Love this! It's really bothered me over the years that people (especially when comparing us with Oregon State) describe Oregon as the "trust fund baby" school that had everything served to it on a silver platter... when in reality, the program took MASSIVE PR risks over the years (such as Harrington on the billboard) and won several high-profile games -- without those things, all that Nike money would have just made us a really expensive laughing stock. People lose sight of the fact that without the branding, the visionary hires, the right players, and the big wins, we really wouldn't be too different from Oregon State and we might currently be stuck in a Pac-3. I'm thankful that this important part of the story is about to be told.
Re: Rooted in substance
Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2024 7:50 pm
by DuckMastaFunk
pezsez1 wrote: Thu Jun 06, 2024 1:37 pm
Love this! It's really bothered me over the years that people (especially when comparing us with Oregon State) describe Oregon as the "trust fund baby" school that had everything served to it on a silver platter... when in reality, the program took MASSIVE PR risks over the years (such as Harrington on the billboard) and won several high-profile games -- without those things, all that Nike money would have just made us a really expensive laughing stock. People lose sight of the fact that without the branding, the visionary hires, the right players, and the big wins, we really wouldn't be too different from Oregon State and we might currently be stuck in a Pac-3. I'm thankful that this important part of the story is about to be told.
Agreed Pez. T Boone Pickens gave nearly as much to Oklahoma State before he passed and they didn’t do what Oregon was willing to do to capitalize on it.
Re: Rooted in substance
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 8:10 am
by Duck07
We can also admit that being the epicenter for Nike is also a part of our tradition and every is just jelly of that.
Bill Bowerman is probably the most rad Oregonian when you break his life down. Had a division of Nazi forces surrender to him at the Brenner Pass among other accomplishments.
Re: Rooted in substance
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 10:36 am
by TheDrake
Bill Bowerman and the Men of Oregon by Kenny Moore is a great read! Highly recommend.