Dr. Saturday - NCAAF

Our weekly tailgating guide veers west for Saturday's all-important USC-Oregon showdown. Bring your yelling lungs and your beer-snob buddies for this one.

The Lowdown.
Visitors from more storied programs in the south or midwest will be delighted at what they find in Eugene. West coast football doesn't always get the media love it should, and in this case it's a shame, because Oregon is the best road trip in the Pac-10. The fans are friendly, the beer selection around town is nigh unparalleled and the stadium is shockingly loud (Autzen only holds 54,000 people, but try telling that to nearby Richter scales). One embedded Duck correspondent explains:

We have three levels of loud. There's first quarter against Utah State, Montana, Portland State loud. It's a good early effort, but dissipates as the score gets ugly. The next level is conference opponent loud. It's a game that matters and we take our home field advantage seriously ... we're not going to let up on you. Finally, there's Michigan, USC, Wisconsin, Oklahoma where we have a one-score lead late in the fourth and you're trying to take it away from us loud. For those sensitive to extreme volumes, that last level can be downright painful. We recommend ear plugs for children. Seriously.

Parking, as with any popular gameday locale, is a headache and a half, but you can generally find a $10 spot within walking distance of the action if you don't have a stadium pass. For maximum scenic enjoyment, our Eugene blogger brethren recommend parking around Franklin Boulevard and taking the path over the Willamette river and through Alton Baker park to the stadium. The school also offers cheap, secured bike storage during games, and the city also offers a gameday park-and-ride shuttle for $5.

What To Wear.
If you really want to blend in, join the popular student pasttime of trying to match the players' ever-changing uni combinations, which get "leaked" to local media outlets the week of the game. (This will involve packing everything stadium-worthy you own that's white, green, yellow, black, silver, or "carbon." Nobody said it would be easy.) And if it gets chilly, there's always the spandex body stocking (below), an alternative to body paint for the brave of heart and high of BAC.

If you are going with the full-body stocking, we recommend proper ... uh, insulation. Please. There are children.

Pregame Stops.
The Glenwood, 1340 Alder Street. Kickoff's not until 5 p.m. local time, but if you're making a full day of it at the tailgate, stop here for breakfast first.
Track Town Pizza, 1809 Franklin Boulevard. Try the meat-tastic Heptathalon pizza.
The Moshofsky Center, Oregon's practice facility next door to the stadium, and the site of a weekly family-friendly indoor tailgate party. Take shelter here in case of rain, grab a hot dog and catch up on scores of interest, and don't miss the players' pregame walk-through. You'll need to have your ticket handy to get in.

Postgame Stops.
The Cooler Tavern, 20 Centennial Loop. Stadium-adjacent A-frame bar with good grub.
The Bier Stein, 345 E 11th Avenue. A little ways out from campus, but well worth it. Every beer you've ever heard of has passed through these taps at one point or another.
Jackalope Lounge, 453 Willamette Street. Good spot for some blogging (the Web site proclaims, "WE GOTS WIFI OUTDOOR SEATING FOR Y'ALL SMOKERS"), and it's hard to dislike any establishment that promotes the majesty of the jackalope.

What To Drink.
You're in a microbrew town, campers. Ask your friendly barkeep for anything brewed within state lines and it's hard to go wrong. We prefer Ninkasi's Tricerahops Double IPA, because it is delicious and named after a mythical, boozy dinosaur.

- - -
Thanks this week to Jeremy Conant, Lloyd Keith, Shea Miller, and Damion Whitt.
Holly welcomes your adulation and veiled threats at nastinchka-at-yahoo, etc.

