I had the pleasure of attending the Ducks spring football game and I must say I was quite impressed… the game was good too. We can all agree that a typical spring day in the Pacific Northwest can be anything but. This, however, was one of those spectacularly unforgettable perfect weather sorts of days. Welcome to Eugene, Oregon!
University of Oregon's Autzen Stadium
As if you needed any greater encouragement than a football game on a picture perfect spring day, well here it is. First off, the game was free to fans. The only catch was you had to bring a minimum of three cans of food as a donation to benefit Food for Lane County. Great day, great cause, and a great reason for any guy to put off all those domestic chores at home. So, of course, prior to getting to Autzen Stadium I had to first visit the grocery store, along with a lot of others I might add. It was incredible to see people of all ages grabbing canned food of every variety and making their way to the checkout focused on doing a good deed - a very cool thing to witness.
At the entrance to Autzen there were a number of large containers where you were able to drop your food donations off. I saw people putting not just their three cans in, but bags and boxes of food, so these huge containers were being filled in no time at all. Everyone was participating, and it was incredible to see the support from fans and the community. Kind of an event you felt proud to be a part of, and from what I understand, despite the attendance being slightly less than the prior year, the amount of food donated was far greater. Who knows, maybe it was the good weather, maybe it was the fact so many exciting sporting events happening the same weekend, or maybe it was the anticipation of many more spring and summer events to come… but you know what, who cares the reason. The fact is, this community so many times steps up to do the right thing, and so many people feel compelled to support, and to help. Yes, it was only a spring football game, but it was a great example of what we find important in this community. So, thanks again to everyone who gave. By the way, Oregon won the game!
About the author: A way over the top sports enthusiast, Mike is the Sports Sales Manager at Eugene, Cascades and Coast Sports. Arriving in Eugene by way of UCLA, Mike manages to keep his Bruin identity even in Duck country. On top of his position with the Sports Commission, Mike is also the Head Women’s Volleyball Coach at Northwest Christian University also located in Eugene. When those rare free moments in his schedule do occur, Mike enjoys running, swimming, and almost any kind of activity or competition that breaks a sweat.
