In the military, the “Section 8” discharge refers to the relief of duty of a soldier deemed mentally unfit for service. How appropriate, then, that Section 8 in Autzen Stadium encompasses part of the Oregon student section.
When USC takes the field against Oregon at 5 p.m. Saturday, the mainstays of Section 8, the brazen and passionate student fans of the Ducks, fully costumed and sufficiently incensed, will release their own special brand of crazy upon the Trojans.
“It is gonna be anarchy,” said Ben Hollander, a senior fan. “It is gonna be mayhem. It is gonna be a giant riot. It is gonna be complete hell for any fan of theirs. It’s gonna be a victory for them if they can get all their fans and players on the plane that night or the next morning.”
We hereby introduce you to a small cadre of Oregon’s most passionate student fans, a group determined to give USC the fright of its life.
Max Siemers
Max Siemers’ sister, Ceanna, first introduced him to Duck games when she was a student. Siemers recalls his first time through Alton Baker Park and through the horde of tailgaters with fond memories.
“I fell in love with Autzen at first sight,” he said.
Part of Siemers’ game-day dress — he wears a jersey, basketball shorts, armbands and a hat coordinated to the Ducks’ color scheme — are his Nike-ID shoes, which read “Autzen” on the left heel and “127.2” on the right. The 127.2 refers to the decibel reading recorded at Oregon’s 2007 win in Autzen over Arizona State.
Cameron Mertens
Cameron Mertens’ father, Dave, bought an Oregon season ticket package for his family for the 1999 college football season. The then-11-year-old Cameron made it to every single game that season.
And every single game the next season. And every one since.
“I think it’s close to 70 consecutive games,” said Mertens, a senior sociology major, about his attendance streak at Autzen.
The Salem native is hard to miss in the student section for his traditional outfit — an Oregon jersey (he owns 23, 17 from football), sweats, a green wig and a straw hat — let alone his various props. Mertens has added a green light saber and an Oregon medal from the 2008 Olympic Trials to his ensemble. He also painted a sledgehammer, modeled after the one used from Oregon’s 2007 defeat of Michigan in the Big House, which (surprisingly) has not made it through the front gates with him.
Green Man
Oregon’s “newest” superfan has racked up television appearances faster than Kenny Rowe has sacks this season, leading everyone to speculate: Who is Green Man?
Green Man, who declined to publish his real name, took his cue from the popular television show “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” (it’s the costumed alter-ego of Charlie Kelly). He was named student fan of the game in the Ducks’ first home contest this season, against Purdue, and he stuck with the persona.
The question on most people’s minds when they see Green Man is: Is he able to breathe or see? “It’s like looking through a shirt,” he said. “I pretty much watch Duckvision.”
David Gooze
With his green wig, “Pit Happens” shirt, Mardi Gras-approved beads, Japanese soccer horn and endless energy, David Gooze has made himself recognizable among the student fan cognoscenti.
To most alumni, however, the native of Oregon, Wisc. — seriously — is better known as the son of Rob Gooze, who was a student manager for the “Kamikaze Kids,” the Oregon men’s basketball team of 1974-75. The members include Greg Ballard and Ernie Kent. The Kamikaze Kids were inducted into the Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996, with Rob Gooze among them.
Alex Horwitch
The sophomore from Calabasas, Calif., is possibly the most conflicted of the superfans as the USC game approaches.
Horwitch, a sophomore journalism major, grew up in a Trojan household. His mother attended the school, and his grandfather played football for the Trojans in the 1930s.
“Well,” Horwitch said, “he won a national championship ring. But he’ll tell you he never played a minute.”
Horwitch grew up on college football games in the Coliseum but has since discovered the
Autzen experience since arriving on campus.
“You think it gets loud (in the Coliseum),” he said. “… It’s a wall of sound. Everything is on top of you (in Autzen).”
