About

This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on August 26, 2011 8:46 AM. The previous post in this blog was The Don's next deal?. The next post in this blog is It's a big one. Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

E-mail, Feeds, 'n' Stuff

Friday, August 26, 2011

Ducks go further off the deep end

A reader writes:

Have you seen the Ducks' new "Pro Combat System for Dressing"? (Apparently they're not called uniforms any more.)

Aside from the tackiness of referring to the game these kids play as "combat" when some of their peers are actually engaged in, and dying in, the real thing, you also have to wonder about the thought process behind naming an amateur sports team's uniforms the "pro system."

Moreover, why is Nike allowed to use LaMichael James in what is an obvious commercial? The entire thing is an unseemly result of a thoughtless marketing department on steroids. This team is so very hard to cheer for.

Indeed.

Comments (23)

Confirms my thought that geeks and jocks don't mix well.

And could we please, pretty please, abstain from any further use of the terms "war" and "Civil War" when referring to any sporting events, but especially college games?

If you want to be involved in a war, follow Pat Tillman's example and sign up. Otherwise, don't disgrace yourself by showing the world how immature you are by talking about a game as if it had any connection to war.

It wasn't LaMichael James. It was a model wearing #21 uniform and it didn't have his name on it.

Come on now, no sour grapes beavo fans. Too bad you won't be able to count that Sac-State victory as a win (because you used your quota of wins against a 1-aa school up) and you won't be bowl eligible once again. 6-6 Beavers season coming right up!

Yeah, because clearly if you don't like any of the shenanigans the University of Oregon has been pulling, you MUST be a Beaver fan.

Or, more likely, you're just a fan of common sense, and aren't drinking the green-and-yellow Kool Aidâ„¢.

Uncle Phil playing dress the Barbie.

Whether or not that was LaMichael James, it's not clear that was a Nike ad, a UO football ad, or both. Maybe they're the same.

Snards - If you want to call him Uncle... he's correctly known as Uncle Bucky (and the nickname is about teeth not money)... just sayin'

For those of us who actually love the Ducks (and aren't bitter old Stanford/OSU fans and Duck/success-haters like Jack), you may enjoy this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCkhpQKX2Rw&feature=player_embedded

If the model is, in fact, a college athlete, I would think the only rule is that Nike can't pay him for the appearance. But I'll 2nd the comment from Donald- that's clearly not James.

But Nike can certainly pay U of O for the "right" to use UO IP.

And for whatever reason, TV license deals for universities are not taxable to the school, since universities are educational institutions. That's the real scandal IMNSHO.

Howza bout that for a topic, Jack- why are revenues from TV deals for college sports tax-exempt? Everybody knows that football is a cash cow for the big conferences. It doesn't have a goddamn thing to do with the "exempt purpose" of the universities in question, except in providing the medical schools with a constant supply of young male subjects exhibiting physical damage from steroid abuse and repeated concussions.

Thanks George! Yes PLEASE stop using war terminology for high school and college sports. Makes it sound like Vietnam, Gulf War 1 and the world wars before and after are like, you know, cool and fun and, and...hey it's war. People DIE and they come back in boxes. No fun about it...ask their families.

Come on now? I really don't think there are any shenanigans here. Watch the same video for Boise State and witness a different African American actor is pretty much the same running back montage wearing Kellen Moore's jersey. Kellen Moore!

As for the "Civil War". They've been playing that game for over 100 years. Lighten up for cryin' out loud. It's a reference to an in-state rivalry, not "war on the field". It got its name back in WWII when people weren't so sensitive.

/Not a Beaver fan, hate ducks, love the Gameday commercial.

Uncle Phil playing dress the Barbie.

I would imagine though that Mattel never realized anywhere near the profits from Barbie that Nike has realized from sports clothing.

That "advertisement"??? is just disgusting! Period!
No wonder these kids on these teams get into trouble; they think they are gladiators of some sort.
What nonsense. "Uncle Bucky Ducky" ought to retire to some nice quiet nursing home.

Let's not pretend that nobody has ever used combat analogies when talking about sports before and that this is something the University of Oregon is introducing. Geez.

"In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.

In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! - I hope I'll be safe at home!" -- George Carlin

Oregon Bob, to think that Stanford fans could be "bitter" about inferiority in any aspect to the University of Oregon (a.k.a. U.C.-Nike)is amusing.

Here's a perspective on football jargon, especially when put up against baseball.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om_yq4L3M_I

Jack writes: "Oregon Bob, to think that Stanford fans could be "bitter" about inferiority in any aspect to the University of Oregon (a.k.a. U.C.-Nike)is amusing."

And yet you are. As I are only a graduate of U of O, the explanation for such bitterness is probably over my head.

I think you're confusing bitterness with pity.

If you wanted to see what's truly slimy about college athletics, where would you start? Not in Palo Alto.

I probably wouldn't rank on the Ducks so much if I didn't live here and see the disgrace almost daily.

As a Cal fan, I hate to say anything positive about Stanford sports, but hasn't Stanford won the most or second-most NCAA championships in history?

I'd say spending 50k on Harbaugh's bathroom is a pretty slimy use of funds.

Back East wrote: "And for whatever reason, TV license deals for universities are not taxable to the school, since universities are educational institutions."

BE, thanks for reminding us of the real purpose of our colleges and universities :-)

What's the difference between a U of O football player, and a City of Portland bicyclist?

At least the football player is required to wear a helmet.

I attribute this whole anti-Duck animus to law school envy.




Clicky Web Analytics