The smell of popcorn wafts through the air, fans dress in green or yellow, and the buzzer sounds while shoes squeak on the floor of Matthew Knight Arena. Players dressed in dark blue or yellow return to their benches. As they move to the sidelines, fans can clearly see the design of trees on the light and dark wood floor meant to resemble looking up through a forest of fir trees, an homage to the nickname of one of the first college basketball teams, “The Tall Firs.”
The University of Oregon Ducks may be more well known in recent history for track and football, but the conference opener of the men’s basketball season still garnered anticipation on campus. First year student Thalia Morris was enthusiastic about attending the game against Coppin State. Morris said, “I love sports and so coming here, it’s a big sports school and I just get so excited.”
Hours before the buzzer sounds, the line of students stretched from the entrance of MacArthur Court down the block in the darkness. They chatted under the streetlights while the murmur of anticipation was punctuated with cheers as someone ran by with a camera. For Morris and her friends, Amy Vallejos and McKenna Faulkner, this is their first semester as students at the University of Oregon. As fans, they are eager to discover what all the hype is about. “I’m really looking forward to it. I feel like it’s going to be a big thing because it starts at nine and it’s late; I feel like they’re going to make something big out of it so I’m excited,” said Morris.
The students waited to be let into MacArthur Court for a pep rally called Back 2 Mac prior to the game. The student group known as Pit Crew hosted the event. Prior to the construction of Matthew Knight Arena, MacArthur Court, also known as Mac Court or The Pit, was the historic home of the university’s basketball and volleyball teams. In 1999, a group of students partnered with the athletic department to create a student section that would make The Pit one of the most challenging venues in the country for opposing teams, thus the Pit Crew was created. The Back 2 Mac rally paid tribute to the origin of their group while serving as a pep rally before the game to teach students cheers and to distribute their 2014-2015 bright yellow Pit Crew shirts.
While the crowd of students participated in cheers and games at the rally, it became apparent that the 600 bright yellow Pit Crew shirts were too few for the crowd in attendance. As the event wrapped up, students crowded together in an attempt to get a shirt but were told that if they walked over to Matthew Knight Arena and entered with the band, they would receive one. Unfortunately, this was not the case as the students distributing the shirts ran out.
As the band left playing songs from their repertoire, people followed them through campus. Others going to the game also joined the group. The cold and damp night air motivated people to walk quickly to the other side of campus to arrive inside the heated Matthew Knight Arena.
When entering the arena, many people are greeted by women like Evelleen Wingard, a member of the Daisy Ducks. At each basketball game, Daisy Ducks members sell bingo cards as a booster organization through the University. The bingo cards are the organization’s main fundraiser for a $10,000 scholarship awarded yearly to a female athlete. A member for the past 27 years, Wingard is surprisingly not a UO alumna. She said, “It’s just fun to be around the athletes because I think we have some very very nice athletes.” At 75, Wingard has no plans to end her involvement anytime soon. “I’ll be here until I can’t!” she said. “It’s just a fun organization and we help.”
While the Daisy Ducks work to support UO athletes, there are many more people who work to impact the fan experience before people even begin to arrive. Megan Robertson is the Director of Promotions and Game Day Experience. She oversees football, men’s basketball, baseball, and track. She worked with the Pit Crew to organize the Back 2 Mac event, in addition to preparing all the promotions and scripting for the video board and announcers for the night. When it comes to basketball, Robertson says, “The big student crowd at Matt Arena, that’s what makes it. The atmosphere is really contingent on good student participation. Students drive what the rest of the crowd does.” Tonight’s game is part of an initiative this season called Full Court Friday through the Pac 12 Networks, ten games throughout the day which is the reason for the late start time at 9 pm. Because television scheduling affects more game start times, Robertson and her staff are working on different ticket promotions to accommodate fans’ schedules throughout the season. Robertson says they are working to provide professional acts during halftime and a few other surprises throughout the rest of the season. A 2003 alumna of the UO in sports marketing, her father was a collegiate football coach for 23 years so she says was always a sports fan. Compared to the other sports she oversees, she looks forward to the basketball opener because “Men’s basketball is much more intimate… you can get this place just rocking!”