Ben Hollander
Ben Hollander, a senior from Eugene by way of Chicago and Guam, was vacationing in Hawaii during last year’s spring break when he saw a street vendor selling coconut bras painted with the logos of several college teams.
He commissioned a bra from the street vendor, and he now owns three more coconut bras, all ensconced with the Oregon O. His Hawaiian-style sarong, beer tab, shell necklaces and wild blond hair make him a Polynesian deity of superfandom that raises eyebrows everywhere he goes.
“It’s really fun to get people’s reactions on the road,” he said. “It’s like, ‘Holy crap, I thought our fans were hardcore.’ It just goes to show how much on the next level we are.”
Ryan Hodges
Physically imposing — he was a former offensive and defensive lineman in high school — and calm in demeanor, Ryan Hodges may be considered the strong and silent type of superfan. That is, until the game begins.
“I couldn’t do it any other way,” Hodges said of cheering on the Ducks. “Not being one would be strange.”
Hodges, a senior human physiology major, grew up a Duck fan early on. His mother, Shellie, and grandfather, Thomas King, were both Oregon graduates. Not surprisingly, he counts the 2008 Civil War among his favorite games attended as an Oregon student because “killing them was awesome (and) ruining their Rose Bowl dreams made it even better.” (Hodges’ father, Dave, an Oregon State graduate, surely wasn’t too pleased.)
dUckbOy
First of all, note the spelling. It’s not Duck Boy, or Duckboy, but dUckbOy.
If fandom is bred from nativity, dUckbOy is the salt of the earth in Eugene. He was born in Sacred Heart Medical Center, University District, and has attended Duck football games his entire life.
The nickname? It stuck at an early age, and has since evolved.
dUckbOy, who also refused to use his real name for this story, is most notable for the first thing his opposition sees — his Mexican wrestling masks.
“Each mask is handmade and takes four to six days to make,” he said.
“I’ve been going to Duck games my entire life and I can think of no better way to spend a Saturday than in Autzen, barely able to hear yourself think.”
Oregon Daily Emerald > Sports > GAME DAY
Section 8
These Duck fans are some of the most notable and raucous members of the student section
Published: Thursday, October 29, 2009
Updated: Friday, October 30, 2009
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21 comments
duckeater
aahahahahahahahahahahhahahhaalooks like you nerds gotta root for a two-loss team nowstanford!!!ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahhahahaha
Cameron Hirtle
We are talking about 1 or 2 graduates that pay for their ticket and just cheer in section 8. If taking tickets away from students is the issue, then this doesn't fall under that category. Plus people who get the front row every time are those who show up hours early, so they should be rewarded. Want to sit in the front? Show up early and be dedicated. There is PLENTY of room in the student section.
Your name
I guess the point is Cameron H. section 8 isn't for Oregon Alumni, it is for current UO students. But I'm glad alumni come back and support our team. I just think the student section should be for actual students. And if we fill the front row with alumni (which I'll agree, it isn't - there are a lot of students there too) actual students don't get to sit in the front row. And it is the current UO student body that is paying to have that seat. Why should they have to give it up to an alumni? They already had their shot.
Cameron Hirtle
Yeh I'll get a life, and I will start by following your classy example of posting negative comments on a subject that you knew you hated in the first place. Looks like you are a real winner "1", we can all learn so much from your eye-opening comment. What an idiot. Take a hike.
1
sad. get a life superfan losers
Cameron Hirtle
The kind of fan-dom these guys bring to the table on Saturday's is model of the support that has helped to bring the Oregon Football program and fanbase to where it is today.
