Everything in life changes, and my beloved “Famous FishDuck ManCave” is soon to be gone, as I am selling my house after 32 years in it. So much of my joy and fun as an Oregon fan was lived in that room that you see below in a video, and so many articles were written for FishDuck in that room over the last twelve years. Let’s take a look and have a quick stroll down memory lane…
Everything in the room has meaning, especially to an Oregon fan! (Photo by Mike Moshofsky)
The television is actually bigger than it appears above, but it is also hooked up to a hard-drive below the stereo receiver–thus I switch between television and the screen becoming a massive computer monitor. To the left of the big brown chair is a black table, and this is where I was charting the games, making notes for upcoming analysis articles and noting where great screenshots should be taken from a digital copy of the game.
The green arrow above points to a Phil Knight bobblehead, and it only makes sense that a sanctuary for Oregon sports would pay homage to our generous patron as well. The black arrows point to a Bose Sound Surround System, which makes the crowd noise of a touchdown that much more thunderous–especially with the big bass component added. The sound system also makes television that much more enjoyable–in particular at movie-time.
The yellow arrow above points to an autographed football by most of the 2001 team that finished No. 2 in the nation and holds a special spot in my GREEN heart for what they accomplished. The red arrow above points to a photo from a Spring Game touchdown with yours-truly in the background holding a yard marker. It was during a stretch of where I was allowed to be on the chain crew for practices and the occasional Spring Football game. The black and white picture next to it is a photo again of yours-truly in high school kicking an extra point. I wasn’t just an offensive tackle!
A Bose Surround Sound System flanked by so many great memories… (Photo by Mike Moshofsky)
We see more of the Bose Surround Sound System (black arrows above) with one of them above a three-part poster of Joey Harrington, Rashad Bauman, and Mo Morris of which is autographed by each! This was another dandy trophy from that special year over two decades ago. The yellow arrow above points to a promotional poster for when both Brady Leaf and Dennis Dixon were contending to be the starting quarterback, and the red arrow points to a prized poster from over three decades ago. It shows Bill Musgrave appearing to pass the ball directly to you with a catchy motto promoting the upcoming the 1990 season. Very cool!
The green arrow at the top was a joke played on me by the young college student who first found the bright “safety” yellow paint and the dark metallic green trim. He grew up in Eugene as a Duck fan, but then was going to Oregon State for engineering. When he finished painting–he told Lois not to show me what was under the smoke alarm until he was paid and out the door! I then removed the cover to reveal a “Go Beavs” written, and I had to laugh. Pretty clever, and a fun item to show all visitors to the Famous FishDuck ManCave.
A ton of hours of shooting video and reshooting for the Fishduck instructional videos of 2011-2012. (Screenshot from FishDuck Video)
That huge fathead decal on the wall of the Oregon helmet was the backdrop to many of the 50 instructional videos I made in 2011 and 2012 for Oregon fans of which were viewed over two million times. The first ten or so videos had poor lighting and sound as I was truly a novice at it, and this was the early days of making videos for YouTube. But it was quite the grind at the time, of studying video, studying football, finding the theme of the next video, writing the script and determining the shots and the flow in the video. Then we shot the “takes” and then spent hours lining up audio and doing the editing. Then…start on the next one as we had a deadline every week!
The Pac-12 eventually changed the rules for using Oregon football video of which effectively shut things down for me. We have since continued doing analysis articles such as this one by yours truly, and this one by Coach Eric Boles. But that decal was an ongoing reminder of the work, and the love I had creating those videos for so many people. I had coaches from across the US email me their thanks, and it was a special time in my life.
Above is a video going through the room, as this is now stored on my own YouTube channel as something to remember from all the enjoyable hours in the “Famous FishDuck ManCave.” There are many FishDuck writers, and members of the Our Beloved Ducks forum that I promised a personal tour to someday, but alas…that will not happen after all.
We are selling the house, and I am moving to a location not far from Autzen, (handy!) and I’ll provide more information on my changes at a later date. For now, this room is being remembered for all the contributions created in its walls that showed up on the article site (FishDuck) and in the OBD forum. Let’s discuss the memories in the forum-with-decorum because…
“Oh, how we love to ponder about Our Beloved Ducks!“
Charles Fischer (Mr. FishDuck)
Eugene, Oregon
Top Photo by Mike Moshofsky
Charles Fischer has been an intense fan of the Ducks, a season ticket holder at Autzen Stadium for 35 years and has written reports on football boards for over 23 years. Known as “FishDuck” on those boards, he is acknowledged for providing intense detail in his scrimmage reports and in his Xs and Os play analyses. He and his wife Lois, have a daughter Christine, reside in Eugene Oregon, where he was a Financial Advisor for 36 years and now focuses full-time on Charitable Planned Giving Workshops for churches and non-profit organizations.
He does not profess to be a coach or analyst, but simply a “hack” that enjoys sharing what he has learned and invites others to correct or add to this body of Oregon Football! See More…