When it comes to the arena itself, Josh Bailey serves as the Event Manager for Matthew Knight Arena. Regardless of the event, Bailey tries to increase the level of experience for all fans. He said, “We treat every event as if it’s first class…We put our best foot forward every time out.” Prior to joining the University of Oregon, Bailey worked at the University of South Alabama and his southern drawl is still evident. Bailey says that during the game, “I wear a lot of hats. You may as well consider me a walking hat rack.” His regular staff includes ten people, but on a game day, they include a temporary staff of 100 to include ticket takers, ushers, parking attendants, and more. It’s his ultimate responsibility to make sure people get in the gates safely, everything functions correctly, the officials arrive, the ball kids arrive and even that regulations for rim height, balls, court lines are correct. Bailey says, “Somebody has to do it. Somebody has to keep it all in line and be the worrywart for everybody else”
Bailey serves the fans less visibly, but others are on the front lines of customer service. Rene Gamboa works at a concession stand. As one may expect, he says hot dogs and popcorn are some of the biggest sellers. During arena events, he serves fans at the concession stands and counts the money at the end of the night. He also holds a full time position at Umpqua Bank. After moving from California, Gamboa says he enjoys games for the people he gets to meet and “the different types of fans. Some are pretty intense and some are as mellow as I am.” His advises new fans to “Keep an open mind because it’s definitely fun. I’ve been in the arena before and they just engage the crowd” and to “definitely wear your Duck gear, otherwise you stand out!”
The fans and their Duck pride are a common talking point when discussing the Duck game day experience. Bailey Davenport works at The Duck Store in the arena. She described what sets a UO game apart from others is, “Definitely the fans. They’re all one of a kind.” She even describes meeting a fan from Australia who was set on finding a stuffed duck. Davenport has worked for four years and continues because,“It’s cool to meet people from different sides of the country and see why they’re Duck fans.”
One of the unifying forces of fans in the arena are members of the UO Athletic Band. According to Ted Schera, “we are the soundtrack of the game.” Schera plays tenor saxophone and is the student Director of the Green Garter Band. Different ensembles within the UO Athletic Band are seen at many different events. The Green Garter Band played at the Back 2 Mac rally earlier in the evening, but the basketball band played at the game. While they play a mix of old favorites and current pop hits, they also enjoy cheering the team on as well and understand how important they are to the game. Schera said, “There’s nothing that pumps out that crowd more than the fight song. Our role is to provide that traditional entertainment… but to also keep the crowd pumped and in it.”
One of the groups that helps to aid the band in creating crowd spirit is the Pit Crew and the students in it. This group is as loud as the color on their bright yellow shirts. Morris said, “They have a lot of pride; people here bleed green and gold and I think that’s awesome.” The most requested item at The Duck Store is the Pit Crew shirt because fans see the students wearing them, but the bright yellow shirts are exclusive to the Pit Crew. Davenport tells people who come into The Duck Store “anything Oregon is loud” and to expect the high noise level. The atmosphere is exciting for fans. Vallejos said, “Even just being there makes you super excited even if you’re not that pumped about it.” Anastasia Yurisheva is a new student at UO from Russia. She said she is mostly looking forward to “being in the fan section and meeting people because it’s a fun place to meet people.”
Students represent just one end of the spectrum of fans. Jeb and Andrea Cook are longtime season ticket holders. Andrea Cook said, “We try not to miss any!” Seated in the uppermost level, both were dressed in green and yellow, including Jeb’s letterman-style jacket. Neither attended the UO, but as a lifelong resident of Eugene, Jeb Cook said, “76 years I’ve been rooting for the Ducks!” As the band played “Livin’ on a Prayer” and the crowd sang along, the Cooks expressed admiration for how the game had gone so far. Jeb advises new fans to “come and enjoy the experience, fans, the excitement, and just watch basketball.”
By far the most popular character with the 5,476 fans at the game, is The Duck itself. The mascot wanders through the crowd, dancing, taking pictures with fans, and teasing kids by taking their hat or covering their eyes. The Duck attracts attention wherever it goes and often is featured on the video board during pauses in the game. Wherever The Duck goes, people follow.
This game was a first for Kemba and Byron Kessee at Matthew Knight Arena. Their son played for the opposing team, Coppin State. Since they live in Los Angeles, the game was a rare chance to see him play because of Coppin State’s location in Maryland. While UO fans appreciate the symbolism of many of the unique Oregon touches in Matthew Knight Arena, like the floor, those symbols can be confusing to other fans. She laughed while explaining, “I saw this floor on tv; I wondered about it. And now that I see it in person, I’m still wondering about it.” However, she also described her experience by saying, “Everyone is so friendly! People thanked us for coming even though they whipped our tail.” Her husband also advises new fans to “Get ready to have a good time because the place is fun.”
As the clock stopped and the final score read 107-65, fans began to file out. The janitorial staff started the three to four hours it usually takes to clean after a game while the band played “Winner.” For band member Schera, it’s his favorite song. They only get to play it after the Ducks win.
