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Duck It

Apparently you decided this was a slow news week; slow enough to take time off from serious journalism, as evidenced by your cover story on the University of Oregon's football program [

].

Please tell me why anyone with a genuine awareness of the world around them should care so deeply about the self-important, semi-pro, fully corrupt Ponzi scheme that is Division I college football. Lots of people—and they're the lucky ones in this economic climate—struggle to pay their bills each month on far less than half of what Mr. Stern spent on his precious season tickets. And to top it off, I'm supposed to feel sorry for this fellow if/when Oregon wins all the marbles and he has—gasp!—nothing meaningful left to look forward to? My heart bleeds.

If this was intended as satire, it is satire of the meanest sort. And if it's simply marketing thinly disguised as journalism, it's even worse. In the future, I respectfully suggest you and your staff stick to covering things that really matter and over which your reporting has the potential to effect positive change—and save the ad space for the outer columns where it belongs.

Beth Hamon
Northeast Saratoga Street

wweek.com Readers Comment On… “Duck Tales”

"Another typical bandwagon (albeit a longtime one) duck fan who never even attended the University of Oregon. I would understand this behavior (maybe) from an alumnus, but it just seems sick and twisted for someone who has no actual connection to the university. This behavior is typical of Oregon and USC fans. What's wrong with these people?" —TVil

"You don't have to be a student or alum to be a true fan. I have bled green and yell-O for as long as I can remember. Like many other fans, I did not attend UO. I graduated from UNLV. While I am proud of my alma mater, the Rebels always come second to the Ducks. UO is part of the community. People love the University for what it provides us (education, research, entertainment, and a world-class athletic program). We are not 'bandwagon' fans. We celebrate when things are good and cry when things are bad. We are true fans that will always love the University." —Josh

"Darn...so now I have to tell my 16-year-old son that he can't obsess over the ducks. He'll be bumming fo sho. Also, help me find the University of Blazers for all those blazermaniacs. Get over it...you're just pissed no one likes your team." —durhamduck

"The rules for the Jager circle, for the record: 1) No interlopers. Only folks who will predict an Oregon victory. 2) you have to take a pull greater than the 72-year-old mother of the hosts. Pretty simple and pretty awesome."

—PigDog

WWeek 2015