Cameron Hirtle
These comments are absurd. I know several of these guys and they are the most dedicated fans out there. Each one of them has not missed a home duck game in the past 3 years, which apparently is "stealing the experience" from other students, when in reality our athletic dept. reward such loyalty. I would rather have the same fans get tickets and actually USE them rather than some freshman or sophomore reserve a ticket and then not show up. And to you Alex Gabriel, the idiot that commented second, the guy in the coconut bra is more dedicated than you will ever be and he is actually a senior so you are a tool for posting such a rash comment with actually no real knowledge of any of the crap that rolls out of your mouth. And the guy that is a non-student actually pays for his own ticket, if he doesnt have a duck id there really is NO POSSIBLE way he is stealing someone else's rightful seat. However I don't see the issue with supporting an Oregon Alumni, but apparently there are some real jealous middle school girls commenting on this page. You guys call yourselves Duck fans, but you simply are fools. Grow up.
Quacky
Great story. I recognize all of these guys in the pictures and they are great. Who the f*ck cares if they are students or not? I certainly don't. They are the type of fans that make Autzen Stadium a great place regardless. Keep up the great work fellas! Now we need to get some females to take their fandom to similar extremes.
Your name
haha yeah...one of these guys definitely did graduate with me last spring lol
Your name
If, as you say, all these people aren't students, as anyone thought about how they're getting into the STUDENT section?????
Your name
lets all just drink our problems away and mess up usc saturday!!
Your name
In response to "Cam-O"What does getting in line early have to do about misrepresentation of facts? Or supporting non-students in the student section? No one said you weren't passionate or crazy. But your response does support the argument that this group can be disrespectful to their peers.Interestingly no one seems to be denying the accusation that not all "Students" featured in the article are actually Incidental Fee paying students.
Sam
How does Green man get through the gates at Autzen? Like how do they check his ID without him having to take off a piece of his outfit? I don't need to know who he is I am just wondering. Since people can not share IDs to get into the game they need to see people's faces. Does he change in the bathroom? I just would be pissed if they flag him though the gates and the student section without checking.
Your name
I just want to say that unless you know who the individuals writing these comments about non-students, don't make assumptions about them. As an Oregon student, and football fan, I for a fact know they are not all incidental-fee paying students. So either ODE didn't get their facts checked-out, or they knowingly reported untrue facts.And perhaps this person is going to write a letter to the Editor. Don't say what you don't know.
Your name
Since the article reports all individuals to be students, and I know otherwise, I feel justified. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge duck fan. I'm one of the masses. I'll see you at the game on Saturday. I have a huge passion for Duck athletics as much as any of these guys.
Cam-O
Don't hate just because you aren't good enough or crazy enough to even be asked to do this. F*ck the haters, we are better than the rest anyways. How many Oregon fans sat front row in the BSU student section this year? the answer is 5. How many of you have been camping out for 15 hours already, 4 people. Get over yourselves wannabees and show up early and geared up and then maybe do some talking.
Anonymous
Exactly which students are you talking about? It seems "absurd" to jump to conclusions that the Emerald is "knowingly reporting facts" that aren't true. Nowhere in the story indicates that any of these people are non-students. If you're not willing to state the facts, I suspect you don't have any. But even if you did, there are more constructive ways to address that than whining in an article comment. Ever thought about writing to an editor?I also suspect, given the ranting in your comment, that the real reason you are upset is not the Emerald's supposed lack of quality reporting, but your own dislike of Oregon football and its fans. Get over it. You're in the minority and unfortunately for you, sometimes journalism entails appealing to the masses.
Your name
There has to be ethical issues with reporters knowingly reporting facts that aren't true. Not only does the Emerald appear to support non-students in the student section, are they willing to lie to cover up the truth?
Anonymous
This is absurd. These aren't even all students! At least one of these individuals is graduated last spring. YOU GOT YOUR FACTS WRONG! Apparently the Emerald supports non-students in the student section, as other fans who actually pay the incidental fee, aren’t getting to experience what it’s like in the front of section 8. And collectively their behavior is OFTEN at games less than something I'm proud of. These students often treat their peers with disrespect. Not only am I embarrassed on occasion that they represent my school, now I'm embarrassed the newspaper at my school can't even give quality reporting.
alex gabriel
can't stand the d-bag in the bra, no wonder everybody hates oregon fans so muchgraduate already you walking eyesore
