This weekend when Oregon looks to play the somewhat unfamiliar role of underdog against Washington, the Webfoots will be back, flashier than ever of course.
Oregon is known to dig into the archives for a uniform every so often, as was the case last season with their Oregon Trail uniforms. This week the Ducks will bring out a look that embraces the history of the school’s fight song and original nickname, the Webfoots. The Webfoots nickname is actually the predecessor to the Ducks nickname that served as a nickname before the school officially adopted the Ducks as the mascot. The Webfoot nickname is credited with appearing in a game preview for a 1894 Thanksgiving game with Pacific from the Eugene Guard.
“The grounds will be somewhat muddy tomorrow, but that never stops an enthusiastic football player. In fact, Webfoot boys would rather play on a muddy field than on one that is dry and solid,” the preview read. Ahh, sports writing in the 19th century. The use of the nickname would be debated for a number of years and over time the sentiment attached to the nickname went away before the school eventually settled on a duck to serve as the official mascot.
This weekend against Washington: Webfoots.#GoDucks pic.twitter.com/hfwYz3DcWb
— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) October 3, 2016
The uniform features the lyrics to the school fight song, “Mighty Oregon,” on the shoulder sleeves and the state flag of Oregon is placed on the side of the helmet. At a glance, it looks like a uniform initially designed for Cal or something Adidas cooked up for Michigan a few years back, but we should come to expect the unexpected from Oregon by now. Thoughts?