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12 Comments

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  1. Fran
    1. Posted by Fran Fri Oct 30, 2009 11:40 am EDT

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    damn right
  2. PHUC NUTT/as in houston
    2. Posted by PHUC NUTT/as in houston Fri Oct 30, 2009 12:10 pm EDT

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    what do you not have to have a pass or ticket for - damn ever heard of just show up ?
  3. NateDogg
    3. Posted by NateDogg Fri Oct 30, 2009 1:08 pm EDT

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    ahhh finally some props to our beer selection. every time i go to LA its like all they have is imports from mexico but we got some of the best brews in the nation here and in portland. leave your light beers at home and be open to try new things.
  4. Rob H
    4. Posted by Rob H Fri Oct 30, 2009 1:41 pm EDT

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    Come on! You have totally missed the best on-campus watering hole, Rennies Landing. Rennies is a Eugene institution. It's on campus (unlike the other places you mention) right across the street from the Law School on 13th. Great selection of beer and hotties.
  5. Mile's Knee
    5. Posted by Mile's Knee Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:52 pm EDT

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    Nothing like sweeping generalizations about "all" fans.
    Just don't be tool in USC gear...and you'll be fine.
  6. Matthew
    6. Posted by Matthew Fri Oct 30, 2009 4:09 pm EDT

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    What Rob said. It's not a complete "What to do in Eugene on gameday" post without Rennie's.
  7. HarakaSana
    7. Posted by HarakaSana Fri Oct 30, 2009 4:23 pm EDT

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    Nice article about Oregon but a whole lot of their fans are jerks. Every team has both good and bad fans but I've never harassed and cussed at as much by fans of any other team (both in Eugene and Seattle). And I don't flip crap at opponent's fans either where I would bring it on myself. Props to the Ducks for being really good but a lot of the fans need to grow up and act like winners.
  8. Cody
    8. Posted by Cody Fri Oct 30, 2009 5:44 pm EDT

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    I went to U of O, and agree that some of our fans are jerks but the majority are pretty laid back. When you get thousands of drunk college kids it's a recipe for lewd behavior. Overall we aren't that crazy though. Half the people are high anyways so they're pretty chill.
    I agree with the Rennies comment. It's a great bar to go to on Gameday.
  9. Will
    9. Posted by Will Fri Oct 30, 2009 6:02 pm EDT

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    This writeup is a joke. Oregon is the ONE place in the PAC-10 I would NOT recommend for opposing fans to visit. They have the worst fans in college football. The douchbaggery in Eugene is out of this world.
    If you are a fan off a visiting team, you can't wear your gear because these idiots will throw batteries, urine, cups, empty liquor bottles, etc. at you while in the stands - especially late in the game.
    You can't park your car anywhere near campus because it will get a brick through the back window or the tires slashed if you have the wrong bumper sticker or school decal.
    The beer selection is decent but nothing special and on par with just about any West Coast city.
    None of these whoregun fans have been following the team for more than 8 years. It's just your standard crop of arrogant bandwagon fans. As it's been said many times before: The Ducks are the college football version of Paris Hilton - they're famous for no reason, they look pretty and they got a rich daddy.
  10. RogerP
    10. Posted by RogerP Fri Oct 30, 2009 6:59 pm EDT

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    Gosh Haraka and Will,
    "Douchebaggery?" "Whoregon?" "Bandwagon fans?" Must be Huskies or Oregon state fans.
    Geez, guys, the statements you're making here, in these forums, probably says all most unbiased readers will need to know. Now, the worst I was ever treated by any fans was on Montlake with a close second at Reesers. I understand. It's rivalry country. The best I've been treated by fans was in the Coliseum (though the visitors seats in the Coliseum are the worst, by far, I've ever experienced for any athletic competition anywhere in America).
    And, as for the "battery, urine, liquor bottle crack...you gotta be kidding. Nobody believes you. Not me. Not anybody.
    Relax. Take a breath. Really.
  11. g
    11. Posted by g Fri Oct 30, 2009 8:48 pm EDT

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    Friendly? how about dilusional, or full of excuses? That seems to be a popular characteristic amongst the ducks. I dont know what makes them believe that they're gods gift to football but half of them should be put into insane asylums.
  12. Holly
    12. Posted by Holly Sun Nov 01, 2009 8:24 am EST

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    Funny, I've been to Autzen on more than one occasion in the company of a merry band of USC fans, and have always had a grand old time.

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