oregonians love it. We relish it. It’s what makes our state the best.
4. It is a game that features the opposite of nearly every facet of life. Unlike many rivalries (UNC-Duke, Ohio St-Michigan, Florida-Georgia) this rivalry extends beyond just one sport. It extends beyond sports in general. Conservatives vs Liberals. Farmers vs Hippies. Science school vs Liberal school. Small town v Big city. Blue collar vs White collar. Nearly everything about the schools is different. It’s what fuels the rivalry. It’s what makes it great. And it’s why many announcers dub it one of the most hated rivalries in college football. The gameday crew touched on it last year. Lou Holtz said he’s never seen so much difference between college football fans: this includes Ohio St-Michigan, Alabama-Auburn, and Texas-Oklahoma. It is, in my humble opinion, the greatest rivalry in sports. It may not have the history, it may not have the tradition, but that’s why it’s the best. Because the hate is there. Think Ohio St-Michigan would be huge if they weren’t two of the greatest football programs of all time? Think Alabama-Auburn cares what happens between the two in basketball? I didn’t think so. When these teams were bad, the fans still cared. It used to be, the Civil War was the only game that mattered for both fans, because there were no bowl games for us, there was no Phil Knight, there was no Reser Stadium. It was just good versus evil. And that was that.

When you go to a school, you take on that school’s personality. That’s what I’ve gathered. So yes, Oregon State has many liberals (what would you expect coming from a state bluer than the Pacific?) but it has quite a few more conservatives. The blue collar v white collar isn’t all wrong either. A lot of Oregon State students, because of the ag and forestry programs, come from small, rural Oregon towns all across the state. A lot of Oregon students are sons and daughters of middle to upper class families in California. They don’t share the same mentality at all. Small town versus big city mentality, how is that overblown? Last I checked, Corvallis was a city of barely 50,000, with a real small town feel to it, and a lot of rural around it. Eugene itself is running around 150,000 (which may not be BIG, but is most definitely not small, as some would classify Corvallis) and has a lot of the same big city “feel” to it. It’s why it is attractive to a lot of kids from SoCal- it’s the closest thing you’re going to find to LA in a college town. Farmers vs hippies overblown? Doubtful. While Oregon State and Corvallis has its fair share of free spirits (again, it’s Oregon), Eugene is known for it. It’s Berkeley north. And how many farm kids do you see walking around the campus at UO? Almost none.

Look, I know that these aren’t exact reasons, but it’s a personality that you really take on when rooting for either the Ducks or the Beavs. Look at our team (which exemplifies Coach Riley, who grew up in Corvallis), we have this chip on our shoulder, blue collar attitude. Never taking a play off. Working ‘til the final whistle. A very rural attitude. And our fans take on that same exact attitude. We love hard nose defense and grind um up offense. It’s what gives us our personality. We try to win every game with defense. Look at the Ducks. They are the flashiest team in the country since the days of the old U at Miami. Every game produces a new jersey and a bazillion points. They love scoring in bunches, but also give up a lot of points. They try to outscore the opponents. And the fans love it. They love the jerseys. They love the high powered offense. They think we’re boring. We think they’re out of their mind. It’s the way it is.

So yes, while not every Oregon fan/student is a big city slicker running around with popper collars and Grey Goose, and not every Oregon State fan/student is a country bumpkin who runs around in flannel and Jack Daniels, they are the personalities we take on as fans in the stadiums every Saturday, and they couldn’t be more different from each other.

That’s exactly what I meant. It has rarely had national importance, and very often is it the decider for a conference championship or a big time bowl game. But that was my point, the game always still matters. Back in the day, when Oregon was a farming state, the Civil War was many times the only thing that the residents of the state had. And you can feel that passion every time the two teams step on the field to face each other. Anyone who has been to the Civil War knows: there’s a hate and passion that run so much deeper then just football.

Little Joey and Simonton were on the cover of SI the week of the Civil War? It was a cheesy photo, but I remember being pretty stoked at the time. Plus we won that year.

A job brought me to San Diego this year, and although I’ve traveled a great deal for work in the past, I am missing being up there more than ever, (I still make every home game though, and also the win over UCLA at the Rose Bowl).

I think what makes the CW so special, as VD mentioned earlier, is that us “older” Beavs had to survive such awful, mind-numbing football seasons, yet we always felt that we could win the CW, regardless of how bad it was – I remember being at the basketball game when they introduced Craig Fertig, (RIP),as the new coach and he said “we’re going to the Rose Bowl!” Ouch! Really?! At some point, reality trumps enthusiasm, I guess.

All of the rain, all of the fumbles, interceptions – didn’t mean a thing, because we KNEW that we a chance to beat the equally hideous Ucks, and at that time, that meant everything to us. That’s why the past several years have been so gratifying and amazing to me, and why I keep buying the season tickets and contributing – because I don’t want us to ever be in that position again.

Now there are always the stories about pranks on the Ducks, (a foolhardy attempt to drop dead ducks on parachutes from a light plane over Autzen at halftime of a CW game – glad the statute of limitations has expired on that one), and I’m sure y’all will provide more and more as the week goes on. Be thankful that we have the coach and team that we do, and that we’re FINALLY going to make it to the “Grandaddy” this year…see you on Saturday and…

GO BEAVS!