A Duck Fan’s Guide to Reading a John Canzano Sports Column

Many Duck fans approach a column written by Oregonian sportswriter John Canzano with trepidation. I prefer to approach them with a lit match or a recycle bin (hey, I went to school in Eugene).  Speaking of incendiary, the point of most columns is to spark debate, and this is where many green readers get burned.

Canzano, like most columnists, considers an issue from which a consensus seems to have been formed.  He then argues the other side of the issue. This is how many Duck fans end up being convinced he hates our team.  It’s also how many Beaver fans have come to add the man to their bandwagon (okay, if we’re being honest, it’s more like a band-coupe).

So the key to getting through one of The Bald One’s pieces is to realize that he isn’t rewarded for agreeing with you or even being logical.  His job is to irritate you, maybe even view an issue from a different angle, or to make you thankful that his waxed dome is relegated to print and radio and off the TV for six days a week.  Don’t get rankled.  Consider the validity of his point, and remember if what he writes isn’t controversial people won’t talk about it. When all else fails, you can always do what I do, read the title and wait to hear the outraged summary from the sucker who drags himself through the whole piece.