The title might be a bit of a stretch, but these two Oregon football websites are more than just “sleepers” in the niche’. Only Dan Lanning has been a bigger surprise than FishDuck.com and the Our Beloved Ducks forum for Oregon fans, and the stunning reach to devoted Ducks. I’ve been pondering sharing these surprises with FishDuck readers, and decided to take a break from my ongoing fun at the Top 10 online casino Australia to disclose things as we close out the year 2024.
The biggest surprise is what I will start with instead of teasing you until the conclusion, as it is one that few would believe. Among Oregon football websites, our two are not the most well-known, and if anything are Oregon’s Best-Kept Secret for intense Duck fans. The two sites have had over 293,000 unique readers for the year 2024, which is something nobody would have guessed. A unique reader is my terminology, as Google Analytics keep changing their verbiage to state the same thing.
A unique reader at FishDuck.com or the Our Beloved Ducks forum is someone who comes to one of the two sites as least once within 2024. Although someone who comes to the two sites five times a day is also only counted as ONE unique reader for the entire year. This way we get a more accurate picture of our visitors, readers, and even some ‘bots. There are search engines from around the world that are crawling the two sites throughout every day, and I don’t object if we show up in their searches for Oregon fans around the world.
For the year 2023, the numbers were closer to 270,000 unique readers, and I like to tell people that we serve “over a quarter-million readers” which is understated, but subtract the ‘bots and error hits, and it is probably more accurate. Nonetheless…can you believe those numbers for a set of sleepy little sites in the Duck sphere owned by probably one of the crazier Oregon fans out there. I mean, who dedicates this much of his life for free to benefit so many other Duck fans globally?
I’m sure that many question the “for-free” part when there are so many ads scattered between the sites, and a backlink to a casino routinely in most articles as well. These different types of revenue sources help to pay the bills of the two sites, and frankly it is the donations from so many generous readers that makes up the rest. I tell the Web Developers, and the Photographers that they make more money off the site than I do, because there is not enough for me to take owner withdrawals.
UO Student and FishDuck writer Pat Pannu and Charles Fischer working at a 2015 Job Fair.
But–I am good with it. I am counting my lucky stars that enough donations and revenue are there to pay the bills, thus none coming out of my pocket. In essence, this “hobby” is my boat, but fortunately does not come from my personal checkbook to sustain. My “hobby” has create lifelong friendships across the nation, as the stories and laughs from my fellow Duck-Buddies are a treasure you cannot put a value on. You are all a hoot, and so much fun…
We have a ton of volunteers who help make these sites successful, and it is nice to be able to say to them that “I am a volunteer too!” Without the dozen moderators, the four Duck News Hunters, the three editors, the five writers of which all are volunteers…where would we be? Add me to the total and we have a total of 25 people who give their time on behalf of the quarter-million readers who come to the sites. Great people giving to so many other great people. What a community!
Donations and revenue has allowed FishDuck.com to have two photographers on the field at Autzen versus Ohio State, and the Bastard Huskies. We will have two photographers on the field at the Rose Bowl, with writer Alex Heining in the Press Box. We’ve even made arrangements to have writer Jordan Ingram be in the Press Box at the Cotton Bowl, and we’ll have a reunion with a former FishDuck photographer Kevin Cline, who moved to Texas and will shoot pictures one-more-time for our writers and readers.
But when I count my blessings, I have to place the quarter-million of you readers at the top, and in particular those who post in our own free, civilized, Oregon Football message board. They live by our rules of being “polite and respectful” to fellow OBD members who post, and it is so refreshing to read all the different perspectives on the topics without any of the nasty stuff that occurs on social media these days. We also have a “no-politics” policy, and everyone followed it in November!
How sweet to truly have a GREEN REFUGE from the real-life stuff taking place in the world. I am so grateful to all of you making that possible over the last 13 years of the two sites, and I intend to keep them alive for as long as I am. I am pretty confident in a ton of years left because like many of you–I cannot keep my fingers away from a keyboard for long. Why? Because it is true that…
“Oh, how we love to ponder about Our Beloved Ducks!”
Charles Fischer (Mr. FishDuck)
Eugene, Oregon
Top Screenshot from the Our Beloved Ducks Forum front page
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Charles Fischer has been an intense fan of the Ducks, a season ticket holder at Autzen Stadium for 38 years and has written reports on football boards for over 26 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 is single, has a daughter Christine, and resides in Eugene Oregon where he was a Financial Advisor for 36 years.
He now focuses full-time on Charitable Planned Giving Workshops for churches and non-profit organizations in addition to managing his two Oregon Football Websites, of FishDuck.com and the Our Beloved Ducks forum. He is a busy man!
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…