The Oregon Ducks take their two-game winning streak to Santa Clara this week, in search of another victory over the Golden Bears of the University of California. We at FishDuck.com/soinlovewithmariotawemightjustpop like to take a slightly different look at the team, and the state that we are about to encounter.
So let’s take a look at our friends from south of the border.
Everyone knows that Governor Tom McCall once invited Californians to spend to their heart’s content while in Oregon, but told them to refrain from moving to Oregon. This drew an immediate and unpleasant reaction from California, and their bird.
Cali Condor got her beak in an uproar.
But Oregon has since made its peace with California. Sure, some Oregonians are renowned for loathing California just on general principle, but most of us know that there is a lot to learn from the Golden State.
1. Dance Crazes Come from California: Most people know that the California Swing, break dances, boogaloo and popping all came from California. Most people do not know that former Golden Bear Head Coach Tom Holmoe brought a dance with him when he started his career at Berkeley. Holmoe went 9-31 in conference play. Some say it was because of the dance that he made his players perform during fall camp.
“I don’t think so, Coach.”
2. More Turkeys Are Raised in California Than in Any Other State in the Union: This fact surprised me, since most of the turkeys I know live in or near Seattle. But it is true that California grows the most turkeys.
Surprisingly, relatively few of them attend football games.
3. California’s Alpine County is So Small it is Without a High School, Dentist, ATM or Traffic Light: Now that is a small county. I can travel to find a dentist or a high school, but no ATM?
You can see where Berkeley should be located. Alameda County maps have expelled Berkeley due to Cal’s inevitable beating Friday night.
4. In Pacific Grove There is a Law on the Books Establishing a $500 Fine for Molesting Butterflies. Until I did a little research, I didn’t imagine there was much need for enforcement of such a law.
I was wrong. Number Seven is celebrating a touchdown. Number Two is committing a heinous crime against a Monarch Butterfly.
5. The First Person to Personally Receive a Star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood Was Actress Joanne Woodward. A very impressive accomplishment for a lovely and talented member of the acting profession.
Were the 84-year-old Ms. Woodward pressed into service on Friday, she would be Cal’s best defensive back.
Go Ducks! Don’t smoke the poppies!
Top photo by commons.wikipedia.org
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Kim Hastings is a 1984 graduate of Northwest Christian College. He cut his journalistic teeth as sports editor of a paper in his home town of Fortuna, CA, and, later as a columnist for the Longview Daily News in Longview, WA.
He saw his first Oregon game in 1977 and never missed a home game from 1981 until a bout with pneumonia cut his streak short in 1997. He was one of the proud 3200 on a bitterly cold night in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1989 for the Independence Bowl, and continues to be big supporter of Oregon sports. He is an active participant on the various Oregon Ducks messageboards as “TacomaDuck.”